Ralph Leon Naundorf
Private Ralph L. Naundorf served with Weapons Company, 5th Marines.
He was killed in action near Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on 3 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 370506
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 22, 1923
at Norton, MD
Parents
Hans Paul Naundorf (d. 1940)
Nettie (Ward) Naundorf
Education
Still Pond School (junior high)
Occupation & Employer
Farm laborer
Service Life
Entered Service
January 24, 1942
at Baltimore, MD
Home Of Record
Kennedyville, MD
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Nettie Naundorf
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
Weapons/5th Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The third day of November 1942 marked the third day of a combined Marine-Army push to the west along Guadalcanal’s northern coast. Ambitious planners hoped to seize the Japanese base at Kokumbona, but an unexpectedly fierce defense by the Imperial Army’s 4th and 124 Infantry Regiments inflicted heavy casualties and stunted progress. The 5th Marines faced an especially tough challenge from Colonel Nomasu Nakaguma’s 4th Infantry entrenched around the base of Point Cruz. Two days of fierce fighting, including an unusual American bayonet charge, finally trapped the surviving Japanese infantry in a constricted pocket west of the Point.
Supporting all of this activity were several halftracks belonging to the regiment’s Weapons Company. Although stymied in places by small ravines and stream beds – and by occasional mechanical difficulties like thrown tracks – these self-propelled gun mounts brought 75mm firepower to the front lines. The company lost two men killed in action during the November attack – PFC Timothy T. Donovan on 2 November, and PFC Ralph L. Naundorf on 3 November.
Burial Information or Disposition
Donovan and Naundorf were both “interred in Lunga area” on Guadalcanal’s north coast. The specific location was not recorded; while map overlays were supposedly produced, they were of no help to post-war search parties, and both Marines were declared non-recoverable in 1949.
Five years later – apparently by chance – Donovan’s remains were discovered in an isolated grave on Guadalcanal. He was identified and returned to his native New Jersey for burial in 1955. To this date, no identifiable trace of Ralph Naundorf has been found.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Nettie Naundorf.
Location Of Loss
Naundorf’s regiment was engaged in the vicinity of Point Cruz.
