Randolph Ray Edwards
Private Randolph R. Edwards served with Dog Company, First Battalion, 7th Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 364854
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of 17 May 2024
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 30, 1919
at McComb, MS
Parents
Benjamin Howard Edwards
separated from
Ethel (Sanders) Edwards
Education
Alcée Fortier High School
Southwest Mississippi Jr. College
Occupation & Employer
Brakeman
Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR)
Service Life
Entered Service
February 2, 1942
at Jackson, MS
Home Of Record
2253 Brainard Street
New Orleans, LA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Benjamin H. Edwards.
Military Specialty
Mortarman
Primary Unit
D/1/7th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 24 September 1942 – six days after arriving on Guadalcanal – the First Battalion, 7th Marines departed from the Lunga Perimeter and headed out into Guadalcanal’s backcountry. They followed a trail known as the “Maizuru Road” which had served as a Japanese advance and retreat route during the battle for Edson’s Ridge. The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, hoped to cross the Matanikau River at an undefended point, then advance along the Japanese-held bank to outflank enemy fortifications. This maneuver was a crucial part of a planned offensive scheduled to begin on 26 September.
After an exhausting day-long hike, the battalion reached a stream bed and began searching for a suitable bivouac. While the rearguard (Company C and Company D) occupied a defendable hill, Companies A and B advanced to the riverbank and sent scouts into the woods beyond. They ran into a Japanese detachment and were caught in a murderous crossfire from multiple machine gun positions.
Puller had the foresight to bring along the mortar platoon of his heavy weapons company – though they had traded in their 81mm tubes for lighter, more portable 60mm weapons – and he ordered them to deploy to provide covering fire. The Marines were well trained, but most were experiencing their first real firefight. This was the case with Private Randolph “Ray” Edwards, a lanky Southerner who volunteered for duty with the 7th Marines in hopes of seeing some action. One of Ray’s new buddies, PFC Ed Poppendick, remarked on the dangers of being a new man in combat.
Anyway, this kid Randolph… I had just gotten to know him. You don’t get to meet too many of the guys enough to know them because once you get used to them, it’s like everything else; you get to know them, and they’re gone.
Although the mortars were deployed behind the front lines, they were still within range of the Japanese gunners – as they learned when Edwards made a fatal mistake. “Randolph got hit when they called for the small mortars,” continued Poppendick. “He had the mortar base plate, and he made the mistake of going up the path. As he went, geez, they just riddled him right down the side with a machine gun. He really got it….”
The Marines finally managed to disengage under cover of darkness. They had suffered heavy casualties – more than two dozen wounded, and seven killed outright. Three more men would die of wounds before the next morning.
Burial Information or Disposition
Early on 25 September, Puller’s men set out to locate and bury their friends. The ten fatal casualties were buried in two groups of five – one on “Hill Y,” the other on “Hill X.” Ray Edwards was the first man buried in the Hill X location.
The battalion departed soon after the final grave was dug: two companies returned to the perimeter with the wounded, while Puller pressed on with Company C and reinforcements from 2/5th Marines. The remote location was rarely, if ever, seen by American troops for the rest of the battle.
Two post-war expeditions (1947 and 1949) failed to locate the graves of Puller’s men, and all were declared non-recoverable.
The DPAA prioritized the Hill X and Hill Y sites starting in 2012. Subsequent archaeological digs have returned possible remains, identification tags, and additional material evidence from the area.
Private Edwards was accounted for on 17 May 2024.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Benjamin H. Edwards.
Ray was living with his aunt, Miss Gertrude Edwards, at 530 Minnesota Avenue, McComb, Mississippi.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of Hill X – now the outskirts of Honiara, Guadalcanal.
Gallery
Related Profiles
Buried in the field, Hills X and Y, as result of Maizuru Ambush.
Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal
Willie Rowe, or someone who sounded a lot like Willie, was crying in the darkness.
PFC Gerald White could not blame Willie. He felt a bit like crying himself. His battalion of the 7t Marines left the Lunga perimeter full of fight, ready to prove they were no Johnny-come-lately laggards but the warriors who would turn the tide on Guadalcanal. Now they were a “weary and dejected band” dug in on a nameless hill overlooking an unfamiliar stream, an anonymous location with no known landmarks save those they named themselves. The field where Fuller found the cooking fire; the ridge their guns were on; the tree where Goble hid; the trail where Randolph died.
Unremarkable places, except that men bled for them.
Read more about the Maizuru Ambush in "Leaving Mac Behind."
Click the cover for details.