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NAME Raphael Richard McGauran |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER 261632 |
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| UNIT Company G Second Battalion 8th Marines |
HOME OF RECORD 469 North Cedar Street Laramie Wyoming |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Jeanette M. Crout |
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| DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1919 |
ENTERED SERVICE October 2, 1937 – October 2, 1941 (first enlistment) March 14, 1942 |
DATE OF LOSS November 23, 1942 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Sergeant Raphael McGauran served as an NCO in Company G, 8th Marines, during the battle of Guadalcanal. On 22 November 1942, the 8th Marines joined units of the Army’s Americal Division in making a series of frontal attacks on a string of hills along the north coast of Guadalcanal. Steep ravines, bare ridges, and tenacious Japanese resistance thwarted the Americans, and after 48 hours the operation was called off. Nearly 40 members of the 8th Marines lost their lives in the futile assault.* In what would be their most fatal day of the campaign, G/2/8th Marines lost eight men killed or missing in action. Sergeant McGauran was one of those know to be dead; he was buried in the field but the location could not later be found. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal |
LAST KNOWN RANK Sergeant |
STATUS OF REMAINS “Buried in the field” |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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* Note: Official sources and several histories report that the 8th Marines suffered nine fatal casualties. However, this number only accounts for those Marines who were buried in the island cemetery. It excludes fully 29 men who were reported missing in action or buried in the field.
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