Ray Frank Costello
PFC Ray N. Costello served with Negate (N) Company, 4th Marine Raider Battalion.
He died of wounds suffered in action at Vangunu Island, New Georgia, on 30 June – 1 July 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 465649
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 14, 1924
at Ottowa, IL
Parents
Thomas F. Costello
Florence Anna (Henson) Costello
Education
Morris Community High School (1942)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
September 10, 1942
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
402 West Jackson Street
Morris, IL
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Thomas Costello
Military Specialty
Raider
Primary Unit
N/4th Raider Battalion
Campaigns Served
New Georgia / Vangunu
Individual Decorations
Distinguished Service Cross (Army Award)
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Ray Costello served with Company N, 4th Raider Battalion during the opening stages of the New Georgia campaign.
On 30 June 1943, two Raider companies (N and Q) landed at Olana Bay, Vangunu, under cover of darkness. Heavy seas and poor visibility fouled the operation; Raiders landed at scattered points along seven miles of coastline and had to race to catch up with 2/103rd Infantry, their partners for the operation. A tough march over rain-sodden trails and flooded streams brought the Americans to the banks of the Kaeruka River; here, they would pivot to the right and sweep towards the coast, trapping the resident Japanese garrison with their backs against the sea.
The attack jumped off at 1405 hours and met no opposition for about fifteen minutes. As Company Q reached a bend in the river, they began taking fire from Japanese soldiers hidden in trees and spider holes.
It was like a battle under water, with all the sounds muffled by the damp air, rotting trees, and squashy earth. In the green-colored light, objects were first dimmed, then bloated. Bullets whistled wetly through the air or buried themselves with hardly a sound in the porridge-like earth or in wood so rotten that men, clawing at it to pull themselves along, found it coming away in their hands like fungus. Explosions made plopping noises as the rain fell, sometimes dripping, sometimes pelting, with whispery sounds of water splashing into water. The only visible movement of animal life was the red-wattled, unwieldy carrion birds that came cautiously to the scene and fluttered away nervously from the burst of gunfire, but remained within sight of what they could claim as their harvest.
Soon, Company Q found its left flank threatened by positions on the far bank of the Kaeruka. Rather than leave the flank exposed – or give Japanese troops an opportunity to infiltrate behind the American advance – both Raider companies were ordered across the river to deal with the defenders. Queen Company suffered several casualties but managed to ford the river and establish a hold on the far bank. The Japanese responded furiously, and laced the eastern bank with interlocking machine gun fire.
Only one squad from Nan Company managed to cross the river. Ray Costello was at the forefront.
We were held up by three machine guns across a small river. Immediately [PFC Franklin T.] Kelley, who was your brother's squad leader, took three men across the river after one of the nests. All four were hit. Kelley and two men were killed immediately but your brother managed to get across the river and out of the line of fire of the gun and just below it on the bank. The gun was well dug in and the only way we could knock it out was with anti-tank grenades.
Although Ray was wounded and in grave danger of being hit by the grenades, he directed our fire by passing back information on how many feet the grenades were missing the emplacement. This enabled us to knock out the gun. Still, we could not get to your brother because the other two guns were still in action and were sweeping the river.
A Raider corpsman, HA1c Leonard J. Pelton, splashed across the river to bandage Costello’s wounds. The two men made it back to the friendly bank – “why they weren’t hit, I don’t know,” commented Captain Snell – and Ray was laid out on a stretcher. Bullets were still flying, and a “dum dum” clipped Ray’s leg on the way to the aid station. “This caused a severe wound on his leg,” explained Captain Snell. “He lost quite a bit of blood before a tourniquet could be applied. He was given morphine and sulfa… but that wasn’t enough to prevent shock. Night had fallen and the Japs had cut us off from the battalion aid station where the plasma was. We had to wait until next morning.”
Ray Costello lived through the night, but died of his wounds before reaching the aid station. He received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for his actions along the Kareuka River – becoming one of 31 Marines honored with this Army decoration.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Private First Class Ray Frank Costello (MCSN: 465649), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy as a member of Company N, FOURTH Marine Raider Battalion in action against the enemy Japanese forces at Viru Village, Vangunu, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, on 1 July 1943. Until he lost consciousness from the wounds which caused his death, Private Costello lay in the path of heavy enemy fire between his own lines and those of the enemy and courageously called out directions of fire to his comrades. His heroic actions were responsible for the safe temporary withdrawal of his platoon. The outstanding heroism and skill displayed by Private First Class Costello on this occasion reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Burial Information or Disposition
The next morning, Marine and Army forces completed the capture of Kaeruka, Vura, and Wickham Anchorage. Taking this ground cost the lives of twelve Marine Raiders and ten soldiers of the 103rd Infantry. One hundred and twenty Japanese bodies were counted in the area.
That same day, American troops buried their dead. Casualty records for the twelve fallen Marines include the same notation: “buried at Wickham Anchorage, Vangunu Island, Solomon Islands.” It is not clear if a temporary cemetery was established, or if men were buried in individual graves where they fell.
In early 1945, Graves Registration personnel visited Wickham Anchorage to look for field burials. At least six Marines and nine soldiers were relocated to the New Georgia Cemetery in March; later that year, they were moved again to Cemeteries #4 and #5 at Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea.
PFC Costello may be among the dozens of Finschhafen remains still awaiting identification – or he may still lie on Vangunu in an isolated grave.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Thomas & Florence Costello.
Location Of Loss
Area of the 30 June – 1 July battle for Wickham Anchorage.
Gallery
Related Profiles
Buried at Wickham Anchorage, but not accounted for.
Private Andrew H. Watson, 103rd Infantry, is also unaccounted for.