Robert Burns Anderson
Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Robert B. “Bob” Anderson served with the First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 20 December 1942.
Branch
Navy Regular
Service Number 321 37 13
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 19, 1920
at Fargo, ND
Parents*
Robert MacGregor Anderson
Lillian A. (Bell) Anderson (d. 1934)
Education
Independence High School (1939)
Occupation & Employer
Recent graduate
*Note: Anderson was estranged from his father, and lived on the farm of Cleo Lincoln Hall from the age of fifteen until he entered the service.
Service Life
Entered Service
December 6, 1939
at Des Moines, IA
Home Of Record
Lonetree, IA
Next Of Kin
Guardian, Cleo L. Hall
Military Specialty
Hospital Corpsman
Primary Unit
First Battalion, 2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Previous service with Company A, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Pharmacist’s Mate Robert Anderson joined the First Battalion, 2nd Marines (Reinforced) on 4 December 1942, during the battle for Guadalcanal. He had previously served in a relatively safe amphibian tractor unit; now, with a front-line infantry unit, he split his time between the battlion aid station and a platoon in Able Company.
At dawn on 20 December 1942, Second Lieutenant Edwin L. Schwaner led his platoon of A/1/2 on a short patrol into Japanese territory. Schwaner’s regular corpsman was down sick, and Bob Anderson was tapped to accompany the combat patrol. Even a fairly “routine” operation like this came with inherent dangers, as veteran William Rogal describes:
Patrolling on the 'Canal was a nerve-racking experience. The jungle afforded the Japs perfect cover and made it impossible for the patrol to move silently enough to achieve surprise. As a result the first thing that alerted you to the presence of the enemy was the killing or wounding of one or more of your men in the point of the patrol. Then you had a helova time getting the wounded or dead out from under the muzzles of the gunners who shot them.
Two of my friends… were members of a patrol that ran in to a Jap ambush manned with Nambu light machine guns. Instantly, four of the men were hit and down. When the corpsman [PhM2c Robert B. Anderson] went to their aid he was mortally wounded. Two of the downed Marines [Charles A. Sauer and William V. Wilkins] were dead….
The patrol’s efforts to recover the three bodies were repulsed. I was doubly chagrined at this happening because it was my platoon’s corpsman that died that day. He had been ‘borrowed’ to fill in for [another] corpsman, who was ill.
Schwaner’s patrol returned to American lines at 1700 hours, reporting one KIA (Sauer), two wounded, and Anderson and Wilkins missing. According to official reports, the two men were “last seen receiving MG fire,” and Anderson was known to be wounded in the arm. Neither Anderson nor Wilkins was ever seen alive again; both were declared dead on 21 December 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition
It is likely that this individual is either Pharmacist’s Mate Anderson or PFC Wilkins. If you are related to one of these servicemen, please contact us.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Knox City Cemetery, Myrtle Township, Missouri
Note: significant discrepancies in date of birth and death on Knox City Cemetery marker, conflicting with military records and birth certificate below.
Next Of Kin Address
Anderson lived with the Hall family from 1936-1939; Cleo Hall became his legal guardian in 1937.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the patrol clash where Sauer, Anderson, and Wilkins were killed.
