Robert Lawrence Hall
PFC Robert L. Hall served with the Special Weapons Battery, 4th Defense Battalion. He was killed in a bombing raid at Vella Lavella on 15 August 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 327189
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
DPAA Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Hall participated in the amphibious assault on Vella Lavella on 15 August 1943. His unit came ashore in a supporting wave and was working to establish anti-air defenses when a Japanese air attack materialized over the landing force.
Hall was killed by shrapnel when an aerial bomb landed near his position.
Disposition Of Remains
Robert Hall’s body was found beneath a pile of dirt beside a bomb crater some ten to twelve days after the attack. The remains were reburied in the crater, “to be reinterred at a later date in local military cemetery.”
Unfortunately, Hall’s temporary grave was destroyed before the cemetery could be established. It is likely that the crater was filled in, and any grave marker inadvertently lost.
Service History
Date Of Birth:
28 November 1924
Location Of Birth:
Savannah, NY
Immediate Family:
Parents, Harold & Ruth Hall
Siblings Elizabeth, Dorothy, Richard, James, Harold, and Harvey Clement Hall
Education:
not known
Enlistment Date & Location:
10 December 1941
Syracuse, NY
Initial Training:
Parris Island
Unit & Assignment:
4th Defense Battalion
Special Weapons Battery
Date Of Loss:
15 August 1943
Campaign or Battle:
Amphibious landing on Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands.
Casualty Type:
Killed In Action
Final Rank:
Private First Class
Burial Details:
Buried in bomb crater on Barakoma Beach. Location later lost.
Next Of Kin Notified:
Mother, Mrs. Ruth M. Hall
of 506 Comstock Avenue, Syracuse, NY
CENOTAPHS
Manila American Cemetery & Memorial
Individual Decorations
