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Robert Lewellan Marshman

Corporal Robert L. Marshman served with HQ Company, Second Battalion, 27th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 864569

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

DPAA has not publicized this information

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

April 6, 1925
at Kansas City, KS

Parents

Robert Lewellen Marshman II (d. 1939)
Pearl D. Marshman

Education

Turner High School (1943)

Occupation & Employer

Interstate Collins International Contractors

Service Life

Entered Service

July 9, 1943
at Kansas City, MO

Home Of Record

4410 Independence Avenue
Kansas City, MO

Next Of Kin

Mother, Pearl D. Marshman

Military Specialty

Mortar NCO
(MOS 614)

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Robert Marshman enlisted in the summer of 1943 intending to join the famous Marine Raiders. He nearly achieved his goal, being accepted to the Raider Battalion Training Center at Camp Pendleton – but in January 1944, all Raider units were officially disbanded. Scores of proto-Raiders were reassigned to the newly formed 27th Marine Regiment; Marshman joined HQ Company, Second Battalion, 27th Marines, and became a squad leader in the 81mm mortar platoon.

On 19 February 1945, members of the 81mm and communications platoons boarded their assigned tractor (an LVT(4) of the 11th Amphibian Tractor Battalion) and rumbled down the LST ramp into the sea. They were scheduled to land in the fifth wave – seventeen minutes after the first – and, as support troops, expected a slightly easier time than the rifle companies. Instead, the preceding waves had been enveloped in smoke and flame. The men from HQ/2/27 could plainly see what lay ahead on Beach Red 1.

Japanese artillery started targeting the approaching LVTs. Most of their shells fell harmlessly into the water – but one scored a direct hit on the HQ/2/27 tractor. The LVT sank quickly, and nearby boats picked up a few survivors. Eight men – including Corporal Marshman – were never seen again.

All Marines aboard the LVT were initially reported as missing in action, then declared dead as of 20 February 1946.

Burial Information or Disposition

None; remains lost at sea. A 1948 Graves Registration Service review of the case stated “it is presumed that [he] was killed and carried out into [the] sea by the undertow which prevails in the water surrounding Iwo Jima.”

Next Of Kin Address

Address of mother, Mrs. Pearl Marshman

Location Of Loss

The LVT was hit approximately 400 yards from Beach Red One.

Related Profiles

Members of the Second Battalion, 27th Marines reported non-recoverable from Iwo Jima
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