Robert Reginald Townsend

PFC Robert R. Townsend served with the 1st Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO), Fourth Marine Division.
He was killed in action at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 801119
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by DPAA
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 17, 1923
in Elgin, IL
Parents
Archie Leroy Townsend
Vivian Regina (Ziegler) Townsend
Education
Moline High School (1942)
Occupation & Employer
Reynolds Engineering Company
Service Life
Entered Service
January 22, 1943
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
527 39th Street
Moline, IL
Next Of Kin
Parents, Archie & Vivian Townsend
Military Specialty
Radioman
(MOS 776)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Robert Townsend, a veteran of the Marshall Islands, Saipan, and Tinian, made the Iwo Jima landing on 19 February 1945. He survived the first day’s fighting but suffered “multiple wounds [of] body and face” on D+1, possibly from an exploding shell.
The exact circumstances and location of Townsend’s death are not known.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Archie & Vivian Townsend
Location Of Loss
Townsend was last known to be somewhere in the 4th Marine Division sector, Iwo Jima