Steve Anthony Kida
Private Steve A. Kida served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 3rd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at the battle of Piva Forks, Bougainville, on 22 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 480937
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 2, 1918
at Kewanee, IL
Parents
Johannes “Jan” Kida (d. 1931)
Anna (Nędza) Kida
Education
Grammar school
Occupation & Employer
Foundry worker
Walworth Manufacturing Company
Service Life
Entered Service
November 10, 1942
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
104 North Boss Street
Kewanee, IL
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Anna Kida
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
E/2/3rd Marines
Campaigns Served
Bougainville
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Steve Kida fought in the Bougainville campaign with Easy Company, 3rd Marines. He was a relatively new man in the outfit, having joined as a replacement less than a month before the amphibious assault at Cape Torokina. Kida and his comrades participated in several combat patrols in early November 1943, helping expand the American beachhead and guarding against Japanese incursions. A significant battle commenced on 19 November as American and Japanese forces fought bitterly over a series of roadblocks set up along the Numa-Numa and East-West trails near the Piva River. Kida’s 3rd Marines were heavily engaged for several days.
On 22 November, the Second Battalion 3rd Marines conducted a “reconnaissance in force” along the eastern fork of the Piva River and ran into a Japanese strong point – as many as 20 pillboxes or earthworks, positioned in depth. The Marines got through the first line, but supporting positions held up the advance. After five hours of fighting, 2/3rd Marines was ordered to withdraw so that artillery could be called in on the bunker complex. The Easy Company skipper, Captain George W. Coupe, Jr., complied reluctantly – five of his men, including Private Kida, were “left for dead behind enemy lines.”
One of the “dead” Marines, PFC Charles Bullis, returned to friendly lines the following day – with an incredible story to tell.
The group [of eight Marines] became separated when it fired on English-speaking Japs and ran into withering machine-gun and rifle fire. It was after 4 PM and dusk fell. PFC Bullis and the others, some wounded, were attacked by the enemy. Lying in the brush in front of pillboxes, they were warned to play dead.
The Japs came out and kicked the Marine bodies around. One Leatherneck [PFC Walter C. Walker] jumped up and ran. He was killed. A sergeant [Albert N. Yuhasz] moaned and was machine gunned, along with a Navy corpsman [PhM3c James L. Lee, Jr.]. Bullis was turned over, his face in a pool of water. He nearly drowned. The Japs washed in a nearby stream. When they left, Bullis noted a wounded Marine nearby. He covered him with leaves near a big tree, which he marked in his mind.
The wounded Marine was Private Steve Kida. Captain Coupe sent Bullis back out with a fifteen-man rescue patrol, but when they reached the tree, Kida was gone. Japanese troops opened fire on the rescuers, scattering the Marines who fell back to their lines without finding any clues as to Kida’s whereabouts.
On 25 November, American troops overran the bunker complex. Three Easy Company bodies were found – Walker, Yuhasz, and corpsman Lee – but nothing more was ever seen of Steve Kida. He was ultimately declared dead on 23 November 1944.
Burial Information or Disposition
None reported; no identifiable remains recovered.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Anna Kida.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of Kugubikopai Village, nearest landmark to the patrol.
