Thaddeus Szczepanski
Corporal Thaddeus “Ted” Szczepanski served with HQ Company, Second Battalion, 27th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.
Note: Not to be confused with PFC Thaddeus Peter Szczepanski of Buffalo, NY (26th Infantry Regiment) KIA 31 January 1945 in Belgium.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 806256
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
DPAA has not publicized this information
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
September 20, 1924
at Buffalo, NY
Parents
Stanley Szczepanski
Amelia (Duchnik) Szczepanski
Education
St. Florian’s School
Buffalo Technical High School
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
January 19, 1943
at Buffalo, NY
Home Of Record
60 Pavonia Street
Buffalo, NY
Next Of Kin
Parents, Stanley & Amelia Szczepanski
Military Specialty
Field Lineman
(MOS 641)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Thaddeus Szczepanski “could hardly wait to get into service,” and left school to join the Marine Corps in January 1943. He attended field communications schools at Camp Lejeune, the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and Camp Pendleton before being assigned to the comms platoon of HQ/2/27th Marines as a telephone lineman.
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 Szczpanski – 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.”
Memorials
Honolulu Memorial, Courts Of The Missing
Note: photo with this memorial is Thaddeus Peter Szczepanski, US Army.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Stanley & Amelia Szczepanski
Location Of Loss
The LVT was hit approximately 400 yards from Beach Red One.
