Verl Wilson Speer

PFC Verl W. Speer served with HQ Company, Second Battalion, 27th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 832948
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
DPAA has not publicized this information
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 18, 1924
at Wyandotte, MI
Parents
Wilson David Speer
Marsella L. (Parish) Speer
Education
Roosevelt High School (1943)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
March 11, 1943
at Detroit, MI
Home Of Record
14633 Reeck Road
Wyandotte, MI
Next Of Kin
Parents, Wilson & Marsella Speer
Military Specialty
Mortarman
(MOS 607)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Verl Speer enlisted in the spring of 1943 and, after completing boot camp, was outposted for guard duty at the Naval Torpedo Station at Keysport, Washington. After a few months of this duty, he requested Raider training and spent several weeks at the Raider Battalion Training Center at Camp Pendleton. In January 1944, all Raider units were officially disbanded, and scores of proto-Raiders were reassigned to the newly formed 27th Marine Regiment. Speer joined the Second Battalion and, after a few different roles in different companies, became an ammo carrier 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 PFC Speer – 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 parents, Wilson & Marsella Speer
Location Of Loss
The LVT was hit approximately 400 yards from Beach Red One.