William Bainbridge
Corporal William Bainbridge served with the regimental intelligence (R-2) section of the 5th Marines.
He was killed in action while securing help for the “Goettge Patrol” at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 13 August 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 270005
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 22, 1921
at Newark, NJ
Parents
William Bainbridge
Emma (Riley) Bainbridge
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
February 1, 1939
at Elizabeth, NJ
Home Of Record
1210 Howard Street
Hillside, NJ
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Emma E. Bainbridge
Military Specialty
Combat Intelligence
Primary Unit
HQ, 5th Marines
R-2 Section
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal William Bainbridge served with the regimental intelligence (R-2) section of the 5th Marines during the campaign for the Solomon Islands.
On the afternoon of 12 August 1942, Colonel Frank B. Goettge – the 1st Marine Division intelligence officer (D-2) – ordered a reconnaissance patrol of an area west of Point Cruz. Goettge was led to believe that the local Japanese garrison was starving and wanted to surrender; he hoped to capture prisoners and simultaneously scout and map the area beyond the Marine perimeter. To accomplish this mission, the colonel gathered two dozen trained specialists and placed himself in command.
The patrol was a disaster from the outset. After departing Kukum in total darkness, the Marines landed in the wrong place – and after grounding their boat on a sandbar, came ashore just west of the Matanikau River. A determined Japanese guard force pinned the patrol on the beach near Horahi Village, and picked off the Marines one by one.
With Colonel Goettge dead and the patrol in serious trouble, Captain Wilfred H. Ringer, Jr. assumed command. They had no radio to call for help, so the captain was forced to send runners. Sergeant Charles Arndt opted to swim out from the beach; when he exchanged fire with Japanese troops, Ringer asked for another volunteer. Corporal Bainbridge took off along the beach, hoping to remain undetected.
In all, four Marines escaped the constricting perimeter – but only three reached the safety of American lines: two runners (Arndt and Corporal Joseph Spaulding) and Platoon Sergeant Frank Few, who swam for dear life after all of his comrades were killed. William Bainbridge never arrived; he was reported as missing in action as of 13 August 1942.
Burial Information or Disposition
Bainbridge was spared the horrific massacre that befell the rest of the Goettge Patrol victims. His body was found all alone, floating in the Matanikau River, with a gunshot wound in the chest. A group from the 5th Marines recovered the remains, positively identified Bainbridge, and wrapped him in a poncho. The young corporal from Hillside was buried in an isolated grave on the west bank of the Matanikau, a few steps from the main trail to Horahi.
Casualty reports state that Bainbridge’s body was interred either “on [the] beach at the mouth of the Matanikau River” or on a “sandspit between river and sea.” Veteran testimony indicates that the actual location was slightly farther inland. Sources also differ on the date when he was found – either 13 August, immediately after the patrol, or 18 August after the First Battle of the Matanikau.
William Bainbridge was the only member of the Goettge Patrol to be buried by American troops, and the only one officially reported as killed in action – his comrades were all “missing.” To date, his gravesite has not been located, and likely remains somewhere beneath the modern-day city of Honiara.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Emma Bainbridge.
Location Of Loss
The Goettge Patrol was ambushed near the western bank of the Matanikau.
Gallery
Goettge Patrol Casualties
Missing in action 12-13 August 1942.
Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal
Frank Few lay in his foxhole, wishing the daylight away. Warm seawater swirled into his foxhole, turning pinkish as it mingled with the blood seeping from his chest and arm. Sand was everywhere—stuck to the Japanese blood on his clothes, in his eyes, in the Reising gun he borrowed from Monk and which would only fire single shots. Few counted out his remaining rounds and stuffed them into his mouth to keep the sand and salt water away. Occasionally, a bullet snapped
overhead, as if he needed a reminder to keep his head down.
Trapped in a flooding foxhole, wounded, almost out of ammunition, with the sun coming up. It could not get much worse: “The hell with this for a lark,” he thought.
Read more about the Goettge Patrol in "Leaving Mac Behind."
Click the cover for details.
Years ago early 1980’s there was a Leatherneck magazine [blue with a drawing of a WW II Marine fighter] there was a short article of a Dpaa.mil excavation near the {Matanikau [?] and the remains of 1 USMC recovered. Sorry cant remember year number….