William Edwin Schreiner
PFC William E. “Bill” Schreiner served with Able Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal on 10 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 296931
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 15, 1918
at Fremont, NE
Parents
Noel Henry Schreiner
Bessie Elizabeth (Durham) Schneider
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
September 13, 1940
at Denver, CO
Home Of Record
230 East 4th Avenue
Escondido, CA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Elinor Lorraine (Smith) Schreiner
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
After spending several days in reserve positions supporting units of the 164th Infantry Regiment, two battalions of the 2nd Marines were ordered to recommence offensive operations against Japanese troops west of Guadalcanal’s Point Cruz. The terrain was rough and hilly – familiar to combat veterans, but physically taxing. “The day was the hottest I can remember on the ‘Canal,” wrote William Rogal of A/1/2.
The First Battalion’s task was to protect the left flank of the advance; to do this, they needed to control the high ground of a hill about 1000 yards inland from the coast. Their attack kicked off at 0630 and proceeded quietly – albeit slowly – until about 1100.
In due time the word came to move out and we advanced into a heavily wooded valley. The descent into the gorge was uneventful, as was most of the climb up the opposite slope. However, when we reached the crest of the hill and started to move into the tall grass, all hell broke loose.... The Japs then went to work with mortars, dropping round after round on us. I don' t think they wasted a single round either long or short....
Meanwhile, A Company was taking a beating. Richard Gill, William Schreiner,James Majercak, and Amos Gray lay dead. At least ten others were wounded, some very badly.... The Battalion Muster Roll reveals two Corpsmen were killed that day, Alfred Schuler and James Gage, but I have no recollection as to which, if either, was with us. My squad was decimated, with three BAR men down.... We had our asses whipped and withdrew back to the line we kicked off from.
“They sure had our number,” admitted Jim Sorensen, another Company A squad leader. Sorensen recalled that two squads were caught in two-foot-high grass near the crest of the hill, about forty yards from the treeline. “They opened up on us with machine guns and sprayed right down through us – two were hit with that first burst – one was killed.” PFC William Schreiner lost his life to bullet wounds before A/1/2 could disengage and withdraw.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered. In his memoir, Rogal notes “Even retreating wasn’t easy for we didn’t have enough stretchers for the wounded nor enough able-bodied men to get them and our weapons back to the safety of our lines. There was no help for it – we had to leave our dead.”
Schreiner was “presumably buried in the field at place of death” but there is no documented evidence to back up this assumption.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Lorraine Schnieder, and son Myron.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the ambush site of 10 November 1942.
Gallery
Note: At the time of his death, Schreiner was a Private First Class, having lost his corporal rating for unknown reasons on 1 September 1942.