William John Cusack
Sergeant William J. Cusack served with George Company, Second Battalion, 7th Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 9 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 266646
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 1, 1918
at Brooklyn, NY
Parents
Helen G. Cusack
Father’s name unknown. Stepfather, Egidio “Edward” Muto.
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
June 13, 1938
at New York, NY
Home Of Record
261 Corbin Place
Brooklyn, NY
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Helen Cusack
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
G/2/7th Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The Second Battalion, 7th Marines began 9 October 1942 in a bivouac atop a ridge west of Guadalcanal’s Matanikau River. They were soaked and exhausted from the previous day’s hard march in the rain, and still smarting from a firefight that dealt their first combat casualties of the campaign. Early in the morning, Fox Company surprised and wiped out a group of Japanese machine gunners preparing an ambush – but the Japanese returned the favor at 0800 hours, raking Easy Company with concentrated fire and inflicting heavy casualties. A three-hour firefight ensued, with the Japanese finally being driven off by a company from First Battalion, 7th Marines.
George Company, the reserve unit, was instructed to secure Easy Company’s sector, treat the wounded, and bury the dead. Upon receiving orders to return to the Lunga Perimeter, Lt. Col. Herman Hanneken ordered Easy and Fox to wrap up the assault phase, while George would “proceed to the beach with the wounded of this battalion, and three from the First Battalion.” The casualty evacuation mission was by no means easy, and George Company wound up fighting its way back. Six Marines were wounded, and four – including Sergeant William Cusick of Brooklyn, New York – were killed on the route back to Lunga.
Burial Information or Disposition
Encumbered as they were with numerous stretcher cases, George Company could only evacuate one of their KIAs – PFC John W. Louder. Sergeant Cusack and PFCs James M. Lawson, Jr., and Gerald J. McGettrick were buried in the field in two separate locations approximately fifty yards apart.
A post-war search by Army Graves Registration troops located Lawson and McGettrick in 1947; their remains were identified and returned to their families for burial. Although the same troops searched for Sergeant Cusack, they were unable to find any recognizable trace of his grave, and he is still on the list of unaccounted-for Marines.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Helen G. Cusack
Location Of Loss
Sergeant Cusack was killed in the vicinity of modern-day Vavea Ridge.
Please let me know if his remains are ever recovered. He was my mother’s first cousin (his mother and my maternal grandmother were sisters). Thank you very much.
I would like to know if his remains were are ever recovered. He was my great uncle. My grandmother’s brother. My father provided DNA and has since passed away.
I would like to know if his remains are ever recovered. He was my great uncle. My grandmother’s brother. My father provided DNA and has since passed away. My great grandmother (Helen) was his mother.
My grandfather, Walter Dunn was William’s friend from Brooklyn. They went through training together and served in 2nd/7th marines. My grandfather was in E company and mentions Cusack multiple times in his journal. He died when I was 4 so I didn’t get to speak with him about the war. But from reading his war journal he really liked Cusack and was devastated when he was killed.
Tom-thank you for your kind words. My grandmother was his sister. She never got over losing her only brother.
Victoria, there aren’t many details about Cusack in my grandfather’s war journal but he does talk about him on 4 or 5 pages. The day before he was killed, my grandfather mentions that Cusack came down the trail to find him and they had a talk and a laugh. He mentions that he was killed on the 9th and that he finally realized how tired he really was. And even though he was finally relieved to be back behind his own lines he couldn’t sleep thinking of the loss of his friend, Cusack. I wanted to reach out to let you know that if my grandfather’s journal is any indication, Cusack was well liked by the men he served with. If you’d like to see copies of his journal where he mentions him, feel free to email me at flywithtommy@gmail.com