William Virgo Wilkins
PFC William V. “Bill” Wilkins served with the First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 20 December 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 353902
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 19, 1921
at Kalamazoo, MI
Parents
William Henry Wilkins
Roba Jane (Virgo) Wilkins
Education
Kalamazoo Central High School (1940)
Western Michigan College (ex-1942)
Occupation & Employer
College student
Service Life
Entered Service
January 12, 1942
at Detroit, MI
Home Of Record
1133 S. Westnedge Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Roba J. Wilkins
Military Specialty
Intelligence
Primary Unit
HQ/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC William V. Wilkins served with the intelligence section (Bn-2) of the First Battalion, 2nd Marines, during the Solomon Islands campaign. A former engineering student, Wilkins was occasionally called upon to carry out specialized surveys, possibly in an effort to improve the dire condition of American maps on Guadalcanal
At dawn on 20 December 1942, Second Lieutenant Edwin L. Schwaner led his platoon of A/1/2 on a short patrol into Japanese territory. PFC Wilkins was instructed to accompany the patrol, presumably serving in his specific intelligence capacity. Unfortunately, the routine patrol turned out to be a disaster.
Patrolling on the 'Canal was a nerve-racking experience. The jungle afforded the Japs perfect cover and made it impossible for the patrol to move silently enough to achieve surprise. As a result the first thing that alerted you to the presence of the enemy was the killing or wounding of one or more of your men in the point of the patrol. Then you had a helova time getting the wounded or dead out from under the muzzles of the gunners who shot them.
Two of my friends… were members of a patrol that ran in to a Jap ambush manned with Nambu light machine guns. Instantly, four of the men were hit and down. When the corpsman [PhM2c Robert B. Anderson] went to their aid he was mortally wounded. Two of the downed Marines [Charles A. Sauer and William V. Wilkins] were dead….
The patrol’s efforts to recover the three bodies were repulsed. I was doubly chagrined at this happening because it was my platoon’s corpsman that died that day. He had been ‘borrowed’ to fill in for [another] corpsman, who was ill.
Schwaner’s patrol returned to American lines at 1700 hours, reporting one KIA (Sauer), two wounded, and Anderson and Wilkins missing. According to official reports, the two men were “last seen receiving MG fire,” and Anderson was known to be wounded in the arm. Neither Anderson nor Wilkins was ever seen alive again; both were declared dead on 21 December 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition
While fairly accurate map coordinates were listed for the clash that killed Sauer, Anderson, and Wilkins, their remains were never located during the battle or subsequent years of occupation. A search made in 1947 visited “Grid Coordinates (68.8 – 198.4) and described “the wooded slope of a small grassy knoll…. Former machine gun emplacements were found in the ravine below the hill, but no bodies were found.”
Two years later, in October 1949, engineers working on “Mataniko Ridge” discovered the skeletal remains of two men buried in a single grave. Among the bones and debris of pistol belts, rusted canteens, and a broken harmonica, were two identification tags for SAUER, C. A 315668. One of the men was determined to be Sauer; he was officially accounted for in 1950, and buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
The other man, designated Guadalcanal Isolated Burial X-39, could not be identified. He was described as being 17-19 years old, weighing between 130-150 pounds, and standing about five-foot-nine. He too was buried in Honolulu, under an “Unknown” marker in Section P, Grave 483.
It is likely that this individual is either Pharmacist’s Mate Anderson or PFC Wilkins. If you are related to one of these servicemen, please contact us.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, William & Roba Wilkins.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the patrol clash where Sauer, Anderson, and Wilkins were killed.
