World War II Honoree
Killed in World War II
Remi August Balduck
Branch of Service
U.S. Marine Corps
Hometown
Detroit, Michigan
Honored By
John Peterson
Promoted to corporal on June 6, 1942, he landed with the 7th Marines on Guadalcanal on September 18, 1942 as that regiment reinforced Marine Corps units already there in the bitter struggle for that island. Assigned to Company 'G', 2nd Battalion, he took part in one of the short, sharp encounters with the Japanese near Koli Point, five miles east of Lunga. On November 9, 1942, although normally a squad leader, he spearheaded his platoon in a frontal assault on a Japanese position, and suffered a fatal wound. For his relentless fighting spirit, maintained in utter disregard for his own safety and for the extraordinary heroism this showed, he was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously. In 1944, the high-speed transport USS Balduck (APD-132) was named in his honor.