World War II Honoree

Nicholas Joseph Gojmerac

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Kansas City, Kansas

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. He was inducted into the United States Marine Corps January 7, 1942 at Kansas City, Missouri. His boot camp training took place with the Ninth Recruit Battalion Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base in San Diego, California. Later he completed his Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. Served as a Rifleman with the First Marine Raider Regiment in the Southwestern Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Dog Company and Fourth Marine Raider Battalion. His regiment participated in the amphibious assault on the island of New Georgia, (Battle Dates: June 20-August 25, 1943) Code Name: Operation Cartwheel, Solomon Islands. Killed in action July 20, 1943 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces, and buried in the United States Armed forces cemetery #5 Finschaffen, British New Guinea as an unknown. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the remains were transferred to Honolulu and interred as an unknown in the National memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. In August of 2018, the Defense Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency in Honolulu disinterred this unknown from Punchbowl. The remains were transferred to their laboratory for analysis, where he was identified. The family of this Marine received his remains for burial. He was laid to rest with Military Honors, April 12, 2019 at the Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. The Distinguished Service Cross awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an enemy force. The Purple Heart was awarded for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.