World War II Honoree
Killed in World War II
Harry Clark Morrissey
Branch of Service
U.S. Marine Corps
Hometown
Camden, New Jersey
Honored By
Orville L. Kline
Rank: Private First Class. Inducted into the United States Marine Corps September 4, 1940 at Boston, Massachusetts, completing basic training with the First Recruit Battalion Recruit Depot; Marine Barracks Parris Island, South Carolina. Upon his graduation from Boot Camp, he was transferred to Camp Geiger, North Carolina for combat training. Following infantry training, he served as a Rifleman with Bravo Company, First Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment a subordinate unit of the First Marine ‘the Old Breed’ Division Location: Southwestern Pacific Theater of Operations. His Division participated in the amphibious assault against the Imperial Japanese forces on Guadalcanal Island (Battle Dates: August 7, 1942-February 9, 1943) Solomon Islands Campaign, Code Name: Operation Watchtower. Friday, October 9, 1942 he was mortally wounded, during a reconnaissance patrol on the Cruz Peninsula, and his Brothers-in-Arms buried him in the field. In the post-war era, personnel from a Graves Registration Company, conducted recovery operations on Guadalcanal, and his remains were not recovered. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Location: Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippine Islands. A local resident, who resided on the island, discovered a burial grave in October of 2013, containing some remains, American military gear and other artifacts, and notified the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency in Hawaii. Personnel from the Agency transferred the remains to their Honolulu’s laboratory for analysis, where he was identified. His family requested that he be buried with Military Honors at Arlington National Cemetery Location: Fort Myer Arlington, Virginia, with interment September 22, 2020. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.