Green, George
Army Private

George Green from Clark County Wisconsin.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, November 16, 1943
Death details: In November 1942, the U.S. Army’s 32nd Infantry Division regained control of Buna, Papua New Guinea, with its goal of neutralizing an enemy threat to Port Moresby and, ultimately, to the Australian mainland itself. The rugged terrain that the soldiers faced was fiercely defended by Japanese troops and included tidal swamplands with a labyrinth of camouflaged trenches and bunkers. In December 1942, when the 32nd Infantry Division was reinforced with Australian soldiers, Buna finally fell to the Allies; however, malaria and other tropical diseases contributed to a high number of casualties and deaths for the 32nd Infantry Division. Private George Green, who joined the U.S. Army from Wisconsin, was a member of the Headquarters Company of the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, which took part in the U.S. action on Buna. He was killed in action against the enemy on November 16, 1942, following his unit’s landing on the New Guinea Coast. Private Green’s remains could not be recovered at the time of loss, and attempts to locate them following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Private Green is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency