Shackelford, Benjamin J.
Army Private

Benjamin J. Shackelford from Arkansas, Washington county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, June 6, 1944
Death details: On May 17, 1944, U.S. and Chinese troops began the siege of Myitkyina, Burma. The town, which was occupied by the Japanese, possessed a strategically vital airstrip that would allow supplies and aerial support to reach troops fighting in difficult jungle terrain of the China-Burma-India Theater. While Chinese units comprised the majority of the ground combat troops, the U.S. Army’s 5307th Composite Unit, also known as Merrill’s Marauders, was also active in the fighting. The Japanese were able to defend the town until August 3, 1944, when their remaining men were ordered to withdraw. Hard fighting, difficult terrain, and the outbreak of disease led to significant casualties among the Chinese and American units that fought to take control of the town. Private Benjamin J. Shackelford entered the U.S. Army from Arkansas and served in the 236th Engineer Combat Battalion. During the fighting in and around Myitkyina, the 236th Battalion spent 59 days on the front lines as infantry, in constant contact with the enemy. Private Shackelford was killed on July 6, 1944, near the village of Namkwi, Burma. The exact circumstances of his loss are unknown. His remains have not been recovered or identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private Shackelford is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency