Berry, John Edward
Marines

John Edward Berry, age 19, from Burke County Morganton, North Carolina .

Parents: Pinkney T. Berry

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, September 15, 1944
Death details: In September 1944, American forces launched Operation STALEMATE II, the invasion on Peleliu, an island in Palau. On Sept. 15, the 1st Marine Division came ashore under enemy fire. The following day, Marines secured the island’s airfield despite taking heavy casualties. The battle for Peleliu lasted another two months, as Marines were forced to clear heavily fortified pockets of Japanese resistance across the island. The 1st Marine Division, reinforced by the 81st Infantry Division, slowly advanced north under nearly constant mortar and artillery fire. The invasion of Peleliu had the highest casualty rate of all the amphibious Pacific Island invasions of World War II. Private First Class John Edward Berry, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from North Carolina, served with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and took part in Operation STALEMATE II during the invasion of Peleliu Island. PFC Berry was killed by enemy mortar fire on the night of September 15, 1944. A witness reported seeing PFC Berry’s body on the morning of September 19, in bad condition but recognizable. The active battle conditions likely prevented the recovery of his body at the time, and the disposition of his remains is unknown. Further attempts to locate his remains after the war were unsuccessful, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Berry is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Hickory Daily Record (1944)