Chapman, Robert D.
Army Private 1st class

Robert D. Chapman, age 35, from Franklin County Ohio.

Spouse: Mildred Bell
Children: Mary Ann Louise Chapman

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 First Class Robert D. Chapman, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with the 22nd Portable Surgical Hospital. He was killed in action on November 16, 1942, near the Buna combat area, when Japanese troops sank the boats bringing the 22nd Portable Surgical Hospital closer to the fighting. Private First Class Chapman’s body could not be recovered from the Buna swamps following the incident. Today, Private First Class Chapman is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Indianapolis Star (1944)