3rd USMC Dress Green tunic

[AmericanKraut]

I posted some pictures of this in my USMC collection thread, but I want to find out more about the owner of this jacket. There are numbers and his name inside the jacket. I am used to researching US army veterans, but USMC records seem harder to access? Any help would be appriciated, thanks.

[Doomula5000]

The only name I could find that matches up is PFC. George S Haley. He enlisted on April 29th 1942 and trained with the 2nd amphibian tractor battalion in the states before becoming a MOS 745 rifleman and joined company "G" 2nd Battalion 6th Marines 2nd Marine Division. He served on Guadalcanal as a rifleman during the last offensive against remaining Japanese forces on the island. He landed on the island on January 4th 1943 and left the island about six weeks later. A few months later in late 43 he is listed sick at a USNH and he is soon transferred back to the states. I have a researched WW2 uniform to Marine in the same unit and he contracted malaria soon after the same campaign went back to the sates and went to Sea School because he wasn't allow back in tropical areas. The same appears to have happen to PFC Haley, he most likely got sick with malaria or something else because he is not listed with the unit during the battle of Tarawa which was lucky for him. That was a really nasty battle.

Did you add the patch to the uniform?
Is there a ghost patch of a 2nd Marine division patch?
any other names written in the uniform?

Its dated 1940-1941 which makes sense for somebody serving earlier in the war like this guy.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Andrew

[AmericanKraut]

I did not add the patch and it seems period done I found the same name written in 3 different spots and no other names, or traces of a different patch?
He was lucky to get out of Tarawa, I think that is one of the most overlooked battles for how many losses there were....
Could it be a different guy? I cannot think of why he would have had that patch...
One of the numbers inside listed is 100314u
Another is REP.7186TC
and the last one makes no sense 7N162=-oc

Thank you for the help Andrew, What are your sources, can you recomend any for me?

[Doomula5000]

It could have ended up with somebody in the 3rd Marine division and they never renamed it. I have seen some uniforms with two or more names crossed out. George S Haley was the only one that matched up for ww2 muster rolls.

Is the patch hand sewn or machine?

[AmericanKraut]

Hand sewn in matching yellow thread but it does not go the whole way through the uniform, it matches stiching of other period uniforms I have.