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William Frank Seiverling, Jr. was born to William and Grace Seiverling on 22 September 1920 at Elizabethtown, Pa. Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps at
Philadelphia, Pa., on 02 February 1942, he was attached to the Marine Barracks, Parris Island, S.C., for basic training from 03 February to 12 March. He moved to the base at New
River, N.C., on the latter date and served there until 17 May 1942. He began service in the field on 19 June 1942 and, by the following fall, was a BARman with Company "C", 1st
Battalion, Fifth Marines on Guadalcanal, helping to wrest control of that island from the Japanese. Pvt. Seiverling was killed on 01 November 1942 during the enemy attack across
the Matanikau River on that island. When the enemy attacked, Seiverling ran down the hill in the face of enemy fire, killing at least one sniper and perhaps several others. Later,
he covered the evacuation of wounded Marines from his own platoon; and, after hearing that the 2d Platoon was also in trouble, he ran between that unit and the enemy to cover his
comrades' withdrawal. Once again, he killed several Japanese before he himself was hit by enemy machine-gun fire. Though wounded, Pvt. Seiverling continued to deliver a withering
fire into an enemy position with his automatic rifle. As he started back over the ridge to make his own retirement, he was fatally wounded. By nightfall, 27 Marines of C/1/5 were
dead or mortally wounded – one of the highest fatality rates any Marine company suffered in a single action on Guadalcanal. For unselfishly giving his life for his comrades and his
country, Pvt. Seiverling was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, posthumously.
USS William Seiverling (DE 441) (1944-1957) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo courtesy of the web site Missing Marines) |
Mike Smolinski
Clifton, N.J.
Archive Manager
DE / FF / LCS Archive
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