KIA WWII
Elbert was perhaps one of the youngest WWII casualties, being 15 years, 2 months at time of his death.
Cenotaph, there is a marker at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, his name also appears on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Pvt. Elbert Benard Alexander, who died — by official accounts a man and a hero — during the taking of Bougainville in the South Pacific in November 1943. Claiming to be older, 17, Elbert Benard Alexander's tour of honorable duty as a Marine began with a lie. Alexander told recruiters he was 17, born on Dec. 25, 1924. In truth, his birth certificate reveals he was born in Nashville on Christmas Day 1927, making him 14 years old in September 1942, when he raised his right hand and swore to defend his country with his life. Pfc. Marion E. Powell, reported he last saw Alexander by the bodies of the dead Marines. "When we moved out I noticed he joined the column, but left it almost immediately and crossed the trail in the direction of the enemy, evidently seeking out a sniper. The column soon moved out and I lost sight of Alexander in the dense foliage," Powell wrote. Over the next three days, three of the five missing Marines straggled into camp, but Alexander and Pitts were never seen again, and efforts to locate their bodies were unsuccessful. Their remains have never been located.
Company B, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment
3rd Marine Division, FMF
Mother: Etheleen Alexander
937 1/2 Fatherland St
Nashville, Tennessee
Elbert was perhaps one of the youngest WWII casualties, being 15 years, 2 months at time of his death.
Cenotaph, there is a marker at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, his name also appears on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Pvt. Elbert Benard Alexander, who died — by official accounts a man and a hero — during the taking of Bougainville in the South Pacific in November 1943. Claiming to be older, 17, Elbert Benard Alexander's tour of honorable duty as a Marine began with a lie. Alexander told recruiters he was 17, born on Dec. 25, 1924. In truth, his birth certificate reveals he was born in Nashville on Christmas Day 1927, making him 14 years old in September 1942, when he raised his right hand and swore to defend his country with his life. Pfc. Marion E. Powell, reported he last saw Alexander by the bodies of the dead Marines. "When we moved out I noticed he joined the column, but left it almost immediately and crossed the trail in the direction of the enemy, evidently seeking out a sniper. The column soon moved out and I lost sight of Alexander in the dense foliage," Powell wrote. Over the next three days, three of the five missing Marines straggled into camp, but Alexander and Pitts were never seen again, and efforts to locate their bodies were unsuccessful. Their remains have never been located.
Company B, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment
3rd Marine Division, FMF
Mother: Etheleen Alexander
937 1/2 Fatherland St
Nashville, Tennessee
KIA WWII
Elbert was perhaps one of the youngest WWII casualties, being 15 years, 2 months at time of his death.
Cenotaph, there is a marker at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, his name also appears on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Pvt. Elbert Benard Alexander, who died — by official accounts a man and a hero — during the taking of Bougainville in the South Pacific in November 1943. Claiming to be older, 17, Elbert Benard Alexander's tour of honorable duty as a Marine began with a lie. Alexander told recruiters he was 17, born on Dec. 25, 1924. In truth, his birth certificate reveals he was born in Nashville on Christmas Day 1927, making him 14 years old in September 1942, when he raised his right hand and swore to defend his country with his life. Pfc. Marion E. Powell, reported he last saw Alexander by the bodies of the dead Marines. "When we moved out I noticed he joined the column, but left it almost immediately and crossed the trail in the direction of the enemy, evidently seeking out a sniper. The column soon moved out and I lost sight of Alexander in the dense foliage," Powell wrote. Over the next three days, three of the five missing Marines straggled into camp, but Alexander and Pitts were never seen again, and efforts to locate their bodies were unsuccessful. Their remains have never been located.
Company B, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment
3rd Marine Division, FMF
Mother: Etheleen Alexander
937 1/2 Fatherland St
Nashville, Tennessee
Elbert was perhaps one of the youngest WWII casualties, being 15 years, 2 months at time of his death.
Cenotaph, there is a marker at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, his name also appears on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Pvt. Elbert Benard Alexander, who died — by official accounts a man and a hero — during the taking of Bougainville in the South Pacific in November 1943. Claiming to be older, 17, Elbert Benard Alexander's tour of honorable duty as a Marine began with a lie. Alexander told recruiters he was 17, born on Dec. 25, 1924. In truth, his birth certificate reveals he was born in Nashville on Christmas Day 1927, making him 14 years old in September 1942, when he raised his right hand and swore to defend his country with his life. Pfc. Marion E. Powell, reported he last saw Alexander by the bodies of the dead Marines. "When we moved out I noticed he joined the column, but left it almost immediately and crossed the trail in the direction of the enemy, evidently seeking out a sniper. The column soon moved out and I lost sight of Alexander in the dense foliage," Powell wrote. Over the next three days, three of the five missing Marines straggled into camp, but Alexander and Pitts were never seen again, and efforts to locate their bodies were unsuccessful. Their remains have never been located.
Company B, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment
3rd Marine Division, FMF
Mother: Etheleen Alexander
937 1/2 Fatherland St
Nashville, Tennessee
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