19May1929- 24Sep1950
Edison Days
George attended Edison but did not graduate. No documentation of his time at Edison has been found to date.
Military Service
Rank: Private First Class
Branch: United States Marine Corps
Unit: Company D – 2nd Battalion – 5th Marine Regiment – 1st Marine Division
George enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on 1Oct1948. After basic training he reportedly spent time training in Flint, MI. He next spent 1 year stationed on the island of Guam.
Marine Corps muster rolls put George in the following places.
October 1949, Company A – 1st Engineering Battalion – 1st Marine Division at Guam.
April 1950, Company A – 1st Engineering Battalion – 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California.
On 16Jun1950 George married Delores Geisenhaver in San Diego, California. It is believed that George met Delores while in Flint, MI.
On 14Jul1950 George and the rest of his unit boarded the the USS Pickaway transport ship bound for Korea.
At some point after arriving in Korea, it appears is if George was transferred from the 1st Engineering Battalion to Company D – 2nd Battalion – 5th Marine Regiment. The 5th Marines needed men to replace losses suffered at Pusan.
George and his unit participated in the amphibious landing at Inchon on 15Sep195o.
The following excerpts are from the historical diary of the 1st Marine Division for September 1950
15Sep1950 – The battalion landed in the assault at INCHON, Korea. The following casualties were sustained: seven (7) men killed in action, forty one (41) men wounded and evacuated, and three (3) men sick evacuated. The battalion rear administrative echelon remained aboard the USS CAVALIER as part of the ship’s platoon.
16Sep1950 – The following casualty was sustained: One (1) man wounded and evacuated.
Fifty-seven (57} POWs and one (1) officer captured.
17Sep1950 – KIMPO AIRFIELD captured this date; The following casualties were sustained: One (l) man wounded and evacuated and two (2) men sick evacuated. Eleven (11) POWs captured.
18Sep1950 – The following casualties were sustained: Tw0 (2) men killed in action, six (6) men wounded and evacuated, and eight (g) men sick evacuated. Eighty (80) POWs were captured.
19Sep1950 – Two (2) men were evacuated as sick. One (1) man joined as a replacement.
20Sep1950 – The battalion rear administrative echelon debarked from the USS CAVALIER. and rejoined the regimental rear administrative unit. One hundred (150) POWs captured. The following casualties were sustained: Two (2) men wounded and evacuated and four (4) men sick evacuated. Unit supplies were transported across the HAN River on LVTs.
21Sep1950 – The following casualties were sustained: One (1) killed in action, three (3) men wounded and evacuated and nine (9) men sick evacuated. Forty-four (44) POWs were captured. This unit’s two and one half (2-1/2) ton trucks crossed the HAN River by ferry and rejoined the unit.
22Sep1950 – The following casualties were sustained: Four (4) men wounded and evacuated, and ten (10) men sick evacuated. Three (3) communist agents and seven (7) FOWs captured.
23Sep1950 – The following casualties were sustained: Fifteen (15) men killed in action, forty three (43) wounded in action and evacuated, and (6) men sick evacuated. One (1) POW captured.
After 9 days of fighting, 24Sep1950 would be the deadliest day of the month for the 1st Division.
George was 1 of the 48 men killed in action that day when he was struck down by an enemy artillery shell. George’s remains were returned home to Minnesota for burial.
George is buried at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Edison Heroes 