In Robert Leckie’s memoir Helmet for My Pillow, he describes the first day on Guadalcanal. He mentions that while the day was relatively uneventful in terms of combat, they had already lost one man. He writes:
"The first day had passed without event, though we had lost one man. He had been wide on the flank of our advancing column and had simply disappeared."
This has always stuck with me. The idea of a man simply vanishing the jungle without a sound or a trace is terrifying. For years, I wondered who he was.
I finally decided to do some digging. That is when I found the profile for Corporal James A. “Jimmy” McCutcheon on the Missing Marines website. https://missingmarines.com/james-a-mccutcheon/
The details match up almost perfectly:
- Date: McCutcheon went missing on August 7, 1942, the very first day of the invasion.
- He was then reported as missing on August 8, 1942 when he did not rejoin his unit.
- Units: He was with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines.
- Robert Leckie was in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines.
- The Circumstances: McCutcheon disappeared while the battalion was moving inland. He disappeared into the dense growth and never rejoined his unit.
Is this the Marine that Robert Leckie mentions?
If so...it’s incredibly somber to put a name to the missing man mentioned in his memoir. McCutcheon was only 23 years old. He was never found, and he remains listed as Missing in Action to this day.
Finding this possible connection has left me with questions about what actually happened to him:
- Was he captured by the Japanese?
- Did he simply die of exhaustion but was never found?
Note: I originally posted this in r/ThePacific but thought more people should know about it and have an open discussion.
Sources:
- Leckie, Robert. Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific. Kindle Edition, 2010. Chapter III: Warrior
- James A. McCutcheon Profile via MissingMarines.com
