DOB/DOD: January 8, 1925 (Huntington, WV) – March 9, 1945; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Unknown. His brothers Clarence and Alonzo lived in New Haven, Connecticut, in the 1940s.
ENLISTMENT: October 19, 1943, in Springfield, Massachusetts
SERVICE NUMBER: 906828
UNIT: 31st Replacement Draft, 5th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0521, Basic Marine
FAMILY: Both the 1930 and 1940 censuses show the entire family was born in West Virginia and never moved. Born to Alonzo Sr. (1885-1937) and Anna Koher Moreland (1892-1983). Sixth born of nine children. Siblings are Clarence (1909-1959), Marion (1911-1991), Karl (1913-1988), Bernice (1915-1971), Mercedes (1919-2001), Alonzo Jr. (1921-1993), Standard (1923-1984), Lyle (1926-2008), Lewis (1928-1978), Anna (1930-1930), Betty (1932-2010), Hugh (1933-1959), and Lloyde (1936-1980). Private Moreland’s father died when Don was 12 years old. 1
OTHER: When Private Moreland registered for the draft on January 8, 1943, he listed his employer as Mountain Café in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. His mother, Anna, was living in Huntington, West Virginia, and is listed as his next of kin. 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, in January 1944. In April 1944, he was charged with being Absent Without Leave from April 22 to 26, 1944. When he reported to Pittsburgh, he was apprehended and transported to Quantico, Virginia. He was confined for 2 months and lost pay of $25.00 per month for 6 months. 4 In October 1944, he was assigned to the Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and then on to the 5th Marine Division, 31st Replacement Draft. Awarded the Purple Heart Medal. 3
Photo from the Huntington (West Virginia) Herald-Dispatch on April 16, 1948. Contributed by Debra Basham, Assistant Director for Archives and History, West Virginia.
Photo from Private Moreland’s service record. Contributed by Debra Basham, Assistant Director of History and Archives, West Virginia.
From an unknown newspaper contributed by Debra Basham, Assistant Director of Archives and History for the State of West Virginia.
WAR VETERAN’S BODY ARRIVES HERE FRIDAY
Funeral arrangements had not been completed this morning for Private Don D. Moreland, USMC, the 20-year-old son of Mrs. Etta L. Moreland, of 1214 ½ Third Avenue, who was killed on Iwo Jima in March 1945. The body will arrive at the Steele Funeral Home on Friday morning. Private Moreland enlisted in the Marine Corps and went overseas in November 1944. Surviving in addition to the mother, are three sisters, Miss Bernice Moreland of Cincinnati, Miss Mercedes Moreland of Atlanta, and Miss Betty Moreland at home, and nine brothers, Carl, Louis, Hugh, and Lloyd Moreland of Huntington, Clarence Moreland of New Haven, Connecticut, Marion Moreland of Hartford, Connecticut, Alonzo C. Moreland with the U.S. Army at Trieste, Italy, Lyle Moreland of Puerto Rico, and Standard Moreland of Cincinnati.
Initially buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Plot 7, Row 6, Grave 1829. At his mother’s request, his remains were repatriated for burial in 1948 in Spring Hill Cemetery, 1427 Norway Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia; Plot 1918-40-1. Photo contributed by Eldora McCoy, an employee at Spring Hill Cemetery.
1 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
2 – https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238/
3 – Transmittal Of and/or Entitlement To Awards Form dated October 12, 1983, contributed by Debra Basham, Assistant Director of Archives and History for the State of West Virginia.
4 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/