DOB/DOD: August 24, 1924 (Scranton, PA) – February 24, 1945; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Mulberry Street, Plantsville
ENLISTMENT: July 17, 1942, in Springfield, Massachusetts, at 17 years old
SERVICE NUMBER: 422332
UNIT: Company K, 3rd Battalion, 21st Marines, 3rd Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0737, Fire Team Leader
FAMILY: Born “Moon” but changed it to “Moone” before enlisting in the Marines. Born to Ralph R. (1902-1964) and Edith Cunningham Moon (1900-1962). Oldest of four children. Siblings are Shirley Moon Lucier (1925-1988), Ralph Jr. (1931-2001), and Beverly Moon Edmiston (1936-2013). 1
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, in the Summer of 1942. Assigned to the Fleet Marine Force Training Center, New River, North Carolina, in October 1942. From there, he spent the rest of his time with the 3rd Marine Division, 21st Marines, 3rd Battalion, Company K. 4 Cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. 3 Corporal Robert Moone and PFC William Malizewski of Stamford, Connecticut, were in the same company and died on the same day.
Photo from ancestry.com with his mother. 2
From The Journal, Meriden January 17, 1949
The body of Corporal Robert Richard Moone, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Moone of Mulberry Street, Plantsville, will arrive in Meriden at 2:07 p.m. on Thursday, January 20, and will be brought to the Gould Funeral Home, 130 North Main Street, Southington, where friends may call on Thursday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. The body will lie in state in the Plantsville Congregational Church on Friday, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. Funeral service, with full military honors, will be at 2 o’clock, with Rev Norman McLeod officiating. Burial will take place in the family plot at South End Cemetery, Southington. Besides his parents, he is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Gerard Lucier and Miss Beverly Moone, and a brother, Ralph Moone Jr., all of Southington, and a grandmother, Mrs. Emma Moone of Newark, New Jersey. Corporal Moone was a member of the Plantsville Congregational Church and attended Lewis High School for two years. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 1, 1942, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was sent to Parris Island for his basic training and then was sent to San Diego, California, for further training. As a member of the Third Division, 21st Marines, he was sent to New Zealand, Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima, where he met his death at Iwo Jima on February 24, 1945.
From The Southington News January 28, 1949
FINAL TRIBUTE PAID BY TOWN TO CPL MOONE
Full military honors were accorded to Corporal Robert Richard Moone, of The Marine Corps, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Moone Sr., of Mulberry Street, Plantsville, whose funeral was held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Plantsville Congregational Church. The Rev. Norman M. Macleod Jr., the pastor, conducted the services. Burial was in South End Cemetery, Plantsville. Representatives of all local veteran organizations attended the services and served as honorary bearers along with a delegation of Town officials headed by First Selectman Joseph A. Depanio Jr. A firing squad from the Marine Corps League of Meriden fired three volleys and sounded Taps at the cemetery. The flag which draped the casket was folded and presented to Corporal Moone’s parents. Corporal Moone was killed at Iwo Jima in the Pacific Area on February 24, 1945, and was the first Marine to be returned here for burial. He attended Lewis High and entered service on July 16, 1942. He was attached to the Third Division, 21st Marines, and saw active duty at New Zealand, Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima. He is survived by his parents and two sisters, Mrs. Gerald Lucier and Miss Beverly Moone, one brother, Ralph Moone Jr., all of this town, and his grandmother, Mrs. Emma Moone of Newark, NJ.
Initially buried in the 3rd Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Row 8, Grave 181. At his mother’s request, his remains were returned and buried on January 21, 1949, in South End Burying Ground / Cemetery, 219 South End Road, Southington, Connecticut; unknown plot number. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
1 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
2 – https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/154887588/person/202043496319/media/3156ddb7-6916-49e8-bcb2-1d59566a1ffa?_phsrc=NtW1399&usePUBJs=true
3 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
4 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/