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Sgt Ryan Mahana (Alcatraz)
to remember
Marine 1stLt Robert Louis Keister.
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Contact Info
Home Town White River
Last Address 120 W. Pueblo Santa Barbara, Calif
MIA Date Nov 01, 1943
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Papua New Guinea
Location of Memorial Manila American Cemetery - Taguig City, Philippines
VMF-215 arrived on Espiritu Santo on July 1, 1943, and by the end of the month was taking part in fighter sweeps against Japanese bases in the northern Solomon Islands. On August 14, an F4U Corsair from VMF-215 was the first plane to arrive at the newly captured Munda airfield where they immediately began operating to cover the landings on Vella Lavella. Shortly thereafter the squadron pulled back to the rear for rest and relaxation. The squadronâ??s second combat tour began while they were based at Barakoma Airfield on Vella Lavella. From there they covered the landings at Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville, which began on November 1, 1943.
KEISTER, Robert L, 1STLT, O-022377, USMC, from Indiana, location Solomon Islands, date of loss November 1, 1943 + KEISTER, Robert L., 1st Lieutenant, USMC. Wife, Mrs. Robert L. Keister, 120 W. Pueblo, Santa Barbara, Calif + KEISTER, Robert Louis, 22377, VMF215, MAG14, 1stMAW, FMF, Solomon Is, November 2, 1944, killed in action + KEISTER, Robert Louis, First Lieutenant, O-022377, USMC, from Indiana, Manila American Cemetery
1stLt Robert Louis Keister, pilot, was declared Missing in Action on 1 Nov 1943.
Northern Solomon Islands Campaign (1943-44)/Battle of Bougainville
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
January / 1944
Description After New Georgia, the next major operation was an invasion of the island of Bougainville, which was approached by landings at Mono and Stirling in the Treasury Islands on October 25-27, 1943. A Marine division landed on the west coast of Bougainville at Empress Augusta Bay on November 1, 1943. The Marines were followed within the month by an Army division and replaced in the next month by another Army division.
It was late November before the beachhead at Empress Augusta Bay was secure. This beachhead was all that was needed, and no attempt was made to capture the entire island. Allied planes neutralized enemy airfields in the northern part of the island, and the Allied command made use of its naval and air superiority to contain the Japanese garrison on Bougainville and cut its supply line to Rabaul by occupying the Green Islands (February 14, 1944).
Despite these measures, the Japanese maintained pressure against the beachhead, mounting an especially heavy but unsuccessful counterattack as late as March 1944. Success at Bougainville isolated all Japanese forces left in the Solomons. The Japanese sustained comparatively heavy air and naval losses during the campaign, which further crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet and had a vital effect on the balance of naval power in the Central Pacific.
