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| Sgt. Robert Shaver served with the 1st Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134809212/robert-eugene-shaver https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/pacific/okinawa/1st-marine-division-fights-japanese-on-okinawa/ |
Robert was born on August 12, 1920 in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. His parents Harry Howard Shaver and Edna S. (Lunger) Shaver were both born in Pennsylvania. His father worked as a painter and paper hanger. Robert had two older sisters and one younger brother. His father passed away in February 1942. Robert married the former Lydia Slabinski on 17 August 1938 in Luzerne, Pennsylvania, and they had a son, Robert E. Shaver, Junior.
Robert worked as a guard at the Calico Chemical division plant of the American Cyanamide Company in New Jersey before enlisting in the Marines on 13 July 1943. He trained at Parris Island, North Carolina and Quantico, Virginia and served in Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division as a sergeant. Sgt. Shaver went overseas in June 1944, and according to his obituary, was in the first wave of Marines to land at Peleliu, where he was wounded.
After recovering from his wound, Sgt. Shaver rejoined his unit in time for the invasion of Okinawa, the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of WWII. The 7th Marines were in the first assault waves to go ashore on Okinawa on 1 April 1945, and landed virtually unopposed and rapidly advanced inland against scattered Japanese resistance. The Marines were surprised by the initial lack of opposition resulting from the Japanese strategy to concentrate their defenses on the northern and southern ends of the island. Sgt. Shaver was killed in action the next day on 2 April 1945. When it was finally over on 22 June 1945, the battle of Okinawa was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific, with approximately 160,000 casualties on both sides. The Americans suffered over 12,500 killed in action, including 2,938 Marines.
Robert Eugene Shaver was buried on Okinawa and in 1949 was reinterred in Memorial Shrine Cemetery in Carverton, Pennsylvania. His widow remarried and passed away in 1984.
Thank you Sgt. Shaver for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Robert.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
This is one of the final 50 stories (22) to be written as part of this project which ends on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. At that time more than 1,370 men and women will have been profiled. The project will live on in an expanded program to write the stories of all 400,000+ US World War II fallen. Visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org to learn more. We welcome your continued support and interest and encourage you to help write some of these stories.
Last year on this date I profiled Bedford Boy Ray Stevens of the 29th Infantry Division. You can read about Ray here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
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WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by
The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation
“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, 22 Feb 1949
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