WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Joseph P. Karnaghon, 21, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Jan. 28, 2026.
In the fall of 1942, Karnaghon was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. The 7th Marines landed on Guadalcanal on Sept. 18, days after the Battle of Bloody Ridge. Following the battle, 1st Marine Division Commander, Maj. Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, ordered the establishment of a new perimeter defense around Henderson Field on Sept. 19. As part of the new defensive strategy, Vandegrift ordered the 1st Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Lewis “Chesty” Puller, to conduct patrols to engage scattered Japanese forces and prevent a consolidated attack on the airfield’s perimeter. During one of these patrols on Sept. 24, Karnaghon was killed in a firefight. His body was unable to be recovered.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Karnaghon’s case will be published once his family receives a full briefing.
For additional information on the Department of War's mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, www.instagram.com/dodpaa or https://x.com/dodpaa.