Rank and Name, Private First Class Garland W. Steele.
Unit/Placed in, 340th Engineer Construction Battalion.
Garland is born on 1918 in Ohio.
Father, George Washington Steele Sr.
Mother, Bessie (Hefefinger) Steele.
Sister(s), Lucille R. Steele.
Brother(s), Kenneth E. Merlin F. George and Robert Steele.
Garland enlisted the service in Ohio with service number # 36261809.
On 27 February the 340th Construction Battalion left with the Motor Ship Tennant the Oregon port for Australia
On 12 March 1944 a member of company B died, and was buried at Sea the next day.
Two Chaplains officiated at the military burial.
In the Hospital Admission Card there is written about his heart and Stomach Disease.
Garland died of a Disease in his Heart and Stomach on 12 March 1945, he is honored with Good Combat Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.
Garland is buried/mentioned at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu County, Hawaii U.S.A.
Courts of the missing.
Thanks to, https://archive.org/details/340thEngineersInThePacific/page/n7/mode/2up
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GDR4-DP4
Jean Louis Vijgen, ww2-Pacific.com ww2-europe.com
Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.
ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov
Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker
Seabees History Bob Smith https://seabeehf.org/
Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org
POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.
Philippine Info, http://www.philippine-scouts.org/ Robert Capistrano
Navy Seal Memorial, http://www.navysealmemorials.com
Family Info, https://www.familysearch.org
Info, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/
Medals Info, https://www.honorstates.org
Medals Forum, https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/
Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com
Tank Destroyers, http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/
WordPress en/of Wooncommerce oplossingen, https://www.siteklusjes.nl/
Military Recovery, https://www.dpaa.mil/
The ship was originally from a Danish Construction Company,
But On 24 Mar 43 the Auxiliary Vessels Board noted that the success of South Pacific operations required the delivery of organized construction units (SEABEES).
They were renamed Aloca Pennant and Augira, several years later . She was to be converted with a minimal crew and an armament of one 4″ or 5″ gun aft, one 3″ gun forward, and 8-20mm guns. As a merchant ship, she had just received 1-3″ and 5-20mm guns at San Pedro on 14 Mar 43, one day after her completion. The Auxiliary Vessels ratified the actions already taken by recommending the acquisition of the two ships and their conversion to accommodate Navy crews. They became respectively USS LA SALLE (AP-102) and AURIGA (AK-98).
