William Warren Buller
"Bill"
Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 440493
August 23, 1920
in Paterson, NJ
John Washington Buller
Mae (Cummings) Buller
Eastside High School
Clerk
The Leslie Company
August 26, 1942
at New York, NY
October 25, 1942
from TC New River
July 8, 1944
Killed in action at Saipan
July 8, 1944
Killed in action
932 East 24th Street, Paterson, NJ – home of parents, John & Mae Buller
Service & Campaigns
Boot camp at New River, North Carolina with Sixth Separate Recruit Battalion. Outposted to Headquarters and Service Company, TC New River on 17 October 1942. Transferred to First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) at New River on 25 October 1942.
Assigned duty with Dog Company, First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) on 10 November 1942.
Outfit: D/1/24th Marines (3rd MG Platoon)
Rank: Sergeant
MOS: 653 (Squad Leader)
Outfit: C/1/24th Marines (MG Platoon)
Rank: Sergeant
MOS: 653 (Squad Leader)
Important Events:
July 8, 1944 – killed in action (gunshot, face) by concealed Japanese gun while investigating group of civilians
July 9, 1944 – buried in Plot E, Row 9, Grave 16, Second Marine Division Cemetery
Individual Decorations
Medal
Purple Heart
Campaign
Saipan (July 8, 1944)
Citation
Sergeant W. W. Buller, I called him my big brother; not a whole lot older, but then everybody was older than me. I met him just out of boot camp. He'd sort of look after me. I know I put on some pictures "this is my brother while I was in the Marine Corps." That is how I felt about him. He and Santilli were real good friends.
I had my machine gun carried in a slig position for immediate fire... I just took into that crowd of people and neutralized them, let's say.
This was my Uncle Billy, someone I never got the chance to meet but heard a great deal about. He is buried with his parents in Paterson, NJ. I know that he was my son, William Rork’s guardian angel when William (named for Uncle Billy) did his 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan as a corporal in the USMC. Thank you Uncle Billy.
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for writing in. Sergeant Buller is well remembered by veterans of Company C, particularly by Mr. Glenn Buzzard. In the book “By Dammit, We’re Marines” by Gail Chatfield, Mr. Buzzard refers to Buller as “my brother when I was in the Marine Corps” and mentions how Sergeant Buller looked out for him as a teenaged PFC.
Sergeant Buller and his lieutenant, Al “The Saint” Santilli (a football star from Fordham) were both killed in action on July 8, 1944. They were trying to bring in a group of civilians when a Japanese sniper shot them. (A very similar thing happened to my own ancestor, Lt. Philip Wood of Company A, and his sergeant, Arthur Ervin, on July 5 – they were killed side by side as well.) I wrote up the account of July 8 on the site as well – there are some rarely-seen photos by W. Eugene Smith, too. You can read it here, if you like. I’m planning to eventually have biographies for every Marine on the site – it may take a while, but I’ll get to Sgt. Buller eventually.
Again, thanks for the note, and much respect to your son for his service.
Cheers,
Geoffrey
Thank you for the information. I look forward to reading your additions.
This was my Uncle Billy. I did not know much about him, thank you for the update
That was my Uncle Billy. Received a Purple Heart I believe. Thanks for the information.