PFC Morris Everett Canady

On May 16, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First-Class Morris Everett Canady, missing from World War II. 

Private First Class Canady entered the U.S Marine Corps from the District of Columbia and served in Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On August 7, 1942, Allied forced landed on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, initiating a months-long struggle with Japanese forces for control of the island. U.S Marines established a perimeter around Henderson Field, the key strategic objective of the campaign. On September 18, 1942, the 7thMarine Regiment arrived on Guadalcanal and was ordered to conduct patrols southwest toward Mount Austen. On September 24, the Marines encountered and defeated a small enemy force, but the sound of gunfire alerted other Japanese troops in the area, and a large firefight ensued. The next day, the Marines buried ten fallen comrades, five each at locations known as Hill X and Hill Y. Searches conducted after the war failed to locate these two grave sites. PFC Canady was one of the Marines killed on September 24 and was reportedly buried on Hill X. In 2012, investigators with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, the predecessor organization to DPAA) began researching and investigating the missing service members buried at Hills X and Y. In 2014, two sites consistent with the details surrounding the losses were identified. The DPAA began excavations at Hill Y in 2016 and Hill X in 2018. Each location has yielded human remains, material evidence, and identification media consistent with the Marines reportedly buried there. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available allowed scientists to identify PFC Canady from amount those remains. 

Private First Class Canady is memorialized on the Walls of the missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. 

 A memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. at Tharp Funeral Home, Bedford. Re-interment will follow at Virginia Memorial Park. The service will be live streamed for those unable to attend. 

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Bedford, is assisting the family. To send online condolences please visit tharpfuneralhome.com.