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LOT 3296
Grouping of Medals and Documentation for a Marine Raider, Ray F. Costello, Killed in Action During the New Georgia Campaign - Included with this lot are the personal effects and vintage documents for Private First Class Ray F. Costello. According to his
included birth certificate, Costello born in Ottawa, Illinois in 1924, Costello joined the United States Marine Corps directly out of high school and later volunteered for the Marine Raiders. One of several World War II units that served as the forefathers of the modern special forces/special operations concept, the Marine Raiders were modeled after the British Commandos and Chinese irregular forces, engaging in amphibious raids, deep jungle infiltration, and similar activities. While the Raiders would be shut down before the close of the war, their lineage is carried on by the modern Force Recon and Marine Raider special operations units. While assigned to the 4th Raider Battalion, Costello was killed in action on July 1st, 1943, during the New Georgia Campaign. Much of the particulars of Costello’s fate come from a Captain Earl Snell, Costello’s commanding officer at the time, who had reached out to Costello’s sister (herself a WAC Lieutenant at the time) to give more details. When the 4th Raiders were trying to mount a river crossing, Costello and some squadmates had crossed over in advance of the unit and found themselves under
172 fire from multiple machine gun positions. The others died nigh-instantly, but Costello
was still alive. Badly injured, he was able to observe the Japanese positions and relay the information back to his comrades, helping them “walk in” their grenades on the enemy defenses until a Navy Corpsman was able to haul him back to the rest of the unit. Though he survived his initial encounter, his luck ran out shortly after, as an enemy sniper put
a bullet through his leg while he was being transported to aid, and then an advance of the Japanese against the nearest aid station delayed his ability to get medical attention to the point where his cumulative wounds proved fatal. Costello would receive a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously and would also be entitled to the appropriate campaign medals at the close of the war. A large number of documents related to Costello are included, including a wide variety of condolence letters (both military and civilian) sent to his family, documentation for his medals and promotions, papers related to Costello’s youth, correspondence related to attempts by his sister
and parents to gain more information on his death and locate his body (he had been “temporarily” interred on Vangunu Island, but the precise location was lost in the chaos of war), and information on the activities of the Marines in World War II. The items include an enlarged portrait of Costello in uniform, three Marine Raider patches, two screwback USMC emblem pins, a set of range qualification badges, and the following medals; Distinguished Service Cross (engraved to Costello, Purple Heart (engraved to Costello), Asiatic/Pacific Campaign (with two stars) and the World War II Medal.
CONDITION: Very good overall, with mild stains and wear on the medals and patches. The paper items show wear and tear appropriate to age.
Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection.
Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000