Orlin H. Gisvold

Born February 20, 1919, in Galesburg, North Dakota, Orlin Harold Gisvold was blessed to the union of Erick and Karoline Julia (nee Thorson) Gisvold.

Private Gisvold was with his brothers in Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (K-3/2) when they landed on Guadalcanal as part of Operation: WATCHTOWER. The mission of the 1st Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan.

In an advance to extend the perimeter, the 5th Marines engaged the Japanese at the mouth of the Matanikau River while the 7th Marines and the 3d Battalion, 2d Marines (reinforced), crossed the river inland and raided the Point Cruz and Matanikau village areas. The raid thwarted an attempt by the 4th Japanese Infantry to cross the Matanikau and establish artillery positions there.

It was October 8, 1942, when young Orlin - just 23 years old - perished.

For his service and sacrifice, Orlin's father accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.

Also left to mourn his passing were five brothers, Palmer Adolph, Ervin Jerome Howard "Jerry", Burnon Hjalmer, Leland Sylvaster "Dave" and Donald Gisvold; three sisters, Gladys (Mrs Bennie Forde), Alice Judith Eleanor (Mrs Archie Kaldor), Florence (Mrs Saylor).
and Gladys, in infancy.

Orlin's family had a memorial marker placed next to his mother at Elm River Cemetery, in Galesburg, North Dakota, in hopes that one day he would be found and returned home. His father would later be laid to rest next to this marker - its empty ground still offering no closure (3816817, a cenotaph).

On December 5, 2014, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PVT Gisvold and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Orlin’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his nephew the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.

Marine Corps Private Orlin Harold Gisvold is memorialized among the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, in the Philippines. His name is permanently inscribed within the "Walls of the Missing".