On 26 September 1942, the Second Battalion, 5th Marines attempted to cross Guadalcanal's Matanikau River as part of an offensive aimed at Japanese forces west of the Marine perimeter. Company E attempted to storm the sandbar at the river's mouth, but were turned back with heavy casualties.
PFC Kenneth Whelan was killed during the day's action. His remains, along with those of two other Marines, were buried 300 yards east of the river. Subsequent fighting made the location impossible to find after the war.
Excerpt from the muster roll of E/2/5, September 1942. While the company suffered heavily on 26 September, Fraser and Whelan were the only two fatal casualties. Why Whelan was not returned to the Division cemetery along with Fraser is not known.