• Feb. 7, 1918 – Aug. 6, 1942
• From Knoxville, TN
• Knoxville Catholic High School
• Pvt – Marine Corps; 2 Def. Battalion, 2nd Marine Brigade (ETVMA), FMF (Fleet Marine Force)
  • Security detachments defending key American outposts in the Pacific with coastal and anti-air defense weapons 
  • 2nd Battalion deployed at the start of 1942 in Samoa
• College of Agriculture 1941
• Killed in the Samoan Islands during the buildup for the Guadalcanal campaign that started on Aug. 7, 1942.
• Memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii

Paul Joseph Fitzgerald (Feb. 7, 1918 – Aug. 6, 1942) was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was a graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School before he attended the University of Tennessee’s College of Agriculture. He was a student when the United States entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fitzgerald joined the United States marine Corps and served as a Private in the Marine’s 2nd Defense Battalion. The Marine Corps specially trained several Defense Battalions to be used as security detachments defending key American outposts in the Pacific. Pvt. Fitzgerald was deployed in Samoan Islands in 1942. He died on August 6, 1942 during the buildup before the start of the Guadalcanal Campaign that began on August 7. He is memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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