# Andrew Haldane
**Andrew Allison Haldane** (22 August 1917 – 12 October 1944), known to his men as "Ack-Ack", was a [United States Marine Corps](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-marine-corps) captain who commanded Company K, 3rd [Battalion](https://www.edgepedia.org/battalion), 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in the Second World War, fought at [Guadalcanal](https://www.edgepedia.org/guadalcanal), Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu, and was killed by sniper fire on Peleliu.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) He is remembered through Eugene Sledge's memoir *With the Old Breed*, which calls him the finest and most popular officer its author ever knew.[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/with-the-old-breed/characters/capt-andrew-ack-ack-haldane)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 22 August 1917, Lawrence, Massachusetts; 12 October 1944, Hill 140, Peleliu, Palau[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) |
| Command | Captain, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division; 235 men[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) • [3](https://www.hbomax.com/show/b930854b-fb6b-43fe-b38b-251b2d290fd0/cast-and-crew/capt-andrew-haldane) |
| Campaigns | Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester (New Britain), Peleliu and Ngesebus[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) |
| Decorations | Two Silver Stars: the first for action at Cape Gloucester, 9–10 January 1944, and the second awarded as a gold star, Serial 0385[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) |
| Education | Bowdoin College; voted most popular member of the senior class[4](https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/12/08/war-hero-andrew-haldane-41-to-be-featured-in-biography/) |
| Burial | Arlington National Cemetery, Plot 12, Grave 5367[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) |
| Remembrance | Depicted in HBO's *The Pacific* (2010); Bowdoin award and scholarship in his name[5](https://wrightmuseum.org/calendar/lecture-series-garret-shetrawski-the-life-and-legacy-of-captain-andrew-haldane/) • [3](https://www.hbomax.com/show/b930854b-fb6b-43fe-b38b-251b2d290fd0/cast-and-crew/capt-andrew-haldane) |
## Identity
The subject of this article is Andrew Allison Haldane, the Marine Corps officer of the 1st Marine Division, not the other public figures bearing the same name. The best-known contemporary namesake is Andrew G Haldane, Chief Economist at the [Bank of England](https://www.edgepedia.org/bank-of-england) and Monetary Policy Committee member until 30 June 2021, became Chief Executive of the [Royal Society of Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-society-of-arts) in September 2021.[6](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/past/andy-haldane/biography) A separate First World War namesake, Private Andrew Haldane, service number 4617, served in the Australian 16th Infantry Battalion.[7](https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1901552)
## Early life and Bowdoin College
Haldane came from a blue-collar family in Methuen, Massachusetts.[4](https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/12/08/war-hero-andrew-haldane-41-to-be-featured-in-biography/) On 18 May 1940 his classmates at [Bowdoin College](https://www.edgepedia.org/bowdoin-college) voted him the most popular member of the senior class, an honor marked with the traditional wooden spoon.[4](https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/12/08/war-hero-andrew-haldane-41-to-be-featured-in-biography/)
## Military service
Haldane served as a captain commanding Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, a company of 235 men.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) • [3](https://www.hbomax.com/show/b930854b-fb6b-43fe-b38b-251b2d290fd0/cast-and-crew/capt-andrew-haldane) His service with the 5th Marines took him through three of the division's major campaigns: Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester on [New Britain](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-britain) in January 1944, and the assault on Peleliu in the Palau islands.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) • [2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/with-the-old-breed/characters/capt-andrew-ack-ack-haldane)
His nickname *Ack-Ack* was given by his men, and his leadership was widely respected within the company.[3](https://www.hbomax.com/show/b930854b-fb6b-43fe-b38b-251b2d290fd0/cast-and-crew/capt-andrew-haldane)
## Silver Star citations and death on Peleliu
**First Silver Star.** The citation honors Haldane "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" as commanding officer of Company K in action against Japanese forces at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, on 9–10 January 1944.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) The Bowdoin Orient attributes the award to repulsing five Japanese bayonet charges in less than an hour and hand-to-hand combat at "Walt's Ridge" on an island in what is now [Papua New Guinea](https://www.edgepedia.org/papua-new-guinea).[4](https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/12/08/war-hero-andrew-haldane-41-to-be-featured-in-biography/)
**Second Silver Star.** The second award, made as a gold star to be worn on the ribbon of the first medal, came from the [Commander](https://www.edgepedia.org/commander) in Chief, Pacific, under Serial 0385. It covers Haldane's actions on Peleliu, and records that on 12 October he personally directed a platoon against a firmly defended cave on an important ridge, continuing his efforts until he was mortally wounded by Japanese sniper fire.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) The ridge is identified elsewhere in the record as Hill 140.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) He is buried at [Arlington National Cemetery](https://www.edgepedia.org/arlington-national-cemetery), Plot 12, Grave 5367.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm)
## Reputation and remembrance
Haldane's principal biographical portrait comes from his own men. [Eugene Sledge](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugene-sledge)'s *With the Old Breed* presents him as Company K's commanding officer and a veteran of Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester who made the company feel like a family and a home, and describes him as "the finest and most popular officer" Sledge ever knew, capable of inspiring deep trust in his subordinates.[2](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/with-the-old-breed/characters/capt-andrew-ack-ack-haldane) A veteran recollection adds that Haldane "commanded our individual destinies under the most trying conditions with the utmost compassion. We knew he could never be replaced."[8](https://www.wwiifiles.com/2014/02/captain-andrew-haldane-35-1st-marine.html)
Haldane is portrayed in the 2010 HBO miniseries *The Pacific*.[5](https://wrightmuseum.org/calendar/lecture-series-garret-shetrawski-the-life-and-legacy-of-captain-andrew-haldane/) Bowdoin College has established an award and a scholarship in his honor for student leadership in public service.[3](https://www.hbomax.com/show/b930854b-fb6b-43fe-b38b-251b2d290fd0/cast-and-crew/capt-andrew-haldane)
## Holdings and documentation
His second [Silver Star](https://www.edgepedia.org/silver-star) citation survives in transcription through the TracesOfWar military personnel archive, which preserves the serial number and issuing command.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm) Most of his personal belongings are held at the International Museum of World War II in Natick, Massachusetts.[4](https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/12/08/war-hero-andrew-haldane-41-to-be-featured-in-biography/) Biographer Garret Shetrawski lectured on Haldane at the Wright Museum of World War II.[5](https://wrightmuseum.org/calendar/lecture-series-garret-shetrawski-the-life-and-legacy-of-captain-andrew-haldane/)
The award-citation record places his death on Peleliu in the Palau island group.[1](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm)
## References
1. [Haldane, Andrew Allison "Ack-Ack" – TracesOfWar.com](https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/43049/Haldane-Andrew-Allison-Ack-Ack.htm)
2. [Capt. Andrew "Ack Ack" Haldane Character Analysis in With the Old Breed – LitCharts](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/with-the-old-breed/characters/capt-andrew-ack-ack-haldane)
3. [Capt. Andrew Haldane – The Pacific – HBO Max](https://www.hbomax.com/show/b930854b-fb6b-43fe-b38b-251b2d290fd0/cast-and-crew/capt-andrew-haldane)
4. [War hero Andrew Haldane '41 to be featured in biography – The Bowdoin Orient](https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/12/08/war-hero-andrew-haldane-41-to-be-featured-in-biography/)
5. [Lecture Series: Garret Shetrawski – The Life and Legacy of Captain Andrew Haldane – Wright Museum of World War II](https://wrightmuseum.org/calendar/lecture-series-garret-shetrawski-the-life-and-legacy-of-captain-andrew-haldane/)
6. [Andy Haldane – Bank of England](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/past/andy-haldane/biography)
7. [Andrew Haldane – Australian War Memorial](https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1901552)
8. [Captain Andrew Haldane; K/3/5 1st Marine Division – WWII Files](https://www.wwiifiles.com/2014/02/captain-andrew-haldane-35-1st-marine.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Marines and naval infantry personnel*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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