36 Unidentified Marines Killed In WWII Return Home After 70 Years
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AP) The military and a private organization have brought home the remains of 36 Marines killed in one of World War II's bloodiest battles.
A group called History Flight recovered the remains from the remote Pacific atoll of Tarawa, the U.S. Marine Corps said. A ceremony was held Sunday in Pearl Harbor to mark their return.
History Flight has started identifying the remains, and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency will complete the effort, the Marines said. The Marines plan to return the remains to their families after they've been identified.
More than 990 U.S. Marines and 30 sailors died during the three-day Battle of Tarawa in 1943. Japanese machine gun fire killed scores of Marines when their boats got stuck on the reef at low tide during the U.S. amphibious assault. Americans who made it to the beach faced brutal hand-to-hand combat.
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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/history-flight-marines-return-home-tarawa-world-war-two
sarge43
(28,941 posts)GOLGO 13
(1,681 posts)Semper Fi my devil dogs.
DashOneBravo
(2,679 posts)Javaman
(62,530 posts)sarge43
(28,941 posts)"Another Marine reporting, sir. I've served my time in hell."
onethatcares
(16,172 posts)my son was a member of a crew that brought troops back from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
He told me it was the most somber flight he'd ever made.
I salute those U.S. Marines
and I can't tell you how proud I am of my son.
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)a member of our detachment saw duty on Tarawa and received a Silver Star for his actions. Tom died about 2 years ago. If he were alive he would be happy with this news.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Fair winds and following seas.