The remains of 36 Marines killed in one of World War II's bloodiest battles are back home.

2015-07-27T09:46:07-04:00

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.

Only 17 of the 3,500 Japanese troops survived. Of 1,200 Korean slave laborers on the island, just 129 lived.

The U.S. quickly buried the thousands of dead on the tiny atoll. But the graves were soon disturbed as the Navy urgently built a landing strip to prepare for an attack on the next Pacific island on their path to Tokyo.

About 520 U.S. servicemen are still unaccounted for from the battle.

Preliminary work conducted by History Flight indicates the remains of 1st Lt. Alexander J. Bonnyman, Jr., a Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, are among the 36 brought to Hawaii.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the commandant of the Marines Corps, said in a statement he's pleased to learn of the discovery of the remains at Tarawa, the site of one of the service's most significant battles.

"It was also the first contested landing against a heavily fortified enemy, and a turning point in the development in our amphibious capability. The lessons learned at Tarawa paved the way for our success in the Pacific campaign and eventual end to the war," Dunford said.

History Flight brought attention to the Tarawa missing when its research indicated it had found the graves of 139 U.S. servicemen. The Marathon, Florida-based organization used ground-penetrating radar, reviewed thousands of military documents and interviewed veterans to narrow down possible grave sites.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/07/27/remains-of-36-unidentified-marines-from-wwii-battle-return.html?comp= [login to see] 70&rank=1

Remains of 36 Unidentified Marines from WWII Battle Return

The military and a private organization brought home the remains of 36 Marines killed in one of World War II's bloodiest battles.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 9:47 AM

2015-07-27T09:47:47-04:00

Glad they are now at rest at home.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 27 at 2015 9:48 AM

2015-07-27T09:48:20-04:00

Rest in peace, gentlemen. Semper fi ...

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 9:53 AM

2015-07-27T09:53:59-04:00

Semper Fidelis, Boys.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jul 27 at 2015 9:59 AM

2015-07-27T09:59:11-04:00

It's always a good day when the fallen are returned home. Now may their friends and family have closure and may their memory be light on our path to continue forward to do great things in their honor.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Jul 27 at 2015 10:05 AM

2015-07-27T10:05:47-04:00

They are finally back home where they belong. May they rest in peace and may their families finally have closure for they truly are the ones that suffered a great loss. Welcome Home Marines and SEMPR FIDELIS my Brothers!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 10:30 AM

2015-07-27T10:30:16-04:00

That is awesome, that they finally get to return to rest on their home soil. The men of this generation are the reason why I chose to serve. I would love to get involved in the locating of missing service members.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Jul 27 at 2015 11:29 AM

2015-07-27T11:29:39-04:00

Nice post Gunny. It is great to see these Marines come home even if 72 years later. Semper Fidelis.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jul 27 at 2015 11:30 AM

2015-07-27T11:30:13-04:00

Welcome home Marines. Sleep in peace.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 27 at 2015 12:03 PM

2015-07-27T12:03:30-04:00

Rest in Peace here at home Marines.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 27 at 2015 12:18 PM

2015-07-27T12:18:44-04:00

God bless them and their families.

Response by LCpl Sheryl Anderson made Jul 27 at 2015 12:28 PM

2015-07-27T12:28:59-04:00

I am so happy that they finally get to be laid to rest on U.S. soil. Thank you GySgt for sharing this great news with us.

Response by SPC David S. made Jul 27 at 2015 1:25 PM

2015-07-27T13:25:59-04:00

Its great to see organizations outside of the DoD still working the problem and finding those that that can to get everyone home.

Response by Sgt Ronnie Mack made Jul 27 at 2015 2:28 PM

2015-07-27T14:28:27-04:00

It's has taken time, and it will take more time to get everyone home. We will live up to our tradition of "NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND"!!!

Response by PFC Terry Kuehner made Jul 28 at 2015 6:56 PM

2015-07-28T18:56:35-04:00

Out standing, it is one of the things as a Marine we are trained to never leave a man behind OOH RAH

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 10:19 PM

2015-07-28T22:19:12-04:00

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad, Makes me proud I'm an American and that these men are home where they belong. Their war is finally over...

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 29 at 2015 1:51 PM

2015-07-29T13:51:17-04:00

Welcome Home Marines!

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jul 29 at 2015 1:53 PM

2015-07-29T13:53:30-04:00

RIP in peace brothers! I am glad they are coming home. I don't know why its taken so long to take care of our own.

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Jul 29 at 2015 2:24 PM

2015-07-29T14:24:50-04:00

1999-17 Dec - "The remains of nearly 20 Marines killed in action on Butaritari Island during World War II were repatriated at a ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The Marines were from the 2d Raider Battalion that participated in the Makin Atoll Raid during August 1942. The remains were believed to include those of Sergeant Clyde Thomason, the first enlisted Marine awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II."
History repeats itself!
From: http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Chronologies/1999.aspx

1999

Response by Sgt Mitchell Sporar made Jul 29 at 2015 10:35 PM

2015-07-29T22:35:16-04:00

RIP Marines.

Response by 1SG Kenneth Talkington Sr made Aug 5 at 2015 3:00 PM

2015-08-05T15:00:44-04:00

The only comment I have is a question. Why has it taken so long to bring them home?

Response by 1stSgt Eugene Harless made Dec 9 at 2015 5:16 AM

2015-12-09T05:16:02-05:00

There is a civilian gentleman who has made it his mission to get these Marines home. Over 1.000 Marines died on Tarawa and about half of those have not been recovered. Some of their remains were probably never recovered in the first place (drowned and swept out to sea or bodies blasted into small fragments). Those that were recovered and buried were not consolidated but buried in diferent plots around the Island. The location of the graves were not accurately recorded and weather, the natives and construction crews ended up (inadvertently?) removing the physical markers.