Cole, Duane Oliver
Marines Corporal

Duane Oliver Cole, age 23, from Niles, Michigan, Berrien county.

Parents: George Cole

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On September 3, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Duane Oliver Cole, missing from World War II. Sergeant Cole joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Minnesota and was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the 2nd Marine Division’s invasion of Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands. His remains were buried in Cemetery 26, which was a temporary cemetery on the island, but they were not found during recovery efforts conducted on the island immediately after the war. In 2014, the private organization History Flight, Inc. located a site on Betio that was later identified as Cemetery 26. History Flight personnel performed excavations at this site and recovered remains, which they turned over to the DPAA. DPAA laboratory analysis combined with circumstantial evidence identified Sgt Cole from these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency