Tolson, Donald Ross
Marines Private 1st class

Donald Ross Tolson, age 17, from Bakersfield, California, Kern county.

Parents: Ora C. Tolson

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On September 18, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Donald Ross Tolson, missing from World War II. Private Tolson joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California and was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the Battle of Betio on Tarawa Atoll. Private Tolson was buried in Cemetery 33 on the island, but investigative efforts following the war failed to locate his remains. In 2017, DPAA partnered with the private organization History Flight, Inc., to conduct excavations on Betio. The remains recovered from the operation were sent to DPAA laboratories on Hawaii for analysis, and advances in forensic techniques allowed Private Tolson to be identified from among them.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency