Clarence Eli Drumheiser, age 21, from Fresno, California, Fresno county.
Parents: Ella Drumheiser
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On April 6, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced the identification of Private First Class Clarence Eli Drumheiser, missing from World War II. Private First Class Drumheiser, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California, was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. On November 22, 1943, he was killed during the amphibious assault on Betio Island, as part of the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried in a U.S. Marines Corps cemetery on Betio. His remains were recovered after the war, but could not be identified at the time and were buried as “unknowns” in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2016, DPAA disinterred these “unknowns” for reexamination. Using modern forensic techniques, DPAA analysts identified PFC Drumheiser’s remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency