Miller, Howard Elmer
Marines Reserves Private

Howard Elmer Miller, age 22, from San Mateo, California, San Mateo. county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On April 20, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Pvt. Howard Elmer Miller, missing from World War II. Miller, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California, served in Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 22, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. Miller’s remains were reportedly recovered at the time, and were buried in Row D at the Gilbert Islands Cemetery, also known as Cemetery 33; however, after the war, his remains could not be identified among those disinterred from Betio. In 2019, the private organization History Flight Inc. located a burial trench west of Cemetery 33. Remains recovered from the burial trench were turned over to DPAA and accessioned for the agency’s laboratory for analysis, and based on the historical details of Miller’s loss, as well as the identification of the burial trench as Row D, Miller was associated with one of the sets of remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency