Hoffman, John W. Jr.
Marines Reserves Private

John W. Jr. Hoffman, age 21, from Houston, Texas, Harris county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, November 23, 1943
Death details: On April 9, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class John W. Hoffman, missing from World War II. Private First Class Hoffman entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Texas and was a member of Company L, 3rd Marine Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. His unit took part in the large scale amphibious assault on the Japanese=held Tarawa Atoll in November of 1943. On November 23, 1943, PFC Hoffman was killed in action on Tarawa’s Betio Island. The exact circumstances of PFC Hoffman’s loss were not known. He was buried in a Marine Cemetery on Betio; however, post war investigations on the island failed to locate his remains. In 2019, History Flight, inc., discovered Row D, a previously lost section of a Marine cemetery on Betio. The remains recovered from Row D were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification. PFC Hoffman was among these remains, and laboratory analysis led to his successful identification.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency