Ryan, Kenneth John
Marines Reserves Private 1st class

Kenneth John Ryan, age 21, from Phoenix, Arizona, Maricopa county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, November 21, 1944
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private First Class Kenneth John Ryan, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps in Arizona, served with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was wounded by enemy fire on November 20, 1943, as his unit approached Tarawa. Another Marine pulled PFC Ryan to a nearby sandbar, where he soon died. Following the battle, PFC Ryan’s remains could not be recovered, and he coult not be identified among remains recovered from Tarawa after the war. Today, Private First Class Ryan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency