Athon, Frank Leroy Jr.
Marines Reserves Private

Frank Leroy Jr. Athon from Cincinnati, Ohio, Hamilton county.

Spouse: Marcella Athon

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On July 27, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) accounted for Private First Class Frank LeRoy Athon Jr., missing from World War II. Private First Class Athon, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Ohio, served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. On November 22, 1943, PFC Athon was killed by enemy fire on Betio Island, as part of the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were reportedly recovered after the fighting and buried in Row D of the Marine Cemetery 33 on Betio Island; however, his remains were not recovered or identified from Betio immediately after the close of the war. In 2009, the non-profit organization History Flight located a site on Betio Island that was later identified as Cemetery 33. Excavations at this site continued and in 2019, History Flight located a burial trench west of Cemetery 33, also identified as Row D. Remains recovered from this burial trench were recovered and turned over to DPAA, and based on the details of PFC Athon as well as historical and forensic evidence, he was associated with one of the sets of remains from this site.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency