Summers, Arthur Branson
Marines Platoon sergeant

Arthur Branson Summers, age 27, from Poplar, Montana, Roosevelt county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, November 23, 1943
Death details: On October 17, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Gunnery Sergeant Arthur Branson Summers, missing from World War II. Gunnery Sergeant Summers joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Washington and was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action sometime between November 23 and 24 of 1943 during the amphibious assault on Betio Island, during the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were recovered and buried in Cemetery 33 on Betio; however, they were not identified among remains recovered from the island after 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 the site have continued since this date. In March 2019, History Flight located an additional burial trench west of Cemetery 33. Remains that they recovered from the burial trench were turned over to the DPAA for identification. Laboratory analysis led to the identification of GySgt Summer from among these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency