Trotter, George Ernest
Marines Sergeant

George Ernest Trotter, age 38, from Kansas City, Missouri, Cook county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On April 16, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Platoon Sergeant George Ernest Trotter, missing from World War II. Platoon Sergeant Trotter entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Missouri and served in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed on November 20, 1943, during the assault on the Japanese held Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll. PlSgt Trotter’s body was reportedly buried first in the Division Cemetery #26 and later moved to the Lone Palm Cemetery on Betio. This cemetery was exhumed following the war, and the remains recovered there were taken to Hawaii for identification. PlSgt Trotter’s remains could not be individually identified at that time and were interred as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2017, advances in forensic analysis prompted the disinterment of several unknowns from the Battle of Tarawa. Platoon Sergeant Trotter’s remains were among these and were eventually identified.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency