Carl Steven Merlino, age 34, from Atlantic County Hammonton, New Jersey .
Parents: Carl S. Merlino
Spouse: Ann
Children: Steven and David
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, October 14, 1971
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Columbia, South Carolina
Source: National Archives, Press of Atlantic City (1971)
George Abraham DeLuca, age 37, from Atlantic County Hammonton, New Jersey .
Spouse: Eve Pinto DeLuca
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 1st Virginia
Date of death: Friday, August 13, 1965
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: Roanoke Times (1965), Associted Press (1965)
Angelo Pasquale Lewis from Atlantic County Hammonton, New Jersey .
Parents: Pasquale Lewis
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, October 25, 1944
Death details: Killed in the sinking of the USS Gambier Bay during the Battle of Leyte.
Source: National Archives, Philadelphia Inquirer (1945)
Alfred J. Facchiano, age 19, from Hammonton, New Jersey, Atlantic county.
Parents: Mary Urgo
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
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 Alfred J. Facchiano entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Pennsylvania and served with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on 20 November 1943 during the Battle of Tarawa. Private First Class Facchiano was buried on Betio Island, but his remains could not be identified among those disinterred from the island following the war. Today, Private First Class Facchiano is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency