Rock Island County Illinois

Fay Gene Teter, age 17, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.

Parents: Bertha L. Teter

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On August 2, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Fay Gene Teter, missing from World War II. Private Teter entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois and served in A Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. 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, a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. After the initial landing on Betio, Tarawa’s main island, Marines launched attacks inland from the beaches and seized the island’s airfield. 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. Pvt Teter was killed in action sometime on November 22, 1943, but the exact circumstances of his loss are unknown. His remains were reportedly recovered and buried in Row D, Cemetery 33, a temporary U.S. burial site on Betio. In 2009 the non-profit organization History Flight located a site on Betio Island later identified as Cemetery 33. Excavations at this site have continued since this date. In March 2019 History Flight located a burial trench west of Cemetery 33 identified as Row D. Remains recovered from the burial trench were turned over to the DPAA for further study. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established one set of these remains as those of Pvt Teter.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Paul J. Holland, age 22, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.

Parents: Anna R. Holland

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. Corporal Paul J. Holland, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois, was a member of Company C, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, and was buried in Cemetery #33, Main Marine Cemetery, on Tarawa. After the war his remains were not recovered. Today, Corporal Holland is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency