Lyle Joseph Jansen, age 20, from St. Paul, Minnesota.
Parents: Clarence Alfred Jansen
Service era: World War II
Date of death: July 7, 1944
Death details: Killed in a bomb explosion in China along with his life-long friend, Radioman Robert James Lynch.
Source: National Archives, Minneapolis Star Tribune (1944)
Ernest A. Fazekas, age 22, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ramsey county.
Parents: Anton M. Fazekas
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 Ernest A. Fazekas, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Minnesota, was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. On November 20, 1943, PFC Fazekas was killed in action during the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried on Betio Island, but after the war his remains could not be located. Today, Private First Class Fazekas is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Thomas Carl Bacon, age 21, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ramsey county.
Parents: John Bacon
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 Thomas Carl Bacon entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Minnesota and was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division. Private First Class Bacon was killed during the Battle of Tarawa on November 20. He was buried on Betio, but after the war his remains could not be identified among those disinterred from the island. Today, Private First Class Bacon is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Albert Richard Blanchard, age 23, from Ramsey County Saint Paul, Minnesota .
Parents: Anna B. Spock
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives
George Arthur Filkins, age 29, from Ramsey County Saint Paul, Minnesota .
Parents: Lydia Elizabeth Filkins
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona
Source: National Archives, Department of Defense, Minneapolis Star Tribune (1944)
William Peter Weidell, age 19, from Ramsey County Saint Paul, Minnesota .
Parents: William Weidell
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Minneapolis Star Tribune (2016)