Posted on 11/30/2016 3:31:02 PM PST by PROCON
A young Marine killed in the bloody World War II Battle of Tarawa has finally been brought home and has been laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
Pfc. Wilbur C. Mattern was 23 years old when he was killed on November 21, 1943, the second day of the three-day battle to take the atoll back from the Japanese. He was found earlier this year by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), whose function is to search for missing American servicemembers around the world, identify them and return them home for proper burial with honors.
Mattern was buried on the 73rd anniversary of his death, November 21, 2016 with a Marine Honor Guard present. Mattern was from Oelwein, Iowa.
The DPAA and Department of Defense provided images of Mattern’s funeral.
The DPAA notes that they have found and returned 113 American servicemembers so far in 2016.
During the Battle of Tarawa, 1,100 Americans and 4,000 Japanese were killed. The island was crucial to the American campaign in the Pacific so that a bomber airstrip could be established for future assaults.
I believe he received the Navy Cross
RIP HERO
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.