Tarawa (Gilbert Islands, Kiribati) - November 20 to November 23, 1943
Of the 3,636 Japanese in the garrison, only one officer and sixteen enlisted men surrendered. Of the 1,200 Korean laborers brought to Tarawa to construct the defenses, only 129 survived. All told, 4,690 of the island's defenders were killed. The 2nd Marine Division suffered 894 killed in action, 48 officers and 846 enlisted men, while an additional 84 of the wounded survivors later succumbed to what proved to be fatal wounds. Of these, 8 were officers and 76 were enlisted men. A further 2,188 men were wounded in the battle, 102 officers and 2,086 men. Of the roughly 12,000 2nd Marine Division marines on Tarawa, 3,166 officers and men became casualties. Nearly all of these casualties were suffered in the 76 hours between the landing at 0910 20 November and the island of Betio being declared secure at 1330 23 November. Chief Rick Stone, while a member of the Department of Defense, investigated the cases of 514 American servicemen who remain unaccounted for from the Battle of Tarawa, including 103 who are buried as "Unknown" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. The Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation continues to research these cases for the families of the missing. In November 2013, the remains of one American and four Japanese were recovered from "what was considered a pristine site preserving actual battlefield conditions and all remains found as they fell.

WILSON, Howard D, PFC, 329411, USMC, from Colorado, location Gilbert Islands, date of loss November 25, 1943 + WILSON, Howard D., Pfc., USMCR. Father, Mr. Frank Wilson, Hughes, Colo + WILSON, Howard Dorus, 329411, Co A, 1st Bn, 18th Mar, 2nd Mar Div, FMF, Gilbert Is, November 25, 1943, killed in action + WILSON, Howard Dorus, Private First Class, 329411, USMC, from Colorado, Honolulu Memorial

Body Not Recovered

Howard Dorus Wilson