Albert Kenneth Stark was born on September 13, 1924 to Alberta Webster and Joseph Wheeler Stark, Sr. in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. He had at least one older brother Joseph Wheeler Stark, Jr. In 1920, his father had been working in a packing house, in 1930, the manager of grocery store, and in 1940, a candy salesman. Albert attended West End High School.

He enlisted in the US Marine Corps in Birmingham, probably in late 1941 or early 1942 as a private, service #358810. He trained at New River, North Carolina. By October 1942, he was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. On January 13, 1943, he suffered a gunshot wound to his left shoulder in the Battle of Guadalcanal. He was evacuated to a US Navy Marine Hospital on Efate Island.

On November 20, 1943, “Private First Class Stark was with his brothers in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion of the 8th Marines (C-1/8) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.

“It was November 21, 1943 (D+1 for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Albert - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly buried in Cemetery #11 on Betio Island - a temporary location until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families. For his service and sacrifice, Albert’s family accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation. Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but PFC Stark’s remains were not recovered. On February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Albert “non-recoverable”. His family placed a memorial marker at Elmwood Cemetery, in Birmingham, Alabama, hoping one day he would be found and returned home (184276731, a cenotaph).

“Memorial Day weekend 2018, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Stark and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Albert’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his nephew and great-nieces the opportunity to provide and coordinate Family Reference DNA Samples, should they be necessary for Albert's identification.

“Marine Corps Private First Class Albert Kenneth Stark is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing” (Memorial ID 56132485). His brother Joseph served in the Marine Corps Aviation during the war.

Thank you, PFC Stark, for your heroic service and your great sacrifice for our freedom.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. If you noticed anything missing in this profile, you may contact the author. Click on the author’s name located at the bottom of the story page next to the words “added by.”

SBTSProject/Alabama/Jefferson

References:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56132485/albert-kenneth-stark

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184276731/albert-kenneth-stark

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/2607182/person/382234596963/facts?_phsrc=gxO16&_phstart=successSource

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/17860:62206?tid=2607182&pid=382234596963&queryId=1eab92a73b3298cb06e84ad639216410&_phsrc=gxO17&_phstart=successSource

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/895:1122?tid=2607182&pid=382234596963&queryId=1eab92a73b3298cb06e84ad639216410&_phsrc=gxO20&_phstart=successSource

The Birmingham News: 2/12/1943; 12/27/1943

US Census Records: 1930-1940

Birmingham City Directory: 1930

US Marine Corps Muster Rolls: 1942-1943

Albert K Stark