The remains of a Marine who has been unaccounted for since WWII have been found, positively identified and returned to his family, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said Monday, May 30th, in an announcement.
Private first class James B. Johnson of Poughkeepsie New York was returned home with full military honors. He was buried Tuesday, May 31, at 11 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.
In November of 1943 Johnson landed on the Japanese island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, under stiff resistance from the Japanese forces according to the Department of Defense (DOD).
The fighting on the island lasted several days and claimed the lives of over 1,000 Marines and Sailors according to the DOD. Despite the heavy casualties which included over 2,000 wounded, The Japanese were eventually defeated.
Johnson died sometime during the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. His sacrifice and the battle were crucial to The U.S. Navy’s naval strategy, who went on to use Tarawa as a launching site for assaults on Marshall and Caroline Islands.
U.S. service members who died during the battle were buried in battlefield cemeteries on Tarawa. The 604th Quartermaster Graves registration Company began recovering remains in 1946, but Johnson’s remains were not found.
In June 2015 History Flight Inc. discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of 35 U.S. Marines. The DPAA was notified and received the remains a month later in July.
Johnson was identified via DNA analysis, dental records, chest radiography and anthropological comparisons, and circumstantial evidence. All the analyses matched Johnson’s records according to the DOD.
As of now, 15 of the remains found In 2015 have been identified and accounted for, meaning the families have been notified and have received the remains. Eight of the remains found, have been identified but are not yet accounted for. A spokeswoman with the DPAA said the notification process can take time.
WWII claimed the lives of more than 400,000 servicemen. Thanks to History Flight Inc. and the efforts of the DPAA one of those brave soldiers was returned home for Memorial Day.
Featured Image via Wikipedia
