Marine Corps Reserve PVT Edwin William Jordan, 17, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on April 9, 2018, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honor (22383431).
Born October 13, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Edwin was the 2nd of four children blessed to the union of Arthur Calvin and Margaret Abigail (nee Himmelrich) Jordan.
The Jordan family endured very traumatic blows in Edwin's young life. A baby brother, arriving when Edwin was only 2, sadly lived less than one week. One can only imagine the pain the 14-year-old faced when his dear mother passed suddenly in 1941.
On November 2, 1942, the 16-year-old left his father's 3794 East Street home, walked into the local Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted in the reserves.
Private Jordan was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) 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 20, 1943 (D-Day of the "Battle of Tarawa"), when Edwin - just 17 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Edwin's father accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 Island, but PVT Jordan's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin "non-recoverable".
Left to mourn his passing were Edwin's father and siblings, Arthur Edward Jordan and Mrs Hester Ruth Heintzinger.
A memorial marker was placed at Arlington National Cemetery in 1997. With all of his siblings now gone, the next generation defiantly held on to hopes that their fallen uncle would one day be found and returned to them.
Memorial Day weekend 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found PVT Jordan's surviving family and put them contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Edwin's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered Mrs Nancy Erwin the opportunity to coordinate a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for her Uncle Edwin's identification.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted-for Edwin on September 27, 2017, and the family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Edwin was finally returned to his family and, on April 9, 2018, laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors (22383431).
Marine Corps Reserve PVT Edwin William Jordan is memorialized among at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PVT Jordan's name shall remain permanently inscribed on Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate Edwin is no longer missing.
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-035 (April 2, 2018)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section) and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home. "It takes a village!"
Born October 13, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Edwin was the 2nd of four children blessed to the union of Arthur Calvin and Margaret Abigail (nee Himmelrich) Jordan.
The Jordan family endured very traumatic blows in Edwin's young life. A baby brother, arriving when Edwin was only 2, sadly lived less than one week. One can only imagine the pain the 14-year-old faced when his dear mother passed suddenly in 1941.
On November 2, 1942, the 16-year-old left his father's 3794 East Street home, walked into the local Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted in the reserves.
Private Jordan was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) 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 20, 1943 (D-Day of the "Battle of Tarawa"), when Edwin - just 17 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Edwin's father accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 Island, but PVT Jordan's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin "non-recoverable".
Left to mourn his passing were Edwin's father and siblings, Arthur Edward Jordan and Mrs Hester Ruth Heintzinger.
A memorial marker was placed at Arlington National Cemetery in 1997. With all of his siblings now gone, the next generation defiantly held on to hopes that their fallen uncle would one day be found and returned to them.
Memorial Day weekend 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found PVT Jordan's surviving family and put them contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Edwin's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered Mrs Nancy Erwin the opportunity to coordinate a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for her Uncle Edwin's identification.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted-for Edwin on September 27, 2017, and the family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Edwin was finally returned to his family and, on April 9, 2018, laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors (22383431).
Marine Corps Reserve PVT Edwin William Jordan is memorialized among at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PVT Jordan's name shall remain permanently inscribed on Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate Edwin is no longer missing.
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-035 (April 2, 2018)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section) and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home. "It takes a village!"
Marine Corps Reserve PVT Edwin William Jordan, 17, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on April 9, 2018, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honor (22383431).
Born October 13, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Edwin was the 2nd of four children blessed to the union of Arthur Calvin and Margaret Abigail (nee Himmelrich) Jordan.
The Jordan family endured very traumatic blows in Edwin's young life. A baby brother, arriving when Edwin was only 2, sadly lived less than one week. One can only imagine the pain the 14-year-old faced when his dear mother passed suddenly in 1941.
On November 2, 1942, the 16-year-old left his father's 3794 East Street home, walked into the local Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted in the reserves.
Private Jordan was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) 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 20, 1943 (D-Day of the "Battle of Tarawa"), when Edwin - just 17 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Edwin's father accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 Island, but PVT Jordan's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin "non-recoverable".
Left to mourn his passing were Edwin's father and siblings, Arthur Edward Jordan and Mrs Hester Ruth Heintzinger.
A memorial marker was placed at Arlington National Cemetery in 1997. With all of his siblings now gone, the next generation defiantly held on to hopes that their fallen uncle would one day be found and returned to them.
Memorial Day weekend 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found PVT Jordan's surviving family and put them contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Edwin's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered Mrs Nancy Erwin the opportunity to coordinate a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for her Uncle Edwin's identification.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted-for Edwin on September 27, 2017, and the family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Edwin was finally returned to his family and, on April 9, 2018, laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors (22383431).
Marine Corps Reserve PVT Edwin William Jordan is memorialized among at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PVT Jordan's name shall remain permanently inscribed on Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate Edwin is no longer missing.
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-035 (April 2, 2018)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section) and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home. "It takes a village!"
Born October 13, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Edwin was the 2nd of four children blessed to the union of Arthur Calvin and Margaret Abigail (nee Himmelrich) Jordan.
The Jordan family endured very traumatic blows in Edwin's young life. A baby brother, arriving when Edwin was only 2, sadly lived less than one week. One can only imagine the pain the 14-year-old faced when his dear mother passed suddenly in 1941.
On November 2, 1942, the 16-year-old left his father's 3794 East Street home, walked into the local Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted in the reserves.
Private Jordan was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) 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 20, 1943 (D-Day of the "Battle of Tarawa"), when Edwin - just 17 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Edwin's father accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 Island, but PVT Jordan's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin "non-recoverable".
Left to mourn his passing were Edwin's father and siblings, Arthur Edward Jordan and Mrs Hester Ruth Heintzinger.
A memorial marker was placed at Arlington National Cemetery in 1997. With all of his siblings now gone, the next generation defiantly held on to hopes that their fallen uncle would one day be found and returned to them.
Memorial Day weekend 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found PVT Jordan's surviving family and put them contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Edwin's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered Mrs Nancy Erwin the opportunity to coordinate a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for her Uncle Edwin's identification.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted-for Edwin on September 27, 2017, and the family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Edwin was finally returned to his family and, on April 9, 2018, laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors (22383431).
Marine Corps Reserve PVT Edwin William Jordan is memorialized among at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PVT Jordan's name shall remain permanently inscribed on Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate Edwin is no longer missing.
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-035 (April 2, 2018)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section) and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home. "It takes a village!"
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