Marine Corps PVT Edwin Harold Vancil, 19, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.
Private Vancil was with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion 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 for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Bud - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery #17 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 or husband 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, Bud’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 PVT Vancil’s remains were not recovered. On February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin “non-recoverable”.
In August of 2018, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PVT Vancil and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Buddie’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his niece and sister the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Private Edwin Harold Vancil 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".
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Personnel Profile
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Private Vancil was with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion 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 for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Bud - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery #17 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 or husband 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, Bud’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 PVT Vancil’s remains were not recovered. On February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin “non-recoverable”.
In August of 2018, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PVT Vancil and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Buddie’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his niece and sister the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Private Edwin Harold Vancil 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".
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Personnel Profile
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps PVT Edwin Harold Vancil, 19, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.
Private Vancil was with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion 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 for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Bud - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery #17 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 or husband 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, Bud’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 PVT Vancil’s remains were not recovered. On February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin “non-recoverable”.
In August of 2018, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PVT Vancil and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Buddie’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his niece and sister the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Private Edwin Harold Vancil 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".
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Personnel Profile
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Private Vancil was with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion 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 for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Bud - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery #17 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 or husband 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, Bud’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 PVT Vancil’s remains were not recovered. On February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Edwin “non-recoverable”.
In August of 2018, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PVT Vancil and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Buddie’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his niece and sister the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Private Edwin Harold Vancil 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".
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Personnel Profile
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
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VANCIL EDWIN HAROLD
PRIVATE • USMC • WASHINGTON
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