Private Franklin M. Nodland, Marshalltown, Iowa was one of 19 Marines killed during a raid on Butaritari Island, in the Makin Atoll, August 17-18, 1942. They were members of the 2nd Raider Battalion, a Marine unit organized and trained to conduct commando and guerrilla-style attacks behind enemy lines. The unit was led by then-Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson and his second-in-command, Major James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Makin Island Raid (occurred on 17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The raid was among the first American offensive ground combat operations of World War II.
During the two-day battle, the Raiders killed an estimated 83 Japanese soldiers, but their attempts to leave the island were bedeviled by a high and crashing surf and they were unable to evacuate the bodies of their fallen comrades.
In November 1999, a recovery team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), uncovered a mass grave on Butaritari Island and excavated the remains. The remains were transported to CILHI where an exhaustive process led to the identification of the Marines and the subsequent notification of their families.
The Makin Island Raid (occurred on 17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The raid was among the first American offensive ground combat operations of World War II.
During the two-day battle, the Raiders killed an estimated 83 Japanese soldiers, but their attempts to leave the island were bedeviled by a high and crashing surf and they were unable to evacuate the bodies of their fallen comrades.
In November 1999, a recovery team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), uncovered a mass grave on Butaritari Island and excavated the remains. The remains were transported to CILHI where an exhaustive process led to the identification of the Marines and the subsequent notification of their families.
Private Franklin M. Nodland, Marshalltown, Iowa was one of 19 Marines killed during a raid on Butaritari Island, in the Makin Atoll, August 17-18, 1942. They were members of the 2nd Raider Battalion, a Marine unit organized and trained to conduct commando and guerrilla-style attacks behind enemy lines. The unit was led by then-Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson and his second-in-command, Major James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Makin Island Raid (occurred on 17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The raid was among the first American offensive ground combat operations of World War II.
During the two-day battle, the Raiders killed an estimated 83 Japanese soldiers, but their attempts to leave the island were bedeviled by a high and crashing surf and they were unable to evacuate the bodies of their fallen comrades.
In November 1999, a recovery team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), uncovered a mass grave on Butaritari Island and excavated the remains. The remains were transported to CILHI where an exhaustive process led to the identification of the Marines and the subsequent notification of their families.
The Makin Island Raid (occurred on 17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The raid was among the first American offensive ground combat operations of World War II.
During the two-day battle, the Raiders killed an estimated 83 Japanese soldiers, but their attempts to leave the island were bedeviled by a high and crashing surf and they were unable to evacuate the bodies of their fallen comrades.
In November 1999, a recovery team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), uncovered a mass grave on Butaritari Island and excavated the remains. The remains were transported to CILHI where an exhaustive process led to the identification of the Marines and the subsequent notification of their families.
Inscription
PVT, 2 RAIDER BN WORLD WAR II
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Iowa.
Family Members
Other Records
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Records on Ancestry
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Iowa, U.S., State Census Collection, 1836-1925
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1930 United States Federal Census
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Iowa, U.S., Births (series) 1880-1904, 1921-1944 and Delayed Births (series), 1856-1940
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Iowa, U.S., World War II Bonus Case Files for Beneficiaries, 1947-1959
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Web: U.S., Marine Corps Casualty Indexes, 1940-1958
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