On March 17, 2017, Marine Corps Reserve PFC Jack Junior Fox, 23, killed in World War II, was finally identified. He will soon be returned to his family and laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors. (DATE/LOCATION: PENDING)
Private First Class Fox was with his brothers in Lima Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (L-3/2) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jack - just 23 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 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, Jack's family 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 Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 November 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company began disinterment to bring the remains to Oahu for identification at the Central Identification Laboratory. In 1949 and 1950, the remains that could not be identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, also known as "The Punchbowl") in Honolulu. PFC Fox's remains were not identified and, on February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Jack "non-recoverable".
In October 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs exhumed a set of remains from The Punchbowl which were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for analysis. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains.
On March 17, 2017, the DPAA identified the remains of Private First Class Jack Junior Fox, and his family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section with the good news.
Jack will soon be returned to his family and laid to rest in accordance with their wishes.
**Out of respect for PFC Fox's family, additional details are pending his brother's formal visit and official brief from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section.**
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Jack Junior Fox is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PFC Fox's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Jack has finally been found (56130634, cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Recent News & Stories (April 4, 2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Private First Class Fox was with his brothers in Lima Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (L-3/2) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jack - just 23 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 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, Jack's family 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 Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 November 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company began disinterment to bring the remains to Oahu for identification at the Central Identification Laboratory. In 1949 and 1950, the remains that could not be identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, also known as "The Punchbowl") in Honolulu. PFC Fox's remains were not identified and, on February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Jack "non-recoverable".
In October 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs exhumed a set of remains from The Punchbowl which were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for analysis. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains.
On March 17, 2017, the DPAA identified the remains of Private First Class Jack Junior Fox, and his family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section with the good news.
Jack will soon be returned to his family and laid to rest in accordance with their wishes.
**Out of respect for PFC Fox's family, additional details are pending his brother's formal visit and official brief from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section.**
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Jack Junior Fox is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PFC Fox's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Jack has finally been found (56130634, cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Recent News & Stories (April 4, 2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
On March 17, 2017, Marine Corps Reserve PFC Jack Junior Fox, 23, killed in World War II, was finally identified. He will soon be returned to his family and laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors. (DATE/LOCATION: PENDING)
Private First Class Fox was with his brothers in Lima Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (L-3/2) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jack - just 23 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 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, Jack's family 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 Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 November 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company began disinterment to bring the remains to Oahu for identification at the Central Identification Laboratory. In 1949 and 1950, the remains that could not be identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, also known as "The Punchbowl") in Honolulu. PFC Fox's remains were not identified and, on February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Jack "non-recoverable".
In October 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs exhumed a set of remains from The Punchbowl which were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for analysis. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains.
On March 17, 2017, the DPAA identified the remains of Private First Class Jack Junior Fox, and his family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section with the good news.
Jack will soon be returned to his family and laid to rest in accordance with their wishes.
**Out of respect for PFC Fox's family, additional details are pending his brother's formal visit and official brief from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section.**
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Jack Junior Fox is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PFC Fox's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Jack has finally been found (56130634, cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Recent News & Stories (April 4, 2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Private First Class Fox was with his brothers in Lima Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (L-3/2) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jack - just 23 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 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, Jack's family 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 Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
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 November 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company began disinterment to bring the remains to Oahu for identification at the Central Identification Laboratory. In 1949 and 1950, the remains that could not be identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, also known as "The Punchbowl") in Honolulu. PFC Fox's remains were not identified and, on February 8, 1949, a military review board declared Jack "non-recoverable".
In October 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs exhumed a set of remains from The Punchbowl which were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for analysis. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains.
On March 17, 2017, the DPAA identified the remains of Private First Class Jack Junior Fox, and his family received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section with the good news.
Jack will soon be returned to his family and laid to rest in accordance with their wishes.
**Out of respect for PFC Fox's family, additional details are pending his brother's formal visit and official brief from the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section.**
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Jack Junior Fox is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PFC Fox's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Jack has finally been found (56130634, cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Recent News & Stories (April 4, 2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Family Members
Parents
Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
