Skip to main content
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation (Sticky)

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
  • Current Issue
  • Subscribe to Naval History
    • Naval History Digital Subscription
    • Renew Your Subscription
  • Submisison Guidelines
  • Contact Naval History
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues
artifacts
Left: In battle-site graves, the fallen fighters of Tarawa were interred with makeshift wooden-cross markers such as these, the names still visible after all these years. Right: Beneath decades’ worth of accretion is an old-school black enamel canteen. Remarkably, the artifact still held the water of a long-perished Marine.
National Museum Of The Marine Corps

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
  • Current Issue
  • Subscribe to Naval History
    • Naval History Digital Subscription
    • Renew Your Subscription
  • Submisison Guidelines
  • Contact Naval History
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues

USMC Museum Receives Recovered Relics from Battle of Tarawa

December 2021
Naval History
Naval History News
View Issue
Comments
Body

The National Museum of the Marine Corps has acquired a large collection of battlefield relics from the 20–23 November 1943 Battle of Tarawa—a trove of World War II artifacts collected in recent years by History Flight, a nonprofit archaeological organization dedicated to researching and locating American service members still missing in action from the nation’s wars.

In 2015–16, History Flight recovered 51 sets of remains from a Tarawa battlefield cemetery and an additional 32 remains in 2019. In total, more than 150 servicemen have been identified and returned from Tarawa since 2020—including the remains of missing-in-action Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman Jr.

The Battle of Tarawa was part of the larger U.S. invasion of the Gilbert Islands. Codenamed Operation Galvanic, the primary assault was directed at Tarawa Atoll’s island of Betio. More than 1,000 U.S. servicemen were killed in the 76-hour battle, among the fiercest of the Pacific war. After the fighting, Marines and sailors were expediently buried in some 40 wartime cemeteries.

artifacts
Left: In battle-site graves, the fallen fighters of Tarawa were interred with makeshift wooden-cross markers such as these, the names still visible after all these years. Right: Beneath decades’ worth of accretion is an old-school black enamel canteen. Remarkably, the artifact still held the water of a long-perished Marine. Credit: National Museum Of The Marine Corps

The various objects unearthed in the course of History Flight’s efforts all were recovered on Betio Island by professional archaeologists, forensic anthropologists, geophysicists, and explosive ordnance specialists working for the organization. The History Flight team is led by Chief Operations Officer Sergeant Major Justin LeHew, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired). A Navy Cross recipient from the 2003 Battle of An Nasiriyah, LeHew’s passion for repatriating the lost Marines of World War II provides testament to the Semper Fi spirit.

Nearly every artifact received by the National Museum of the Marine Corps from History Flight has been professionally tagged and marked with specific recovery location and information. The artifacts range from helmets, canteens, and bayonets of individual Marines and Japanese soldiers to personal items, such as pocket change and medical items, found among the burial rows where the casualties were recovered.

Highlights include original wooden grave markers, with the names of Marines once buried beneath them still visible, and a black enamel canteen that still retained the original water carried by its Marine in 1943.

For more information on the National Museum of the Marine Corps, visit usmcmuseum.com. To find out more about the ongoing efforts of History Flight, go to historyflight.com.

Related Articles

USS Kidd
NH Naval History News

Preservation Grant Awarded to USS Kidd

December 2021
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, floating museum USS Kidd (DD-661) has been awarded a Tin Can Sailors Inc. grant of $10,000 for several ship preservation projects.
Gilday
NH Naval History News

CNO Naval History Essay Contest Winners Feted

December 2021
The winners of the 2021 CNO Naval History Essay Contest were honored during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy on 23 September.
Samuel J Cox
NH Naval History News

Ocean Explorer Awarded Navy’s Highest Civilian Honor

October 2021
Acclaimed ocean explorer Tim Taylor was bestowed the Distinguished Public Service Award (DPSA).

Quicklinks

Footer menu

  • About the Naval Institute
  • Books & Press
  • Naval History
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Oral Histories
  • Events
  • Naval Institute Foundation
  • Photos & Historical Prints
  • Advertise With Us
  • Naval Institute Archives

Receive the Newsletter

Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations.

Sign Up Now
Example NewsletterPrivacy Policy
USNI Logo White
Copyright © 2025 U.S. Naval Institute Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContact UsAdvertise With UsFAQContent LicenseMedia Inquiries
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
×

You've read 1 out of 5 free articles of Naval History this month.

Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. Subscribe now and never hit a limit.