WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Charles E. Wallace, 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 18, 2019.
In November 1943, Wallace was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Wallace was killed on the third day of the battle, Nov. 22, 1943. His remains were reportedly buried in Cemetery 33.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Wallace's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa,
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