Harry LeBert
PFC Harry LeBert served with King Company, Third Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Saipan on 16 June 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number
477897
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of July 2025
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Press release pending
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 24, 1918
at Crowley, LA
Parents
Leopold LeBert
Eva (Doucet) LeBert
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Carpenter
Service Life
Entered Service
November 3, 1942
at New Orleans, LA
Home Of Record
2709 South Street
Lake Charles, LA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Aza Mae (Arbie) LeBert
Military Specialty
Automatic Rifleman (MOS 746)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Tarawa)
– with Gold Star (Saipan)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Harry LeBert, a carpenter from Lake Charles, Louisiana, enlisted in the Marine Corps on 3 November 1942 – leaving behind his wife and two young children, Robert and Barbara. His baptism of fire came at Betio in the Tarawa atoll on 21 November 1943 – but LeBert never even made it to shore. A Japanese artillery shell exploded in his LCVP, leaving the Louisianan with shrapnel wounds in his arms, legs, and buttocks. He was immediately evacuated to the USS Heywood for treatment and hospitalized for a few weeks. This wound may have saved his life, for the present: King Company lost 38 Marines killed in action at Tarawa, most of whom have never been recovered.
LeBert returned to duty on 23 December 1943 and was soon training up for another invasion: Operation Forager, the assault on the Mariana Islands. His battalion was slated to cross Beach Green One on the island of Saipan – however, due to the fortunes of war, 2/8th Marines landed right on top of them during the assault of 15 June 1944. The confused landing was only the start of 3/8’s problems as they rushed to fill gaps in the front line, withstood Japanese infiltration attempts, and tried to push forward into challenging, hilly terrain.
At some point on 16 June 1944, a mortar shell landed on the King Company line, and Private First Class LeBert fell with multiple shrapnel wounds. He was evidently evacuated to the beach; at least, this was the last King Company knew of his whereabouts. Muster rolls erroneously list LeBert as present for the battle of Tinian in July-August 1944. It was not until September that official records noted his absence, and he was reported as “missing in action.”
Nothing more was ever heard from Harry LeBert, and he was ultimately declared dead as of 16 June 1944.
Burial Information or Disposition
PFC LeBert never made it off Saipan. He appears to have died of his wounds shortly after leaving the front lines, and his body was brought to the Second Marine Division Cemetery. Unluckily, LeBert was not carrying any form of identification, and was thus buried in Plot B, Row 8, Grave 15 as “Unknown X-21.” The remains were exhumed in 1948 and sent for laboratory analysis, but technology of the time was unable to reach a definite conclusion. “X-21” was buried in an “Unknown” grave at Fort McKinley in Manila; PFC LeBert was officially determined “non-recoverable” in 1949.
In 2022, “X-21” was transferred from Manila to Honolulu for reexamination. Three years later, dental comparisons and DNA matches confirmed the match with Harry LeBert. He was buried with military honors in Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in July 2025 with members of his family in attendance.
Memorials
CENOTAPH
Honolulu Memorial, Courts Of The Missing
FINAL BURIAL
Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery
Next Of Kin Address
Location Of Loss
PFC LeBert was last known to be near the Green Beaches on Saipan.
