Benjamin Theodore Lenord
PFC Benjamin “Teddy” Lenord served with Fox Company, Second Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 516907
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 22, 1926
at San Miguel, NM
Parents
William Theodore Lenord
Zemma Pearl (McDaniels) Lenord
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
February 23, 1943
at Los Angeles, CA
Home Of Record
Route 4
Bakersfield, CA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Pearl Lenord
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
F/2/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Benjamin Lenord served with Fox Company, 8th Marines in the battle for Tarawa.
The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Second Battalion 8th Marines was given the job of assaulting the easternmost of three landing beaches – “Red 3” – and, once ashore, moving inland to quickly secure the airfield that covered much of the tiny island’s surface. A heavy and morale-boosting naval bombardment convinced many Marines that the task would be a simple one, and spirits were high at 0900 when their amphibious tractors started paddling for the beach.
The Japanese were quick to recover. Shells began bursting over the LVTs. “As the tractors neared the shore the air filled with the smoke and fragments of shells fired from 3-inch guns,” notes A Brief History of the 8th Marines. “Fortunately, casualties had been light on the way to the beach, but once the men dismounted and struggled to get beyond the beach, battle losses increased dramatically.” Most of the beach defenses were still intact, and these were supported by row after row of pillboxes, rifle pits, and machine gun nests.
PFC Lenord failed to return to his company when the battle ended. He was entered onto muster rolls as missing in action; when nothing more was learned of his whereabouts, his status was changed to killed in action effective 20 November 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; reported as missing in action, no identifiable remains recovered.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 14, Row 2, Grave 9.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Pearl Lenord.
Location Of Loss
Lenord’s battalion landed on and fought in the vicinity of Beach Red 3.