Jack Benson Van Zandt

Jack Van Zandt was born in Rossville, Illinois, on 8 October 1921. He spent his youth in Vermilion County alongside his parents, George Washington and Blanche, and siblings George Leroy, Aileen, and Lois. The Van Zandts were heavily involved in the livestock trade and operated a farm in Batesville; as a boy, Jack split his time between chores and school. He grew into a gregarious and outgoing teenager at Oakwood High School; in addition to Future Farmers of America, Jack was active in Glee Club, Orchestra, Operetta, Dramatics Club, and served as his class vice president. When he graduated in 1939, he jokingly bequeathed his “dynamic yelling ability” to a younger schoolmate.

With a diploma in hand, Jack began planning his future. He continued working on the family farm for a year or more, but left home in 1941 for the nearest big city: Indianapolis, Indiana. Jack moved in Fred and Ethel Barrett (his aunt and uncle) and began working in the service department of Eli Lilly and Company.

He was just one month into this new life when the attack on Pearl Harbor spurred American entry into World War II.

Initially, Jack was in no hurry to leave the ranks of “Lillymen” and put on a uniform. He spent six months in the plant’s bottle washing department – clocking in, “cleaning cans,” clocking out. On 19 May 1942, however, he walked in to the Indianapolis recruiting station and volunteered for service with the Marine Corps.

Within days of enlisting, Private Van Zandt was at boot camp in San Diego. He handily completed his training and was assigned to duty with Company A, First Battalion, 6th Marines in the summer of 1942. In addition to rifle, pistol, and bayonet qualifications, Van Zandt also learned how to use the heavy, powerful Browning Automatic Rifle, and likely carried the weapon into combat.

Jack deployed overseas in late 1942 and fought in the closing phases of the Guadalcanal campaign the following year. He survived without injury; at the end of January 1943, his regiment was withdrawn from the combat zone and sent to New Zealand for a period of rest and recuperation.

Training recommenced in the spring of 1943, and Van Zandt earned a promotion to Private First Class. The next several months developed into a routine of conditioning hikes, maneuvers, and amphibious exercises – all tempered with the occasional liberty in Wellington.

In October, Pellerito and his company boarded the USS Feland and departed New Zealand for their next operation – the invasion of Tarawa.

PFC Van Zandt’s good fortune would not last through his second battle. His company, part of the 2nd Division reserve, landed on the island of Betio on the night of 21 November 1943. They attacked early the next morning, fighting determined Japanese defenders and sweltering heat. Jack was one of the first to fall; he died at 1030 in the morning on 22 November, from a gunshot wound in the head.

The following day, PFC Van Zandt’s body was carried to a battalion collection point and buried in a long trench alongside nearly thirty of his comrades. The spot was christened “Gilbert Islands Cemetery” by the 6th Marines, and later “East Division Cemetery, Row D” by the 2nd Marine Division. Van Zandt was the fourth man buried in the row.

A few weeks after the battle, the mass grave with the bodies of Jack Van Zandt and his buddies was flattened out and paved over to make way for airbase construction. A memorial marker with his name was emplaced in Cemetery 33, Plot 11, Row 2, Grave 11 – but there was no body buried beneath the cross, and Jack was declared non-recoverable in 1949.

Row D was discovered by the non-profit research group History Flight in the spring of 2019. Van Zandt’s remains were among those recovered, and he was identified by the DPAA on 23 September 2019.

CENOTAPHS
Honolulu Memorial, Tablets of the Missing

FINAL BURIAL
Sunset Memorial Park, Danville, Illinois