Carroll George Lusche
Staff Sergeant Carroll G. Lusche served with served with the Second Tank Battalion, Company C (Medium).
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 278493
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 2, 1920
at Richland, NE
Parents
Carl G. Lusche
Martha (Schreiber) Lusche
Education
Kramer High School (1937)
Occupation & Employer
Farming
Service Life
Entered Service
December 7, 1939
at Des Moines, IA
Home Of Record
Monroe, NE
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Marion D. Lusche
Military Specialty
Mess Sergeant
Primary Unit
2nd Tank Battalion
Company C (Medium)
Campaigns Served
Pearl Harbor (aboard USS Oklahoma)
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Lusche served as a gun captain aboard the Oklahoma.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Staff Sergeant Carroll Lusche, a pre-war Marine and veteran of Pearl Harbor, served as the mess sergeant forof Company C (Medium), 2nd Tank Battalion, during the Tarawa campaign.
As part of the company’s support echelon, SSgt. Lusche was supposed to land on Betio with a later wave – but in the chaos off Red Beach One, his group disembarked with waves of assault infantry. Veteran Ed Gazel, who was aboard the same LCVP, recalled that Lusche never made it to the beach: he was shot and fell in the sea.
Lusche was initially reported as missing following the battle; in January 1944, his status was changed to killed in action as of 20 November 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition
None reported; identifiable remains not recovered.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 3, Row 2, Grave 11.
For more about Carroll Lusche and Company C, see “Tanks In Hell: A Marine Corps Tank Company on Tarawa” by Oscar Gilbert and Romain Canisere.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Marion D. Lusche.
Location Of Loss
SSgt. Lusche was likely killed in action near Betio’s Red Beach One.
