Charles Richard Fowler

PFC Charles R. Fowler served with Love Company, 2nd Marines during the Solomon Island campaigns and in the battle of Tarawa.

On 20 November 1943, Fowler’s battalion was assigned the task of spearheading the assault on Betio’s Beach Red One – a curved stretch of sand running several hundred yards from the “bird’s beak” in the west to Red Two in the east. The natural shape of the beach created a crossfire for the defenders, and the area became known as “the Pocket.” Slow-moving landing craft were quickly targeted from multiple angles, and many were knocked out as they approached the shore. Hundreds of men were killed or wounded before stepping foot on dry land. Those who survived faced a network of obstacles manned by determined Japanese defenders, and the fighting was close-in and savage.

Love Company, designated as the battalion reserve and embarked in boats instead of tractors, faced an especially horrific ordeal. “LCVs grounded on the reef about 500 yards from the beach and [the men] disembarked into the water,” states the battalion report. “They were heavily hit both by machine gun and large caliber fire while in the water. Most of the fire came from the left, so as a consequence , the company landed on the right half of Beach Red 1. The casualties to this company at this time amounted to about 35%.”

PFC Fowler was last seen alive during this landing operation. Such was the confusion and chaos that he was not initially reported as a casualty on his unit’s muster rolls; it took several weeks for record keeping to catch up, at which time it was believed he had been evacuated to a hospital. Subsequent searches failed to find any evidence for this theory, however.

Fowler’s is a unique case among hundreds of Tarawa mysteries. Due to the complete lack of information about his whereabouts, he was not declared dead after the customary year and a day. Instead, he was carried on the rolls of the POW & Missing Persons Detachment until 20 November 1945.