Clarence Kenneth Ary
PFC Clarence K. “Kenny” Ary served with Company C, 2nd Tank Battalion
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 23 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 337086
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 30, 1920
at Fowler, CO
Parents
Clarence Sumner Ary
Lorena May (Marriott) Ary
Education
Del Norte High School (1938)
Occupation & Employer
Farming
Trout Creek Ranch
Service Life
Entered Service
December 15, 1941
at Denver, CO
Home Of Record
PO Box 33
Del Norte, CO
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Lorena M. Ary
Military Specialty
Tank Driver
Primary Unit
2nd Tank Battalion
Company C (Light)
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands (aboard USS Crescent City)
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Ary served as a member of a provisional Raider battalion attached to the 2nd Marines from 28 August to 28 September 1942.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private First Class Clifford Ary served with Charlie Company 2nd Tank Battalion in the Solomon Islands and during the battle of Tarawa. His company was equipped with light tanks, and “Kenny” Ary trained as a driver in the M3A1. While the medium M4 tanks of Company C (Medium) participated in the 20 November 1943 assault on Betio, unloading the “lights” was delayed by combat conditions and poor cargo stowage. PFC Ary spent two days in the battle zone aboard the USS Monrovia before getting ashore on 22 November 1943.
The light tanks were largely relegated to mopping up duty and supporting the surviving M4 medium tanks. Little information about their combat operations is available, but at some point on 23 November 1943 Kenny Ary was shot in the abdomen. An unnamed eyewitness later told Ary’s parents that a Japanese sniper shot their son as he was climbing out of his tank.
Burial Information or Disposition
Within hours of his death, Kenny Ary was brought to a burial ground near Beach Red 2. Known as “Division Cemetery #1” or “Central Division Cemetery,” it was the second largest interment site on Betio. Ary was reportedly buried in the third row, occupying Grave #114. A memorial marker was later installed in Cemetery 26, Plot 1, Row 1, Grave #7.
Unfortunately, although he was identified at the time of burial, Ary’s remains were later declared non-recoverable. In 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company exhumed the cemetery and recovered more than 120 bodies – many of which were not identifiable due to record discrepancies, missing parts, or illegible identification tags. Other remains were overlooked entirely, and only rediscovered by archaeological expeditions in recent years.
Today, PFC Ary’s remains may be stored in Hawaii awaiting final identification – or they may still rest in the “temporary” grave on Betio where he was buried in 1943.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Lorena Ary.
Location Of Loss
PFC Ary was killed at an unspecified location on Betio.
