Clay Odell Adams
Corporal Clay O. Adams served with Item Company, Third Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 315043
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 1, 1923
at Juanita, ND
Parents
Andy Clay Adams
Alma (Pewe) Adams
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
July 10, 1941
at New Orleans, LA
Home Of Record
LaGrange Street
Lake Charles, LA
Next Of Kin
Parents, Andy & Alma Adams
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
I/3/2nd Mairnes
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Clay Adams served as a non-commissioned officer in Item Company, 2nd Marines, during the Guadalcanal and Tarawa campaigns.
On 20 November 1943, Adams’ 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.
Corporal Adams was one who fell on the first day of the battle for Tarawa; he suffered fatal bullet wounds to the head.
Burial Information or Disposition
After the battle, Clay Adams was reportedly buried in Grave 1, Row 1, West Division Cemetery, where 36 men were interred in two long rows. This location was later “beautified” by Navy garrison troops into “Cemetery 11,” with rows of memorial markers laid out in a dramatic cross configuration.
For reasons unknown, Corporal Adams did not get a marker in Cemetery 11 – but instead in “Cemetery 7” alongside one of his I/3/2 buddies, PFC Ernest P. Peralta. It is not known which – if either – of these locations actually held his remains. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company located both cemeteries after the war, but were not able to identify Clay Adams.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Andy & Alma Adams.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Adams’ battalion was engaged in the vicinity of Beach Red One.
