Donald Deloy Stoddard

Donald Stoddard was born in Vale, South Dakota, on 5 January 1922. He was the second of five children born to George Enos and Bessie (Seitz) Stoddard, and grew up in the tiny rural community with siblings Roseada, Richard, Joanne, and older half-brother Hanford. Donald’s youngest sister, Charlene, arrived in 1937 after the family relocated to Colorado.

Donald spent his final civilian years living at 1026 Pine Street in Boulder, attending Boulder High School. He may have palled around with Henry Watkins, whose family lived in the same building, or Robert N. Smith from just down the street. The three boys may have discussed future plans; if so, they might have shared plans to join the service. Stoddard, the oldest, was the first to make his move.

Donald was just beginning his senior year at Boulder High School when he decided to enlist in the Marine Corps. He presented himself at the Denver recruiting office on 25 November 1939, signed and swore, and was soon on his way to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California. After completing boot camp, Private Stoddard was posted to the 6th Marines. In the years that followed, Stoddard would see duty with heavy weapons companies of the 2nd and 8th Marines – and rose to the rank of corporal in the process – but returned to his original outfit in time for his most important duty yet: overseas deployment. Stoddard arrived in Iceland in July of 1941 as an NCO with Dog Company, First Battalion, 6th Marines.

The thrill of being overseas and closer to the shooting war quickly wore off as garrison duty turned from routine to drudgery. There was little to do in Iceland; the Germans were not going to invade, nor was there much in the way of liberty. The 6th would not return to California until the spring of 1942, by which time the Pacific war was underway. The regiment turned in their distinctive polar bear patches, drew their new field uniforms, and began training to deploy to the other side of the globe. Their time would come in October of 1942. Stoddard, meanwhile, was promoted to the rank of sergeant and placed in charge of a section of 81mm mortars.

The 6th Marines joined in the battle of Guadalcanal during the later stages and fought through to the end of the campaign. Sergeant Stoddard survived the battle without wounds or injury and departed for New Zealand in February of 1943. He was one of the lucky ones: Donald may have heard about the fate of his former schoolmate, Private Henry R. Watkins. Eighteen-year-old Watkins drowned in an accident off the coast of Guadalcanal on 9 October 1942; his body was never found.

Stoddard spent the next several months of training in New Zealand preparing himself and his men for the next operation. In the early fall, he was transferred out of Dog Company and into Baker Company – likely taking charge of a section of 60mm mortars in the company weapons platoon.

Sergeant Stoddard’s company landed on the island of Betio, Tarawa atoll, on the night of 21 November 1943. The battalion arrived ashore at Green Beach in rubber boats, and prepared for a morning attack to the east which would turn the flank of Japanese positions and help establish contact between hard-hit and depleted units still trapped along the Red beaches.

After a day of exhausting fighting, Baker Company dug in and prepared a night defense. They were in an exposed position, and that night a force of several hundred Japanese troops hit their lines, breaking through in a few places and causing chaos and mayhem through the night and into the early morning hours of 22 November. Ultimately, the Marines held, but paid a stiff price for maintaining their positions.

One of the casualties of 22 November was Sergeant Stoddard. He was hit in the head by pieces of shrapnel and died in the field. Coincidentally, Robert N. Smith from Pine Street was also killed in action on Betio the very same day.

The next morning, Stoddard and nearly thirty other men – many from his own First Battalion, 6th Marines – were laid to rest in a trench grave near where they fell. The location, known as “Row D” of the East Division Cemetery, was later obliterated and the grave sites lost to the shifting sands of the tiny island.

Stoddard’s remains were recovered from Betio by the non-profit organization History Flight in 2019. Archaeologists excavated a burial feature known as “Row D” of Cemetery 33 and uncovered more than thirty potential Marine remains. Original burial rosters for the roll included thirty names, plus two unidentified Marines.

These same records placed Stoddard in Grave #18 of this cemetery. His remains were among those recovered by the History Flight team and sent back to the United States for laboratory analysis. On 16 March 2020, Donald Stoddard was finally accounted for.

CENOTAPHS
Honolulu Memorial, Tablets of the Missing

FINAL BURIAL
Mountain View Memorial Park, Boulder, Colorado