Donald Delfred Voorheis
Private Donald D. Voorheis served with King Company, Third Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 832891
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 20, 1923
at Detroit, MI
Parents
Leland Robbe Voorheis
Edna M. (Bashelier) Voorheis
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
March 3, 1943
at Detroit, MI
Home Of Record
9308 Stoepel Street
Detroit, MI
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Edna Voorheis
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
K/3/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Donald Voorheis served with King Company, 8th Marines in the battle of Tarawa.
The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Third Battalion, 8th Marines were in reserve for the landing operation, but were ordered to stand by in their LCVPs and were afloat by 1015. At 1200, the battalion’s first wave (which included King Company) began heading towards Beach Red 3 to support the heavily-engaged BLT 2-8.
Several hundred yards from the beach, the LCVPs slammed into a coral reef and stopped. Ramps went down, and Marines gamely jumped out into water over their heads. Some drowned, while the rest faced “heavy 40mm, machine gun, and mortar fire” that shredded their ranks. Only about a hundred disorganized, demoralized men – less than a company – made it to shore. The King Company survivors were sent to hold the left flank of the Marine line, and endured heavy machine gun and sniper fire for the rest of the day.
Private Voorheis was one of hundreds of Marines to lose his life on the first day of the battle. He died of shrapnel wounds received in action; no further details of his death are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
Two days after his death, Voorheis was reportedly buried in “2nd Marine Division Cemetery #5.” This notation appears to be unique to BLT 3-8; eight of their Marines were supposedly buried there. Of these, three have since been identified from other known cemeteries.
| Name (Unit) | "Cemetery 5" Burial | Alternate Burial (Source) | Recovered From |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Donald D. Voorheis (K/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 2” |
[none] |
Not Recovered |
|
Kenneth F. Mannix (I/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 3” |
[none] |
Not Recovered |
|
Victor J. Gaviglia (M/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 5” |
East Division Cemetery, Row A, Grave 21 (USMC casualty card) |
Cemetery 33 (Unknown X-107) 1946 Expedition |
|
Freeman C. Woolsey (I/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 8” |
[none] |
Unconfirmed; believed to be 33 or 26 (Unknown X-4) 1946 Expedition |
|
Duane O. Cole (K/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 9” |
Central Division Cemetery, Row B, Grave 26 (USMC casualty card) |
Cemetery 26 area History Fight 2014 Expedition |
|
John D. Reynolds (M/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 10” |
[none] |
Not Recovered |
|
Clifford A. Winkler (M/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 12” |
[none] |
Not Recovered |
|
William A. Parks, Jr. (K/3/8) |
“Row A, Grave 13” |
[none] |
Not Recovered |
Interestingly, all of these Marines appear on a post-battle report written up by Chaplain W. Wyeth Willard of the 8th Marines. Willard notes that he received twelve names from on Private Steven Yontz, who “took the identification tags from their bodies and placed them in the hands of a Marine colonel.”
These Marines may have been buried either in the East Division or Central Division cemeteries – as with Gaviglia and Cole – but without additional records, it is impossible to say for certain. Private Voorheis may be among the remains recovered from these locations and still awaiting identification, or he may still lie somewhere on the island of Betio.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Edna M. Voorheis.
Location Of Loss
Voorheis’ battalion landed at various locations between Beach Red 2 and Red 3.
