Elias Kuykendall
PFC Elias (Brendenburg) Kuykendall served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 377917
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 31, 1925
at Richmond, KY
Parents
Joseph Wesley Kuykendall
Sallie (Gaffney) Kuykendall
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
April 6, 1942
at Cincinnati, OH
Home Of Record
2316 Gladstone Avenue
Cincinnati, OH
Next Of Kin
Parents, Joseph & Sallie Kuykendall
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
B/1/8th Marines
Second Platoon
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Elias Kuykendall served with Company B, First Battalion, 8th Marines in the Guadalcanal campaign and during the battle for Tarawa.
At midday on 20 November 1943, BLT 1-8 climbed over the sides of their transport ships and boarded LCVPs in Tarawa lagoon. They anticipated imminent landing orders, but due to the desperate situation on the beach were held offshore in their little boats, bobbing in the waves for the rest of the day and a very long night. Early on 21 November, they were ordered to land on Betio’s Beach Red 2.
At 0615, the first waves of 1-8 rushed down the ramps and into the breaking surf on a coral reef some 500 yards from shore. Although friendly troops held the water’s edge, they “immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from both flanks.”
I gesture at them and shout, "C'mon, you guys, let's go! Get moving! Move out!"
They obey me: they get moving. They're good men, the best. They charge down the ramp, jump feet first into the water, start wading toward shore. And that's when the slaughter really begins."
Elias Kuykendall was standing beside Lieutenant Ladd when the ramp dropped. He was immediately shot in the head and killed, his body rolling off the ramp and into the water. The sight made an indelible impression on those waiting their turn to exit. “Boy,” thought PFC Dick Stein, “this is going to be a hell of a mess.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Although some records note that Kuykendall was “buried in Division Cemetery,” no specific location is given. Due to the nature of his death, it is likely that his body was lost at sea.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 13, Row 3, Grave 14.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Joe & Sallie Kuykendall.
Location Of Loss
PFC Kuykendall was killed in the water offshore of Beach Red 2, Betio.
