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Elvis Arthur Dill

Private Elvis A. Dill served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 6th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 22 November 1943.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 478610

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

February 7, 1921
at Fairdealing, MO

Parents

George Arthur Dill
divorced
Zula (Gillespie) Dill

Education

Details unknown

Occupation & Employer

Harms & Larson

Other

Married to Harriet Rebecca Hayworth on 28 July 1941

Service Life

Entered Service

November 6, 1942
at San Francisco, CA

Home Of Record

Sacramento, CA

Next Of Kin

Friend, Miss Ruth Burg

Military Specialty

Primary Unit

B/1/6th Marines

Campaigns Served

Tarawa

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Private Dill also served with D/1/6th Marines prior to the battle for Tarawa.

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Private Elvis Dill served with Company B, 6th Marines during the battle of Tarawa.

Dill’s company landed on 21 November 1943 and crossed Beach Green under the cover of darkness. Early the next morning, they began attacking eastward along the southern coast of Betio, working their way through tangled brush and craters and fighting for countless Japanese bunkers and pillboxes. When darkness fell on 22 November, B/1/6 dug in for defense and helped repelled a concentrated banzai attack. They lost heavily, but extracted a worse toll on their attackers, and the battle largely ended on 23 November.

Tarawa would be Private Dill’s first and last battle. He suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the head and chest on 22 November.

Excerpt from the muster roll of First Battalion, 6th Marines, November 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition

The day after he died, Private Dill was reportedly buried in “Gilbert Islands Cemetery” along with dozens of Marines from his battalion. He was one of eight Marines with a set of coordinates appended to his burial information: “Betio (KH 283072 D-2 Map 14Oct43).” Unfortunately, this burial site was destroyed shortly after the battle, and although a memorial with Private Messier’s name appeared in Cemetery 33 (Plot 8, Row 1, Grave 6), it bore no relation to his actual resting place.

In 2019, the non-profit organization History Flight located a previously lost burial feature known as Row D. This site was known to be the grave of most of the 1/6th Marines battle casualties, and more than thirty remains were subsequently recovered and identified. Among them were two Marines with map coordinates identical to the ones recorded for Private Dill.

Although this discovery is a strong indication that Dill may have been buried in the same vicinity, his remains have not yet been recovered or identified.

Next Of Kin Address

Elvis Dill resided at this address when he enlisted.
His relationship to Miss Ruth Burg, his designated next of kin, is not known; nor is it clear when (or if) his marriage to Rebecca Hayworth ended.
His mother, Zula Wilson, resided in St. Louis, Missouri.

Location Of Loss

Private Dill was killed in action at an unspecified location along Betio’s southern shore.

Betio Casualties From This Company​

(Recently accounted for or still non-recovered)
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