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.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 478610
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.
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.
