Eugene Parker Miller
Private Eugene P. Miller served with George Battery, Third Battalion, 10th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 415046
Current Status
Accounted For
as of 28 November 2022
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 18, 1924
at Ogden, UT
Parents
Guy Ranney Miller
Lois (Brown) Miller
divorced c. 1927
Education
Ogden High School (1942)
Weber College (ex-1946)
Occupation & Employer
College student
Service Life
Entered Service
September 1, 1942
at Salt Lake City, UT
Home Of Record
336 18th Street
Ogden, UT
Next Of Kin
Grandmother, Mrs. Martha E. Miller
Military Specialty
Artilleryman
Primary Unit
10th Marines (G/3)
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Eugene P. Miller was last seen on 21 November 1943, while disembarking from his battery’s shore fire control party boat about a quarter mile from Betio.
Another member of G/3/10, PFC William P. Coffin, recalled the landing – the last time he saw Private Miller:
On the morning of Nov. 21 1943 I left the ramp lighter with the rest of the shore Fire Control Party about a quarter of a mile from the beach. Miller was approximately eight feet to my rear and the machine gun fire was very heavy. I heard Miller cry out, "Won't somebody please help me?"
When I turned around I saw blood on the water around Miller, and two other Marines were helping him. I believe he was taken back to the ramp-lighter by them. I also believe that his wound was somewhere on the upper front of his body. Where exactly I can not say. That is all I remember. I then proceeded on toward the beach.
Private Miller was reported as evacuated for treatment for gunshot wounds in his chest. However, he never arrived at any known military hospital. Repeated inquiries into his whereabouts were unsuccessful, and Miller was ultimately declared dead on 22 November 1944.
Burial Information or Disposition
Eugene Miller’s body was found somewhere on Betio, in an unidentifiable condition and lacking any personal effects that might have borne his name. He was buried as an unknown in the East Division Cemetery near Hawkins Field.
In 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company exhumed all known burials and attempted to identify as many individuals as they could. One set of remains arrived at the processing center with a few coins and two dog tags bearing the name of Captain Edward G. Walker, Jr. Usually, the technicians of the 604th would not accept personal effects as definite proof of identity; remains were checked for key physical characteristics, especially dental peculiarities. However, due to the sheer number of unknown remains on Betio, the company had to re-train some of its men to work on the processing line, and inevitable errors occurred. It may have been one of these inexperienced men who determined Walker’s identity and sent the remains to Lone Palm Cemetery for reburial.
The remains labeled as Walker were eventually shipped back to his family in Lebanon, Tennessee, and buried in the family plot.
In 2021, laboratory analysis of unidentified remains exhumed from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific raised an uncomfortable truth: the man buried in Lebanon was not Walker at all. The real Captain Walker had been buried in Honolulu as X-198. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency notified Walker’s relatives; the casket was exhumed, remains exchanged, and Walker was finally home.
Eugene Parker Miller was the man misidentified as Edward Walker. Laboratory analysis confirmed the connection on 28 November 2022, and Miller was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in January 2024.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of grandmother, Mrs. Martha Miller.
Location Of Loss
Private Miller was last seen in the water offshore of Betio.
As a Marine several generations after the battle of Betio (Tarawa) I can feel the satisfaction that a loved one was finally identified so that his family finally knows the truth!! He died in the service of his country and is to be honoured as were all who gave their all! Semper Fi Marine, well done!!
His remains have been identified
from department of defense
https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Media-Gallery/igphoto/2003379802/