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Frank Urbanik

PFC Frank Urbanik served with Dog Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943,
and ultimately declared dead on 22 November 1944.

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

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 320639

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

November 15, 1919
at Cleveland, OH

Parents

Stanley Urbanik
Albina “Lena” (Romanovski) Urbanik

Education

Details unknown

Occupation & Employer

Armour & Company Meat Packing

Service Life

Entered Service

September 3, 1941
at Chicago, IL

Home Of Record

4856 South Ada Street
Chicago, IL

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Lena Urbanik

Military Specialty

Primary Unit

D/1/8th Marines

Campaigns Served

Guadalcanal
Tarawa

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

PFC Frank Urbanik served with Dog Company, 8th Marines, during the Guadalcanal campaign and in 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.” The battalion was decimated on the long walk to shore. An action report penned by the 8th Marines noted that “many of the casualties resulted from drowning, due to the heavy packs and equipment men attempted to take across the submerged fringing reef.” The Dog Company Marines, many of them weighed down by crew-serviced weapons and heavy ammunition, were especially hard-hit.

PFC Urbanik was last seen alive during the landing operation. Initial reports from his organization mentioned that he had been wounded in action and evacuated for medical treatment. However, he never arrived at a rear-area hospital – and, in fact, may have never reached a transport ship in the Tarawa lagoon. Efforts to determine his whereabouts proved fruitless, and Huffman was declared dead on 22 November 194

Excerpt from the muster roll of First Battalion, 8th Marines, November 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition

None recorded; reported as missing in action.

Because he was initially reported as wounded in action, Urbanik did not have a memorial marker on Betio.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of mother, Mrs. Lena Urbanik.

Location Of Loss

PFC Urbanik’s battalion landed in the vicinity of Beach Red 2, Betio.

Gallery

Betio Casualties From This Company​

(Recently accounted for or still non-recovered)
*Although BLT 1-8 did not land until 21 November, the official date of death for some personnel is given as 20 November 1943.
The reasons for this discrepancy are not known.
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