Fred Clay Wallace
Corporal Fred C. Wallace served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 293655
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 9, 1922
at Odd, WV
Parents
Charley Estil Wallace
Viola (Logan) Wallace (d. 1941)
Education
Stoco High School
Occupation & Employer
None; enlisted out of high school
Service Life
Entered Service
September 3, 1940
at Charleston, WV
Home Of Record
Odd, WV
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Charley Wallace
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
E/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Fred Wallace served with Easy Company, 2nd Marines during the battle of Tarawa. On 20 November 1943, his battalion was tasked with spearheading the assault on a stretch of sand called Beach Red Two. Easy Company was to land on the western half of the beach, but on the way to shore their LVTs were subjected to withering fire from the Japanese defenses, and the unit’s organization disintegrated. Casualties were extremely heavy; of 165 Easy Company men who went into action, 62 were killed and scores more were wounded over the course of the battle.
Wallace was reported as killed in action by gunshot wounds on 20 November. No further details of his fate are currently known.
Burial Information or Disposition
No information recorded; disposition not known.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Grave 15, Row 2, Plot 8.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Charley Wallace.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Wallace was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
