Frederick LaFrance
Sergeant Frederick LaFrance served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 292658
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 20, 1921
at Bay Shore, NY
Parents
Thomas Green LaFrance
Mary (Smith) LaFrance
Education
Murray Hill High School (1940)
Occupation & Employer
None; enlisted from high school
Service Life
Entered Service
August 24, 1940
at New York, NY
Home Of Record
9 North Tillie Street
Bay Shore, NY
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Mary LaFrance
Military Specialty
Squad Leader
Primary Unit
E/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Sergeant Frederick LaFrance 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.
LaFrance, a pre-war Marine and Guadalcanal veteran, was last seen alive on 20 November. After the battle, he was reported as missing in action; when no further word of his whereabouts was received, his status was changed to killed in action as of that date. 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 5, Row 1, Plot 9.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Mary LaFrance.
Location Of Loss
Sergeant LaFrance was last seen during landing operations on Beach Red 2.
