Gilmore Van Horn Rix
Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Gilmore V. Rix served with the Third Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Navy Regular
Service Number 382 76 91
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of June 18, 2024
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Read Press Release
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 7, 1924
at Los Angeles, CA
Parents
Wilton John Rix
Lenna Mary (Johnson) Rix
later Lenna Mary Newman
Education
Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte High School (ex-1942)
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
January 10, 1942
at Los Angeles, CA
Home Of Record
1305 S. Mountain Street
Monrovia, CA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Lenna Newman
Military Specialty
Corpsman
Primary Unit
HQ/3/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Pharmacist’s Mate Gilmore Rix served as a medical corpsman attached to the Third Battalion, 8th Marines. For administrative purposes, he was carried on the rolls of Headquarters Company (and possibly served with the battalion’s aid station) but may have gone into combat with any one of the platoons of Item, King, Love, or Mike Company.
The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Third Battalion, 8th Marines were in reserve for the landing operation, but were ordered to stand by in their LCVPs and were afloat by 1015. At 1200, the battalion’s first wave began heading towards Beach Red 3 to support the heavily-engaged BLT 2-8.
Nothing went as planned. The boats of the first wave hung up on a coral reef; Marines were dropped into deep water and forced to wade ashore. Waves Two and Three were driven west and landed on the long central pier. Parts of Wave Four and Five wound up on Beach Red 2. Due to intense fire and poor communications, the remainder of the battalion were held at sea out of small-arms range until later in the afternoon.
“Doc” Rix was one of hundreds who lost their lives on the first day of the battle for Tarawa. Although he was confirmed as killed in action, no eyewitness accounts of his final moments are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
Contemporary records show no fixed burial location for Corpsman Rix, saying only “Grave unknown.” A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 9, Row 1, Grave 1.
The DPAA announced the identification of Gilmore Rix on September 24, 2024. This article will be updated.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Lenna Newman.
In civilian records, Gilmore also uses the surname “Newman.”
Location Of Loss
Rix’s battalion landed at various locations between Beach Red 2 and Red 3.
Press Release | Sept. 24, 2024
Sailor Accounted for from WWII (Rix, G.)
Washington –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Navy Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class (PhM3c) Gilmore V. Rix, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 18, 2024.
In November 1943, Rix was a member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Rix is believed to have been killed while his unit attempted to secure Red Beach 3 on Nov. 20, 1943. His remains were not identified after the war.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at http://www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at http://www.facebook.com/dodpaa.
https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Press-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3915842/sailor-accounted-for-from-wwii-rix-g/