Glen Burton Pierce
Private Glen B. Pierce served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 454754
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 16, 1925
at Goldthwaite, TX
Parents
Jesse Malcolm Pierce (d.1926)
Frances (Hanks) Pierce
Education
Through sixth grade
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Doorman
Queen Theater
Service Life
Entered Service
September 2, 1942
at Dallas, TX
Home Of Record
1119 Vine Street
Brownwood, TX
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Frances S. Pierce
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
E/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Private Pierce joined Easy Company from the 2nd Antitank Battalion in October 1943.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Glen Pierce 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.
Pierce 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 11, Grave 9, Row 1, Plot 4.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Frances Pierce.
(During the war, Mrs. Pierce moved to Odessa.)
Location Of Loss
Private Pierce was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
