Harold Edward Perkins
PFC Harold E. “Si” Perkins served with Fox Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 423509
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 23, 1917
at Butte, MT
Parents
George Ernest Perkins
Julia (Driscoll) Perkins
Education
Butte High School (1935)
Occupation & Employer
Bartender
The Bronx Bar
Service Life
Entered Service
September 14, 1942
at Butte, MT
Home Of Record
636½ South Colorado Street
Butte, MT
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Sylvia C. Perkins
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
F/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Harold Perkins served with Fox Company, 2nd Marines during the Tarawa campaign. On 20 November 1943, his battalion was assigned the task of spearheading the assault on Betio’s Red Beach Two. Fox Company would land on the eastern half of the beach, fight their way inland, and help secure a vital airfield. If all went according to plan, they would walk ashore standing up and have the situation in hand by evening.
Extremely heavy Japanese resistance demolished the American plan in the first few moments, and for the rest of 20 November the Marines fought to secure a toehold on the beaches. Those who survived the first day spent an uneasy night a few feet from the water, or hidden in craters or foxholes, wary of nighttime attacks.
Private Alvin Bay, an eighteen-year-old Fox Company machine gunner, was blinded within a few minutes of coming ashore. He was “very scared” of a counterattack: “I knew I never would see them even if a knife was slipped between my ribs.” That evening, he heard a familiar voice calling his name – a buddy he knew only as “Private Perkins.”
Upon learning of the story, Sylvia Perkins went to visit Bay in the hospital to learn more about her husband’s actions in the battle.
"Si made four trips across the airport, voluntarily, for water for the boys, carrying five gallons in each hand. This airport is where the Marines lost most of their men, as it took five hours of battle to cross. Si ran every step with the water, not getting hit once. His helmet was shot off, his canteen shot away, and his clothes all ragged from bullets. Alvin says Si was really looked up to for his bravery. Every time he shot a Jap he would put a nick in his gun. Alvin said he had at least 40 all told."
A Butte newspaper reported that “early on the evening of [November] 21, Private Perkins and two other Marines were caught in their foxhole by a burst of Japanese machine-gun fire. Private Perkins was instantly killed.” Bay commented, “If he could have dodged Japanese bullets another 24 hours he would have been safe, for we had the island then.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Si Perkins’ body was reportedly buried on 23 November 1943. The location was a small trench near Beach Green, designated “2nd Marines Cemetery #1” or “Cemetery C.” Perkins was the tenth of thirteen men buried in this cemetery; he followed an F/2/2 comrade, PFC John W. Holm, who was fifth.
“Cemetery C” was obliterated during the construction of Hawkins Field and its supporting buildings, and the exact location was lost. To this day, the remains of PFC Perkins and twelve other Marines lie in what were supposed to be temporary graves on the island of Betio
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Sylvia C. Perkins.
Location Of Loss
PFC Perkins was killed in this general area near Betio’s Green Beach.
