Harold Richard Burch
PFC Harold R. Burch served with Able Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 333997
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 1, 1923
at Wayne County, MO
Parents
Hobert & Blanche Burch
Education
East High School (ex-1942)
Occupation & Employer
None; enlisted from high school
Service Life
Entered Service
December 18, 1941
at Kansas City, MO
Home Of Record
2025 Chelsea Street
Kansas City, MO
Next Of Kin
Parents, Hobert & Blanche Burch
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Harold Burch contracted malaria during operations on Guadalcanal.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Harold Burch participated in the assault landings on Betio, Tarawa atoll, as a member of A/1/2nd Marines. His company, part of the regimental reserve, landed in a supporting wave on Red Beach Two on the morning of 20 November 1943.
At some point during the day’s action, Burch suffered fatal gunshot wounds to his head and neck. He was reported killed in action on the first day of the battle, and buried on 22 November.
Burial Information or Disposition
Primary sources differ as to PFC Burch’s burial. Battalion muster rolls report that he was interred “in the field” in the vicinity of Green Beach – considerably to the west of where his company was supposed to land. His Marine Corps casualty card also records Green Beach, but was later updated with a pair of references: Near airport, Isolated Grave, Grid Location KH 285100, Tarawa, and Cemetery 29, Betio Island, Tarawa atoll.
In 1944, a Navy photographer took a picture of Cemetery 29 – two crosses bearing the names of PFC Burch and PFC Leonard E. Kristal (Weapons Company, 2nd Marines). This location was inland of Beach Red Three – considerably to the east of where Burch was supposed to land.
Neither Burch nor Kristal were identified by the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company in 1946, nor by laboratory analysis in the years since. They may possibly be among the unknowns returned to Hawaii, or may still lie in their “temporary” grave on Betio.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Hobert & Blanche Burch.
Location Of Loss
PFC Burch was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
