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Henry Powless

Sergeant Henry Powless served with Able Company, Second Amphibian Tractor Battalion.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 302825

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

May 27, 1917
at Onondaga Indian Reservation, NY

Parents

Charles & Lydia Powless

Education

Details unknown

Occupation & Employer

Soldier, US Army

Service Life

Entered Service

December 16, 1940
at Syracuse, NY

Home Of Record

35 7th Avenue SE
Largo, FL

Next Of Kin

Wife, Mrs. Vivian L. Powless

Military Specialty

Amphibian Tractor Crewman

Primary Unit

A/2nd Amphtrac Bn.

Campaigns Served

Guadalcanal
Tarawa

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Powless served in the US Army (Company C, 108th Infantry) from 1936 – 1940.

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Sergeant Henry Powless served as an amphibian tractor crewman during the assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll. His vehicle, a LVT-1 “Alligator,” carried troops of 3/2nd Marines from the USS Middleton to land on Beach Red 2.

The slow-moving, lightly-armored LVT units suffered tremendous losses during the landings – both in vehicles and men. Sergeant Powless’ LVT was hit and set on fire during the operation; he perished in the inferno. His remains could not be recovered from the LVT.

Burial Information or Disposition

Burial information not known – remains not recovered.

In 1974, a wrecked LVT-2 was unearthed by a construction crew laying a pipeline on Betio. Numerous human remains were found in the vicinity. Thirty-one of these were determined to be of Japanese or Korean ancestry; one set was segregated as American. Identification tags for Private Henry C. Verhaalen were found in the vicinity.

Sergeant Powless was one of five Marines whose records were compared against these remains, but without conclusive results.

A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 11, Grave 2, Row 2, Plot 5.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of wife, Mrs. Vivian Powless

Location Of Loss

Sergeant Powless’ vehicle was assigned to land troops on Beach Red 1.

Betio Casualties From This Company​

(Recently accounted for or still non-recovered)
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1 thought on “Henry Powless”

  1. My mother, Vivian Powless, was married to Sgt Powless. According to a letter from his unit chaplain he was buried at sea.

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