Howard Oliver Darby
Sergeant Howard O. Darby served with Fox Company, Second Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 289577
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 20, 1921
at Monte Vista, CO
Parents
Oliver Edward Darby
Gladys Louise (Sain) Darby
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
July 19, 1940
at Denver, CO
Home Of Record
926 Second Avenue
Monte Vista, CO
Next Of Kin
Grandmother, Mrs. Rose Teverbaugh
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
F/2/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Howard’s older brother, PFC George T. Darby, was killed in action at Guadalcanal.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Sergeant Howard O. Darby served with Fox Company, 8th Marines during the Guadalcanal campaign and in the battle for Tarawa.
The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Second Battalion 8th Marines was given the job of assaulting the easternmost of three landing beaches – “Red 3” – and, once ashore, moving inland to quickly secure the airfield that covered much of the tiny island’s surface. A heavy and morale-boosting naval bombardment convinced many Marines that the task would be a simple one, and spirits were high at 0900 when their amphibious tractors started paddling for the beach.
The Japanese were quick to recover. Shells began bursting over the LVTs. “As the tractors neared the shore the air filled with the smoke and fragments of shells fired from 3-inch guns,” notes A Brief History of the 8th Marines. “Fortunately, casualties had been light on the way to the beach, but once the men dismounted and struggled to get beyond the beach, battle losses increased dramatically.” Most of the beach defenses were still intact, and these were supported by row after row of pillboxes, rifle pits, and machine gun nests.
Sergeant Darby was among those killed in action on the first day of the battle. No specifics of his death are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded; no identifiable remains recovered.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 12, Row 1, Grave 15.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of grandmother, Mrs. Rose Teverbaugh.
Location Of Loss
Darby’s battalion landed on and fought in the vicinity of Beach Red 3.