J. L. Hancock

John Loss Hancock – known for most of his short life as “JL” or “Jay” – was born in McLean, Texas on 8 May 1922. He grew up in the small Gray County town where his parents, William and Ethel Amanda (Boyles) Hancock, kept a farm. Along with his sisters Juanita, Naomi, and Wanda Faith, Jay helped out with the farm while balancing his schoolwork. He loved the life of a farmer, and as a member of Future Farmers of America judged local agricultural competitions.

Jay proved to be an “excellent student” as well as a promising farmer, and graduated from McLean High School in 1940. While records are unclear, it is almost certain that he was working on the family farm from graduation to his eventual enlistment in the Marine Corps.

Hancock enlisted in the Marine Corps at Oklahoma City on 17 February 1942 – he gave his initials, so military documents also refer to him as “J. L. Hancock” – and was soon on his way to boot camp in San Diego. He qualified as a rifle marksman, and was ordered to the Fleet Marine Force for duty. On 18 April 1942, he reported to Company B, First Battalion, 6th Marines.

Hancock would serve with B/1/6 for the entirety of his time in the Marines. He participated in action at Guadalcanal in January and February 1943; while he escaped wounds or serious injury, he did contract malaria and the recurring infection would trouble him during the months his regiment spent in New Zealand.

In October 1943, Hancock and his company boarded ships at Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, and shipped out for their next operation – the invasion of Betio in the Tarawa atoll.

PFC Hancock’s company landed on the island of Betio, Tarawa atoll, on the night of 21 November 1943. The battalion arrived ashore at Green Beach in rubber boats, and prepared for a morning attack to the east which would turn the flank of Japanese positions and help establish contact between hard-hit and depleted units still trapped along the Red beaches.

After a day of hard fighting, Baker Company dug in and prepared a night defense. They were in an exposed position, and that night a force of several hundred Japanese troops hit their lines, breaking through in a few places and causing chaos and mayhem through the night and into the early morning hours of 22 November. Ultimately, the Marines held but paid a stiff price for maintaining their positions.

One of the casualties of 22 November was PFC J. L. Hancock. He was hit in the head by pieces of shrapnel and died in the field – sadly, according to one newspaper account, just thirty minutes before the last Japanese resistance was overcome.

Later that day, Hancock and nearly thirty other men – many from his own First Battalion, 6th Marines – were laid to rest in a trench grave near where they fell. The location, known as “Row D” of the East Division Cemetery, was later obliterated and the graves lost to the shifting sands of the tiny island.

Hancock’s remains were recovered from Betio by the non-profit organization History Flight in 2019. Archaeologists excavated a burial feature known as “Row D” of Cemetery 33 and uncovered more than thirty potential Marine remains. Original burial rosters for the roll included thirty names, plus two unidentified Marines.

Original records placed Hancock in Grave #15 of this cemetery. His remains were among those recovered by the History Flight team and sent back to the United States for laboratory analysis. At long last, on 17 February 2021, JL Hancock was officially accounted for.

CENOTAPHS
Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial
Hillcrest Cemetery, McLean, TX

FINAL BURIAL
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery