Jimmie Dick Hogan
Corporal Jimmie D. Hogan served with King Company, Third Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 447136
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 13, 1924
at Walters, OK
Parents
Richard Lee Hogan
Bess Irene (Fisk) Hogan
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Pope & Talbot sawmill
Service Life
Entered Service
September 14, 1942
at Portland, OR
Home Of Record
365 North 4th Street
St. Helens, OR
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Richard L. Hogan
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
K/3/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Jimmie Hogan served with King Company, 8th Marines at the battle of Tarawa.
The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Third Battalion, 8th Marines were in reserve for the landing operation, but were ordered to stand by in their LCVPs and were afloat by 1015. At 1200, the battalion’s first wave(which included King Company) began heading towards Beach Red 3 to support the heavily-engaged BLT 2-8.
Several hundred yards from the beach, the LCVPs slammed into a coral reef and stopped. Ramps went down, and Marines gamely jumped out into water over their heads. Some drowned, while the rest faced “heavy 40mm, machine gun, and mortar fire” that shredded their ranks. Only about a hundred disorganized, demoralized men – less than a company – made it to shore. The King Company survivors were sent to hold the left flank of the Marine line, and endured heavy machine gun and sniper fire for the rest of the day.
Corporal Hogan survived the first day of his first battle, but not the second. He succumbed to gunshot wounds on 21 November 1943; no further details of his death are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
“Division Cemetery, Tarawa.” No further details known.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 10, Row 1, Grave 15.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Richard Hogan.
Location Of Loss
Hogan’s battalion landed at various locations between Beach Red 2 and Red 3.
