John Arthur Boylan
Private John A “Jack” Boylan served with Able Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 482656
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 10, 1925
at Seattle, WA
Parents
Arthur & Helen Boylan
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
October 13, 1942
at Seattle, WA
Home Of Record
3502 East 44th Street
Seattle, WA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Arthur P. Boylan
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Private Boylan joined A/1/2 from the 2nd Anti-Tank Battalion on 9 October 1943.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Boylan served with Company A, First Battalion, 2nd Marines during the invasion of Tarawa. He survived the initial landings, but died as a result of wounds received in action on 21 November 1943. His cause of death is alternately listed as “shrapnel wounds” or “gunshot wound, right thigh.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Primary sources differ as to Private Boylan’s burial. His Marine Corps casualty card reports burial in the East Division Cemetery (Cemetery #33), Row A, Grave 17. Battalion muster rolls and his Individual Deceased Personnel File, however, state “disposition unknown.”
Cemetery 33 was excavated by the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company in 1946, but Boylan’s remains, if recovered, were not identifiable.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Grave 6, Row 1, Plot 11.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Arthur P. Boylan.
Location Of Loss
Private Boylan was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
