Kenneth John Ryan
PFC Kenneth J. Ryan served with Mike Company, Third Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 448887
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 24, 1922
at Globe, AZ
Parents
William Albert Ryan
Edith Emma (Watkins) Ryan
Education
Phoenix Union High School (1940)
Phoenix Junior College
Occupation & Employer
Ryan-Evans Drug Store
Service Life
Entered Service
September 14, 1942
at Phoenix, AZ
Home Of Record
1337 East McDonald Road
Phoenix, AZ
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Edith E. Ryan
Military Specialty
Machine Gunner
Primary Unit
M/3/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Kenneth Ryan served with Mike Company, the heavy weapons unit of the Third Battalion, 2nd Marines. His outfit was armed with 81mm mortars and water-cooled .30 caliber machine guns.
On 20 November 1943, Ryan’s battalion was assigned the task of spearheading the assault on Betio’s Beach Red One – a curved stretch of sand running several hundred yards from the “bird’s beak” in the west to Red Two in the east. The natural shape of the beach created a crossfire for the defenders, and the area became known as “the Pocket.” Slow-moving landing craft were quickly targeted from multiple angles, and many were knocked out as they approached the shore. Hundreds of men were killed or wounded before stepping foot on dry land. Those who survived faced a network of obstacles manned by determined Japanese defenders, and the fighting was close-in and savage.
Another Mike Company Marine, PFC Earle J. Payne, described the experience of landing – and the last time he saw Kenneth Ryan.
I was in the third wave, and as I was wading in to Beach Red One, I reached the sandbar on the right flank. I saw PFC K. J. Ryan, about 15 or 20 yards in front of me, with a .50 caliber machine-gun receiver. I saw him sink in the water about 30 yards off the sandbar. I couldn’t get to him at first on account of heavy machine gun fire. When I finally did get to him I dropped my two boxes of ammunition & dragged him to the sandbar.
The aforementioned sandbar was approximately 200 yards from the beach & when I got Ryan there, I asked for a corpsman. A fellow that was already on the sandbar said he was a corpsman, but couldn’t render any medical aid because he had a broken arm. I felt Ryan’s pulse, and he did, and pronounced Ryan dead. Gunshot wound, neck.
Burial Information or Disposition
Somehow, a report reached Ryan’s battalion that he had been wounded in action and safely evacuated to a Naval vessel. “Ship and destination unknown” was entered into the muster roll, and his name was entered into the casualty list as wounded. His parents received a telegram to that effect in December 1943.
However, as months passed without progress updates, Marine Corps officials came to the conclusion that PFC Ryan was missing in action. A letter from PFC Payne, received in May 1944, indicated that Ryan was almost certainly dead. However, because there were no other eyewitnesses – and because no body was ever recovered – Ryan was kept on the missing list for the customary year and a day. He was finally declared dead on 21 November 1944.
Due to his missing in action status, no memorial markers for Kenneth Ryan were ever placed on Betio. His body may never have reached the shore; if it did, it was never identified.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Edith Ryan
Location Of Loss
PFC Ryan was killed near a sandbar offshore of Beach Red One.
