Mark Roy Robertson
Corporal Mark R. Robertson served with Charlie Company, First Battalion, 6th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 22 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 290190
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
September 23, 1920
at Yakima, WA
Parents
Mark Robert Robertson
Isadore Eileen Robertson
Education
Yakima High School (1938)
Occupation & Employer
Salesman
Service Life
Entered Service
July 24, 1920
at Seattle, WA
Home Of Record
Route 7
Yakima, WA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Mark Robertson
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
C/1/6th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal (with B/1/6th Marines)
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Mark Robertson served with the First Battalion, 6th Marines during their deployment to Iceland and in the battle for Guadalcanal. He joined Company C about six weeks before the Tarawa campaign.
On the evening of 21 November 1943, Robertson’s battalion landed from rubber boats on Beach Green, the westernmost point of Betio. They spent the night under sporadic Japanese fire and endured a bombing raid before advancing eastward on the morning of 22 November. Charlie Company suffered comparatively light casualties in their two days of combat – but Corporal Roberston was one of the unlucky ones. He suffered multiple shrapnel wounds to the head, chest, and back, and died somewhere near Beach Green on 22 November.
Burial Information or Disposition
Robertson was buried in a mass grave known as “2nd Marines Cemetery #1” or “Beach Green Cemetery C.” A total of thirteen Marines were interred there; Robertson was the sixth man in the row.
Unfortunately, “Cemetery C” was poorly marked and not clearly recorded on any maps of Betio. It was destroyed or built over during the occupation of the island; all of the men buried there, including Mark Robertson, were declared permanently non-recoverable.
The exact location of “Cemetery C” is a mystery to this day.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Mark Robertson.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Robertson was killed in action at an unspecified location on western Betio.
