Merton Raymond Riser
PFC Merton R. Riser served with King Company, Third Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at the battle of Tarawa on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 510776
Current Status
Accounted For
as of 20 June 2018
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Read DPAA Press Release
History
[Biography coming soon]
Decorations
Purple Heart
For wounds resulting in his death, 20 November 1943.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, John & Elsie Riser.
Location Of Loss
Riser’s battalion landed at various locations between Beach Red 2 and Red 3.
Gallery
Merton Riser's official Marine Corps portrait, 1942-1943.
Intake dental record for Private Riser. In addition to tracking his health, this record was intended to help with identification of remains if needed.
Marines in Higgins boats off the shore of Betio, 20 November 1943. The island is obscured by a pall of smoke.
BLT 3-8 reported many Marines as missing after the Tarawa operation; all here were later confirmed as dead.
The "Central Division Cemetery" (or "Beach Red 2 Cemetery") as it appeared shortly after the battle.
The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company digs up the central row of Cemetery 26, 1946.
The 604th also filled out dental records when possible – however, sometimes they could find no teeth.
1948 skeletal diagram of Unknown X-144 (later identified as Riser). Without more physical clues, there was little the anthropologists of the time could do.
Betio Casualties From This Company
(Recently accounted for or still non-recovered)
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