Norman Lowell Brueckner
Corporal Norman L. Brueckner served with King Company, Third Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 275969
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
September 26, 1921
at Hoskins, NE
Parents
Paul Herman Brueckner
Anna (Radunez) Brueckner
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
October 18, 1939
at San Francisco, CA
Home Of Record
Route 4
Stockton, CA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Paul Brueckner
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
K/3/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Guadalcanal)
with Gold Star (Tarawa)
Additional Service Details
Brueckner suffered a gunshot wound to the back on Guadalcanal, 21 October 1942.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Norman Brueckner served with Company K, 2nd Marines during the campaigns for Guadalcanal and Tarawa.
On 20 November 1943, Brueckner’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.
“On approaching the beach, the first two waves of LVTs were hit by machine gun and anti-boat gun fire from beaches Red 1 and 2 and Beach Green firing over the point,” reads an official report. “This fire damaged several LVTs and caused severe casualties. The assault waves landed generally at about 0910. The left half of Company K was partially stopped about 150 yards from the beach by anti-boat fire and suffered very heavy casualties. The remainder of Company K and Company I were also heavily hit by machine guns both in LVTs and while disembarking. The log barricade in front of Company I offered some cover and an opportunity to organize, but Company K had no cover and many of those who made the beach were hit on the flat terrain.”
Corporal Brueckner was one who fell in the opening phases of the landings; he died from bullet wounds in the head on 20 November 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition
After the battle, Norman Brueckner was reportedly buried in the East Division Cemetery, Row C, Grave #12. This location was later “beautified” by Navy garrison troops with neat rows of uniform grave markers, and re-christened “Cemetery 33.” Brueckner’s original marker was removed, and a memorial one was placed in Grave 12, Row 1, Plot 9.
Unfortunately, this new marker bore no relation to Brueckner’s real resting place, and as a result his remains could not be identified when Cemetery 33 was exhumed after the war. Today, he may rest in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific as an unknown.
Next Of Kin Address
Approximate address of father, Mr. Peter H. Brueckner.
Location Of Loss
Brueckner’s battalion was engaged in the vicinity of Beach Red One.
