Orvan Samuel Slaughter
First Sergeant Orvan S. Slaughter served with George Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 22 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 248692
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 19, 1914
at Alvord, TX
Parents
John Samuel Walker (biological)
Norman R. Slaughter (adopted)
Harriet (Wicker) Slaughter
Education
High school graduate
Oklahoma University
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
May 20, 1935
San Diego, CA
Home Of Record
911 6th Street
Las Vegas, NM
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Norman R. Slaughter
Military Specialty
Company First Sergeant
Primary Unit
G/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Navy Cross
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
First Sergeant Orvan Slaughter, a former China Marine, served with George Company, 2nd Marines during the Guadalcanal and Tarawa campaigns.
On 20 November 1943, G/2/2 was designated to land as a support wave on Betio’s Beach Red 2, following Easy and Fox Companies of their battalion. Their LVTs began taking fire as they approached the beach – an experience described by George Company veteran Robert Twitchell:
Coming in along the pier we could hear the THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA of machine gun slugs hitting the armor plate, and every few seconds the KERWUMPA-KERWUMPA-KERWUMPA of a mortar shell exploding alongside. "My God, my God," I repeated over and over, "what the hell am I doing here?"
No one hesitated jumping or leaping over the side of the amtrac – it was the only way to exit as there were no doors. For a few long seconds you are a very visible target..... Lying on the already stained white coral sands and half floating in the lagoon were four of the men who I had just rode in with, slept with, prayed with and hoped with.... The horrible realization of what had happened struck me; the other five men in that amtrac must have been killed or wounded as they tried to climb up and over the side....
First Sergeant Slaughter survived the initial landings and another full day of combat. His company suffered heavy casualties over the course of the battle, and by 22 November 1943 few officers were left to lead the men. Slaughter took command of all the George Company men he could find, and “courageously led his men forward under a constant barrage of enemy shellfire and successfully destroyed three Japanese pillboxes obstructing their advance.” While attacking the final position, shrapnel from an exploding shell struck Slaughter and inflicted multiple fatal wounds.
Slaughter received a posthumous Navy Cross for his actions on 22 November.
Burial Information or Disposition
After the battle, First Sergeant Slaughter’s remains were reportedly buried in Grave #1 of Cemetery “C” – a trench grave near Betio’s Green Beach containing the remains of thirteen other Marines. This location was recorded on his battalion muster roll and his USMC casualty card. Cemetery C was obliterated by construction activities in the months after the battle, and it has not been found to this day.
At an unknown date, Slaughter’s burial information was updated to read “East Division Cemetery, Row B, Grave 23.” This cemetery, the largest on the island, was located much farther to the east. In 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company exhumed remains from this cemetery, but none could be associated with Sergeant Slaughter.
A memorial marker with Slaughter’s name once stood in Cemetery 33, Grave 7, Row 2, Plot 11 – but this had no bearing on where his body was really buried. Today, Orvan Slaughter may still lie in his temporary grave on Betio, or he may be buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific as an unknown.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Norman R. Slaughter.
Location Of Loss
First Sergeant Slaughter was killed at an unspecified location on Betio.
