Oscar LaVerne Olson
PFC Oscar L. Olson served with Dog Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 22 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 335679
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 22, 1923
at Barons, Alberta, Canada
Parents
Carl Oscar Olson
Gladys Catherine Olson
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
December 19, 1941
at San Francisco, CA
Home Of Record
Route 2
Jacksonville, FL
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Catherine Olson
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
D/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Oscar Olson served with Company D, First Battalion, 2nd Marines during the battle of Tarawa. As a member of a heavy weapons company, he was assigned to a crew-serviced weapon – either a water-cooled machine gun or 81mm mortar – and expected to provide fire support for fellow Marines in the assault companies.
Olson carried out his mission as instructed, surviving the hellish landing on 20 November 1943 and a grinding advance over the next two brutal days. On 22 November, not long before the battle ended, Olson was shot in the head and killed. He was just twenty years old.
Burial Information or Disposition
Oscar Olson’s body was collected after the battle and buried in a trench grave near Betio’s Green Beach, designated as “2nd Marines Cemetery #1.” A dozen other men were buried beside him, under grave markers made from scraps of wood.
This location, also known as “Cemetery C,” was not found by post-war searches. The thirteen Marines buried there – including PFC Olson – are still on Betio.
Next Of Kin Address
The Olson family lived on a rural route outside of Jacksonville, with no street address.
Location Of Loss
PFC Olson was killed in action in the vicinity of Betio’s Green Beach.
![This photograph purportedly shows Oscar Olson's original grave in Cemetery C, Betio. [William Niven, "Tarawa's Gravediggers"]](https://missingmarines.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olson_ol_grave.jpg){kind=link}