Patrick James Gresk
PFC Patrick J. Gresk served with How Company, Second Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 319070
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
November 8, 1923
at Cudahy, WI
Parents
Casimir Frank Gresk
Helen (Visovatti) Gresk
Education
Cudahy High School
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
September 3, 1941
at Milwaukee, WI
Home Of Record
3823 East Hammond Avenue
Cudahy, WI
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Casimir Gresk
Military Specialty
Machine Gunner
Primary Unit
H/2/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Patrick Gresk served with How Company, 8th Marines, in the campaign for Guadalcanal and the battle for Tarawa. He was the #1 loader (ammunition carrier) for a heavy machine gun, in a squad that included PFC John K. Mohrlang and PFC Merrill G. Burrows.
The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Second Battalion 8th Marines was given the job of assaulting the easternmost of three landing beaches – “Red 3” – and, once ashore, moving inland to quickly secure the airfield that covered much of the tiny island’s surface. A heavy and morale-boosting naval bombardment convinced many Marines that the task would be a simple one, and spirits were high at 0900 when their amphibious tractors started paddling for the beach.
The Japanese were quick to recover. Shells began bursting over the LVTs. “As the tractors neared the shore the air filled with the smoke and fragments of shells fired from 3-inch guns,” notes A Brief History of the 8th Marines. “Fortunately, casualties had been light on the way to the beach, but once the men dismounted and struggled to get beyond the beach, battle losses increased dramatically.” Most of the beach defenses were still intact, and these were supported by row after row of pillboxes, rifle pits, and machine gun nests.
Burrows, Mohrlang, and Gresk had the misfortune to be aboard one of the targeted LVTs. An airburst sprayed shrapnel across the area, damaging the vehicle and killing or wounding several Marines. While Mohrlang lived long enough to be evacuated (he later died and was buried at sea), it is likely that Burrows and Gresk never made it out of the LVT.
Gresk was officially reported as missing in action after the battle; this status was later changed to killed in action effective 20 November 1943.
For more photos of Gresk and his buddies, and the story of the LVT, visit Tarawa On The Web.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded; reported as missing in action.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 2, Row 2, Grave 4.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Casimir Gresk.
Location Of Loss
Gresk’s battalion landed on and fought in the vicinity of Beach Red 3.