Raymond Dale Calvin
PFC Raymond D. Calvin served with Able Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 356285
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 13, 1923
at Bryan, OH
Parents
Warren Vance Calvin
Cleo (Stewman) Calvin
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 24, 1942
at Indianapolis, IN
Home Of Record
Bryan, OH
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Cleo Calvin
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Raymond D. Calvin served with Company A, First Battalion, 8th Marines in the Solomon Islands campaign and in the battle for Tarawa.
At midday on 20 November 1943, BLT 1-8 climbed over the sides of their transport ships and boarded LCVPs in Tarawa lagoon. They anticipated imminent landing orders, but due to the desperate situation on the beach were held offshore in their little boats, bobbing in the waves for the rest of the day and a very long night. Early on 21 November, they were ordered to land on Betio’s Beach Red 2.
At 0615, the first waves of 1-8 rushed down the ramps and into the breaking surf on a coral reef some 500 yards from shore. Although friendly troops held the water’s edge, they “immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from both flanks.” The battalion was decimated on the long walk to shore. An action report penned by the 8th Marines noted that “many of the casualties resulted from drowning, due to the heavy packs and equipment men attempted to take across the submerged fringing reef.”
PFC Calvin was last seen alive on the morning of 21 November 1943. He was reported as missing in action immediately after the battle; in early 1944, his status was changed to “killed in action.” No further details of his final moments are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded; reported as missing in action.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 10, Row 1, Grave 1.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Cleo Calvin.
Location Of Loss
PFC Calvin was last seen in the vicinity of Beach Red 2, Betio.