Richard Hyde Marshall
Corporal Richard H. Marshall served with Love Company, Third Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 319320
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 11, 1922
at LaCrosse, WI
Parents
Theodore H. Marshall
Alice (Hyde) Marshall (d.1926)
Education
Details unknown.
Occupation & Employer
Apprentice Electrician
Wurdack Electric Company
Service Life
Entered Service
August 26, 1941
at St. Louis, MO
Home Of Record
1501 DeSoto Avenue
St. Louis, MO
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Theodore H. Marshall
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
L/3/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Richard Marshall served with Love Company, 2nd Marines during the Solomon Islands campaign and the battle of Tarawa.
On 20 November 1943, Marshall’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.
Love Company, designated as the battalion reserve and embarked in boats instead of tractors, faced an especially horrific ordeal. “LCVs grounded on the reef about 500 yards from the beach and [the men] disembarked into the water,” states the battalion report. “They were heavily hit both by machine gun and large caliber fire while in the water. Most of the fire came from the left, so as a consequence , the company landed on the right half of Beach Red 1. The casualties to this company at this time amounted to about 35%.”
One of those who fell was Corporal Marshall. He was hit in the face by fragments of an exploding shell at some point during the first day of the battle.
Burial Information or Disposition
Corporal Marshall’s body was reportedly buried in “Grave #4, Row #1, Cemetery B, 2nd Marines #2.” This was a single-row trench burial situated between Beach Red One and Beach Green, almost at the very tip of the “Bird Beak.” Almost all of the twenty-one men buried here were members of the 2nd Marines.
In 1944, Navy garrison troops “beautified” the cemetery by removing the original markers and putting up a massive cross with a painted plaque. For some reason, Marshall’s name was omitted from this plaque. (A memorial marker for Marshall was later placed at Cemetery 33, Grave16, Row 2, Plot 14.)
This cemetery was located and exhumed by the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company in 1946. Only 19 remains were located, and only half of these were identifiable at the time. In recent years, two Marines from Cemetery 10 have been accounted for. PFC Darwin H. Brown (F/2/2nd Marines) was recovered from the island and identified in 2002. Sergeant Fred Farris (I/3/2nd Marines) was accounted for in 2020 – previously, he was Betio X-234.
Currently, there are two sets of unidentified remains from Cemetery 10 awaiting further analysis, and three Marines unaccounted for: Marshall, Gunnery Sergeant Henry R. Gregerson, and Corporal Thomas D. Cain.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Theodore Marshall.
Location Of Loss
Marshall’s battalion was engaged in the vicinity of Beach Red One.
