Robert Jean Harvey
First Lieutenant Robert J. Harvey served with Able Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-18100
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
September 21, 1940
at Marion, IN
Parents
Ralph & Edith Harvey
Education
Western Michigan University (1942)
Occupation & Employer
College student
Service Life
Entered Service
April 10, 1942 (enlisted)
December 2, 1942 (officer)
at Quantico, VA
Home Of Record
205 North Durand Street
Jackson, MI
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Virginia A. Harvey
Military Specialty
Platoon Leader
Primary Unit
A/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Second Lieutenant Robert J. Harvey led the Second Platoon of Company A, First Battalion, 2nd Marines in the battle of Tarawa. He brought his platoon ashore under heavy fire at Red Beach One at about noon on 20 November 1943. Despite heavy casualties, the company managed to secure a tenuous foothold and Harvey helped to organize the survivors into a nighttime defense.
The following day, Companies A, B, and E attacked to the south in a wild charge that carried them across Betio’s main airfield. Author Eric Hammel describes the reception Harvey’s platoon received:
The platoon took off in single file, zig-zagging for a large shell hole in the center of the runway. The Japanese hit it then with three machine guns, two to the right and one to the left. The effect was devastating. Many of Harvey’s men were mowed down in the open. The survivors, numbering only 12, dived into a five-foot-deep shell hole and kept down.
Lieutenant Harvey managed to reach the shell hole. The Japanese fusillade died down, and after a few moments of quiet, Harvey decided to take a look. Hammel continues:
After a while, Harvey became curious about the lull and rose to peer over the edge of the trench. He stayed up with his head exposed for a few moments, then slowly returned to the bottom of the cut, bleeding profusely from a hole in his forehead. Without uttering a sound, Bob Harvey died in a few moments.
(Eric Hammel & John E. Lane, 76 Hours)
Harvey was posthumously promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant.
Burial Information or Disposition
Harvey was reportedly buried in the Beach Green Cemetery, Row #1, Grave #2, alongside twelve other Marines. This location, also known as “Cemetery C” or “2nd Marines Cemetery #1,” was never located by post-war searches and does not appear on cemetery charts. No remains have been recovered from this location, and thus Lieutenant Harvey is still buried on Betio.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Virginia Dunn Harvey
Location Of Loss
Lieutenant Harvey was killed in action near the eastern end of Betio’s airstrip.
