Robert W. Hillard
Private Robert W. Hillard served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 360596
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 5, 1924
at West Tulsa, OK
Parents
Robert W. Hillard (d. 1929)
Susie (McCully) Hillard
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Family farm
(owned by Charles Ratliff, stepfather)
Service Life
Entered Service
May 19, 1942
at Little Rock, AR
Home Of Record
Big Fork, AR
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Susie Ratliff
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
E/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Robert Hillard served with Easy Company, 2nd Marines during the battle of Tarawa. On 20 November 1943, his battalion was tasked with spearheading the assault on a stretch of sand called Beach Red Two. Easy Company was to land on the western half of the beach, but on the way to shore their LVTs were subjected to withering fire from the Japanese defenses, and the unit’s organization disintegrated. Casualties were extremely heavy; of 165 Easy Company men who went into action, 62 were killed and scores more were wounded over the course of the battle.
Hillard was one who fell; he was shot in the head and killed on 20 November. No further details of his death are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
Private Hillard’s body was either not recovered from the battlefield, or unidentifiable at the time of burial.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Grave 9, Row 1, Plot 10.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Susie Ratliff.
Location Of Loss
Private Hillard’s company landed on Betio’s Beach Red 2.
