Apamama Cemetery
0
Wartime Burials
0
Remains Recovered
0
Unidentified Remains
0
Unaccounted For
1943 – 1944
Apamama, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, was the scene of a small-scale but complex amphibious operation that took place as the assault on Tarawa – some 94 miles to the north – was underway. A platoon-sized force drawn from the VAC Amphibious Reconnaissance Company landed from the submarine Nautilus on 21 November 1943, and fought a series of skirmishes with the small Japanese garrison on Tabiang (“Steve”) Island. By 25 November, all Japanese personnel on the atoll were dead as a result of firefights, American naval shelling, or mass suicide; the Americans buried one Marine (PFC William Daniel Miller) on the island. The Third Battalion, 6th Marines – having just participated in the battle for Betio – landed on Kabangaki (“John”) Island, and the atoll was declared secured. Seabees from the 95th Naval Construction Battalion arrived soon after and began tearing through the jungle with bulldozers. In just eight days, they cleared and graded a 4,000 by 150-foot airstrip – large enough for fighter planes to land. By 21 December, the field could support bombers, and on 23 March 1944 “O’Hare Field” was formally commissioned: “the finest fighter and bomber strip in the South Pacific,” said the flyers to the pleased ‘Bees. The base force alone numbered 9,600 personnel.
While all of this effort was put to good use in support of air campaigns in early to mid 1944, by August the base was too far from the fighting front to justify the number of personnel required to keep it running. By 31 August 1944, most units stationed at Apamama were redeployed, leaving only a token garrison to maintain the airstrip and furnish emergency services as needed.
Naturally, Apamama had its own cemetery. Between November 1943 and April 1944, eleven men were buried at the base – a combination of combat casualties and accidental deaths. (One man, T/5 Rodney Owen, was a cousin of a Betio battle casualty – Sgt. James Joseph Hubert). Two more markers were added as memorials to men whose bodies were not recovered. While the names on the memorial markers aren’t known, one was likely placed in honor of PFC Henry J. Marek of the VAC Amphibious Recon platoon. Marek died of wounds on 23 November 1943 during the fighting for Tabiang, and was buried at sea from the Nautilus.
Apamama Cemetery Burials
Exact layout of this cemetery is not known; some burials have been approximated.
Szuba
Ralph
Pappas
Miller
Reynolds
Thurnau
Cardell
Jahn
Jones
Somerville
Owen
Plus
two
memorials;
names
not
known
Recovery Operations: 1946
Apamama was one of the very last assignments for the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company during their 1946 expedition. Due to the distance between Betio and Tabiang, the GRS troops hoped to use a C-47 belonging to the Army garrison – but unfortunately, when the time came to depart, the plane was in Oahu.
Salvation came in the form of the local “British Resident” (the representative of His Majesty’s Government) who offered free use of a 60-foot motor launch called Margaret. The American party departed on the afternoon of 8 May and reached Tabiang the next evening – Margaret‘s top speed was a stately four knots. Fortunately, exhuming the Apemama cemetery was a simple affair taking less than a day. The eleven expected remains were loaded aboard Margaret on 10 May and brought back to Betio for burial in Lone Palm Cemetery.
No identification discrepancies or other errors arose from the Apamama operation. All eleven men were accounted for.