Reported Burials
1943
Remains Recovered
1946
Unidentified Remains
2021
Unaccounted For
2021
The original “Cemetery B” was situated on the western end of Betio on the “bird’s beak” between Red Beach One and Green Beach. This ground was heavily fought over by the 2nd Marines; most of the identified personnel buried here belonged to that regiment, which gave the cemetery its alternate designation of “2nd Marines Cemetery #2.” The Graves Registration Section of Second Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, recorded 21 burials in this cemetery, of whom 19 were identified at the time of burial. Among the Marines interred here are a Navy Cross recipient (Sgt. Roy Johnson) and three Silver Star Medals (Sgt. Fred Farris, Sgt. James Atkins, and Cpl. Thomas D. Cain, Jr.)
While no photographs of the original “Cemetery B” are known to exist, Marine records suggest that the 21 men were laid out in a single row – possibly an existing fortification, or a trench dug by a bulldozer. Markers likely consisted of sticks or crude crosses hastily made from scrap wood. Little else is known about its establishment; it does not appear on charts of the island until the “beautification” undertaking in 1944.
Conflicts & Discrepancies
Corporal Richard H. Marshall does not appear on the Graves Registration Report – however, he is listed as buried in Cemetery B, Grave #4 on unit muster rolls and his casualty paperwork. He is almost certainly one of the two “unidentified” referenced on the Report.
PFC Darwin H. Brown’s remains were accidentally unearthed by a construction crew in 1999 – on Betio’s southern shore, about half a mile from Cemetery B.
Graves Registration places PFC Joseph Lafayette Vance in Grave 20 instead of Mahaffey. However, Vance had a marker in Isolated Grave 40, and was identified and interred in Lone Palm before work started on Cemetery 10.
In 1944, garrison troops removed and discarded any original markers standing at “Cemetery B.” They fabricated a large wooden cross (approximately 10 feet tall) and poured a concrete pedestal for support. A large book-like register of names was installed, which bore the following hand-painted inscription.
Man in his burning youth
Has but an hour of breath
To build a ship of truth
In which his soul may sail
Sail on the sea of death
For death takes a toll
Of beauty, courage, youth
Of all but truth.
The marker listed the names in alphabetical order: Atkins, Barker, Brown, Cain, Campbell, Farris, Funk, Gonsalves, Gooch, Gregerson, Headley, Martin Johnson, Roy Johnson, Jorgensen, Kiley, Lillie, Stephenson, Thielen, “and two unknowns.”
This list omits the names of Marshall (likely one of the “unknowns”) and Mahaffey (possibly indicating damage or destruction of his original marker). Unfortunately, this omission would have consequences during search and recovery efforts.
The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company began operations at Cemetery 10 – which, for some reason, they called “Grave 18” – on 8 April 1946. By this point, they were well aware that many graves on Betio were only memorials, but “Grave 18” was one of the first they encountered with a large cross in lieu of individual markers. Working parties dug trenches and test pits all around the cross with no luck. “The bodies were buried under the monument,” notes the expedition report, “and it took several days to find them.”
Using the plaque as a guide, the 604th anticipated finding 20 remains in the vicinity. They retrieved 19, “despite a thorough search of the area.” Many of the Marines were buried with live grenades; these were gingerly removed and thrown into the ocean. Work ceased on 11 April 1946, and all remains were reinterred in Lone Palm Cemetery.
In their report, the 604th claimed that “About half the remains had identification tags and the majority of the rest were identified by tooth charts.” This is a bit of a rosy estimation. Of the 19 remains found, the 604th was able to identify seven prior to burial in Lone Palm Cemetery. A further eight were later identified by the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii.
Most known cases from Cemetery 10 have been resolved. Three of the men reported buried here on Marine Corps records have not yet been accounted for, and there are two unidentified sets of remains associated with this cemetery.
• Corporal Richard Hyde Marshall (Grave 4)
• Corporal Thomas Donnett Cain, Jr. (Grave 6)
• Gunnery Sergeant Henry Richard Gregerson (Grave 18)
• Betio Unknown X-239 (buried Lone Palm 11 April 1946)
• Betio Unknown X-244 (buried Lone Palm 11 April 1946)
Note: Forensic work accomplished at CIL in 1948 suggests that X-244 is of Japanese or Korean ancestry.
In 1999, a construction crew uncovered human remains while working near a road along Betio’s southern shore. These remains were handed over to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and taken to Honolulu for laboratory analysis. PhM2c Raymond Philip Gilmore and PFC Darwin Hiram Brown was subsequently identified and accounted for on 6 November 2001. While PFC Brown was originally reported as buried in “Cemetery B” on Marine Corps records, his remains were recovered from a site half a mile from the cemetery.
Archaeological digs were conducted at the former Cemetery 10 site by History Flight in 2016. All human remains and artifacts were transferred to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
On 14 April 2020, Betio X-234 was identified as Sergeant Fred Farris. Farris was recovered by the 604th QMGRC in 1946 but was not previously identified. Some remains found by History Flight were associated with this case.
