A single isolated grave belonging to an unknown individual. This grave was located a short distance inland from Green Beach, and backed up against an access road that ran along the island’s western coast.
The 604th QMGRC did not specifically reference Cemetery 12 in their report, and it is not known whether remains were retrieved from this location. In Tarawa’s Gravediggers, author William Niven states that Cemetery 12 was underwater to coastal erosion. Lieutenant Isadore Eisensmith does mention this phenomenon affecting “some of the graves on the western shore” – however, a photograph of Lone Palm Cemetery under construction appears to show Cemetery 12 in the distance.
No Betio X-files are attributed to Cemetery 12, so if this individual was recovered, he was later identified
