Tarawa Cemetery 30

The isolated grave of PFC Alvin Otto Waller of St. Paul, Minnesota. PFC Waller, a member of Item Company, Third Battalion, 6th Marines was killed by a gunshot wound in the back on 23 November 1943. Although his death was confirmed by his unit, they were unsure of his burial location and Marine Corps documentation states “exact location of grave unknown.”

Waller’s remains were located by the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company, and identified in the field. He was buried in Lone Palm Cemetery Plot 2, Row 10, Grave 8 on 3 April 1946, and ultimately returned to his family for burial in a cemetery near his hometown.