Tarawa Cemetery 9
"Isolated Grave 9"
0
Remains Recovered
1946
0
Unidentified Remains
2021
0
Unaccounted For
2021
The isolated grave of Captain Thomas B. Royster, commanding officer of Company B, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion, lay just a few yards inland on Green Beach. Royster was aboard an LVT amphibian tractor supporting landing operations of the 6th Marines on 21 November 1943. After rescuing several men from a sinking rubber boat, the LVT continued towards shore – but struck a massive mine which demolished the vehicle and flipped it on its back. Royster and several other men were killed in the blast.
The following morning, four bodies – including Captain Royster, identified by a company NCO – were retrieved from the water and brought ashore for burial. Unfortunately, only Royster’s disposition is known, thanks to a marker crafted by members of his organization. (A similar marker was made for WO Bernard E. Shealy.) A Japanese bunker is visible behind the grave, with the shoreline just beyond.
In 1946, the 604th QMGRC searched for Cemetery 9 and the nearby Cemetery 12 without success. Lieutenant Isadore Eisensmith spoke to navigators familiar with the island’s shifting currents, and concluded that these graves had washed away.
