Reported Burials
1943
Remains Recovered
1946
Unidentified Remains
2021
Unaccounted For
2021
Also known as “2nd Marines Cemetery #1” or “Beach Green C Cemetery,” this site was likely established on 22-23 November (D+2 or D+3). As the name implies, most of the men buried here were members of the 2nd Marines, with a few individuals from the 6th and 18th Marines.
This cemetery is one of Betio’s lasting enigmas: aside from casualty reports naming the men buried here, no other records are known to exist. Even its location on the island is a mystery – although it must have been somewhere on the western end of Betio to earn the “Beach Green” name. In Tarawa’s Gravediggers, William Niven points out that two similarly named cemeteries existed in Marine Corps records: Cemetery A/2nd Marines #3, and Cemetery B/2nd Marines #2. Cemetery A (later Navy Cemetery 13) was situated in the north near the tip of the “bird’s beak,” while Cemetery B (later Navy Cemetery 10) is some distance to the south. Thus one could speculate that Cemetery C is further south along Green Beach – creating the order A-B-C from north to south, or 1-2-3 from south to north.
The image above depicts the 2nd Marine Division’s D-4 (Quartermaster) map of Betio on 26 November 1943, which included rough sketches of burial locations, and the 1944 Navy diagram of “beautified” cemeteries. Niven theorizes that the grave marked with a 17 (indicating a number of burials in the area) on the left is a likely location for Cemetery C, as it would be roughly on a north-south axis with Cemeteries A and B as seen on the right. Even with the vagueness of these maps, it is plain to see how the Navy’s reconstruction project either moved, relocated, or ignored the original graves. (Note: the significance of the graves marked A, B, C, D on the D-4 map is not immediately apparent, but as only six remains are indicated in those four locations, they clearly do not represent Cemeteries A, B, and C.)
At some point in late 1943 or early 1944, Cemetery C effectively disappeared. It is not referenced as part of the Navy’s “beautification” project, which is unusual – other cemeteries of its size had large memorial crosses erected over the original graves. Niven offers two potential explanations: the cemetery “might have fallen victim to the wheels of a thousand vehicles” as Hawkins Field expanded, or perhaps the Marine troops who conducted the original burials departed before they could put up markers, leaving the Navy garrison ignorant of its existence. (Niven includes the photograph at left, which he identifies as the grave of PFC Oscar L. Olson. Olson was reportedly buried in Cemetery C Grave #13, which would make this the only known photograph of the cemetery.)
Both of Niven’s theories are plausible. One might also consider the notion that the Cemetery C was not accidentally but deliberately built over, and instead of placing a monument in a different location (as was done at Cemetery 27) the Navy opted not to build one here. Each of the twelve named Marines buried here received individual memorial graves in the larger cemeteries, and this might have been deemed enough.
The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company was provided with a list of Cemetery C burials for their 1946 expedition, but had absolutely no means of locating the place – and made no mention of any attempts in their operation report.
As of today, Cemetery C is still undiscovered – the last of Betio’s mass graves known to exist. The remains of at least thirteen men presumably still lie right where they were buried in 1943.
