Truitt Allan Anderson
PFC Truitt A. “Andy” Anderson served with Dog Company, Second Battalion, 18th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 352350
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 5, 1922
at Petersburg, VA
Parents
Samuel & Beulah Anderson
Education
High school graduate
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Laborer
Civilian Conservation Corps
Service Life
Entered Service
January 14, 1942
at Cleveland, OH
Home Of Record
356 Bishop Street
Akron, OH
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Molly W. Anderson
of Wellington, NZ
Military Specialty
Pioneer
Primary Unit
18th Marines (D/2)
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Truitt “Andy” Anderson, a member of the First Platoon of D/2/18th Marines, was attached to the First Battalion, 2nd Marines for the landing on Betio. He came ashore on Beach Red 2, and survived the initial phase of fighting on 20 November 1943.
On the beach, Anderson and Corporal Robert Swigert were assigned to collect ammunition and discarded equipment and establish a supply dump in support of the front-line troops. As the two Marines rested for a moment beside their stockpile of supplies, a shell exploded in the middle of the ammunition. Corporal William W. Bennett, a close friend of both Marines, recalled:
Where the ammo dump had been, there was now a smoking crater. [Bennett] rolled over the wall and crawled toward the dump. He saw a dark mass on the right side and and stood to run to it. It was Bob [Swigert]. He was obviously dead, and his shredded uniform had white smoke coming off it. Bill turned to look for Truitt. He found him on the other side of the crater, and he was sitting up with his feet out in front of him. His head and helmet were looking down at the ground.
Bill raised his head and yelled, "Andy! Andy!" Truitt's eyes were wide open and his skin was grayish in color. His uniform and his helmet cover were smoking but not on fire. Bill grabbed Truitt's face and tried to get him to snap out of it..... Truitt had been killed by the concussion. There were no visible wounds on his body; it was just the force of the blast of air that killed him instantly.
Burial Information or Disposition
Truitt Anderson was reportedly buried in “Cemetery C,” Row #1, Grave #7 on Betio. This cemetery, established near Green Beach on Betio’s western shore, has not been located, and the remains of thirteen men buried therein are still on Betio.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Grave 4, Row 1, Plot 3.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of Mrs. Molly Webby Anderson.
Alt next of kin, Mrs. Beulah Eastman (mother) in Saginaw, Michigan, USA.
Location Of Loss
PFC Anderson was killed near an ammunition dump at an unspecified location on Betio.
My mother (Molly Webby) was married to Truitt