Vern Marshall Anderson
Corporal Vern M. Anderson served with Dog Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 331591
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 20, 1920
at Ottumwa, SD
Parents
Pearl L. Anderson
Lydia (Muters) Anderson
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Farmhand
C. E. Thompson Ranch (Wilsall, MT)
Service Life
Entered Service
December 18, 1941
at Minneapolis, MN
Home Of Record
Powell, SD
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Pearl Anderson
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
D/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Vern Anderson served with Company D, First Battalion, 2nd Marines during the battle of Tarawa. As a member of a heavy weapons company, he was assigned to a crew-serviced weapon – either a water-cooled machine gun or 81mm mortar – and expected to provide fire support for fellow Marines in the assault companies.
Anderson was killed in action on 20 November 1943, during or immediately after the amphibious landings on Betio. His cause of death was recorded as gunshot wounds in the chest and head. No further details of his fate are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
No information available; “disposition of body unknown.”
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Grave 3, Row 1, Plot 4.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Pearl L. Anderson
Location Of Loss
Corporal Anderson was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
