Skip to content

Vernon Leroy Thorp

Sergeant Vernon L. Thorp served with Fox Company, Second Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 293597

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

March 16, 1922
at Cushing, OK

Parents

Leroy William Thorp
Mettie Morvella (Magee) Thorp

Education

Details unknown

Occupation & Employer

Student

Service Life

Entered Service

August 30, 1940
at Oklahoma City, OK

Home Of Record

Seward, OK

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Mattie Thorp

Military Specialty

Primary Unit

F/2/8th Marines

Campaigns Served

Guadalcanal
Tarawa

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart (Guadalcanal, 23 November 1942)
with Gold Star (Tarawa)

Additional Service Details

Thorp was shot in the left hand at Guadalcanal.

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Sergeant Vernon Thorp served with Fox Company, 8th Marines during the Guadalcanal campaign and in the battle for Tarawa.

The amphibious assault on Betio, Tarawa atoll – Operation GALVANIC – commenced on 20 November 1943. The Second Battalion 8th Marines was given the job of assaulting the easternmost of three landing beaches – “Red 3” – and, once ashore, moving inland to quickly secure the airfield that covered much of the tiny island’s surface. A heavy and morale-boosting naval bombardment convinced many Marines that the task would be a simple one, and spirits were high at 0900 when their amphibious tractors started paddling for the beach.

The Japanese were quick to recover. Shells began bursting over the LVTs. “As the tractors neared the shore the air filled with the smoke and fragments of shells fired from 3-inch guns,” notes A Brief History of the 8th Marines. “Fortunately, casualties had been light on the way to the beach, but once the men dismounted and struggled to get beyond the beach, battle losses increased dramatically.” Most of the beach defenses were still intact, and these were supported by row after row of pillboxes, rifle pits, and machine gun nests.

Sergeant Thorp was among those killed in action on the first day of the battle. No specifics of his death are known.

Excerpt from the muster roll of Second Battalion, 8th Marines, November 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition

None recorded; no identifiable remains recovered.

A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 11, Plot 4, Row 3, Grave 8.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of mother, Mrs. Mettie Thorp.

Location Of Loss

Thorp’s battalion landed on and fought in the vicinity of Beach Red 3.

Betio Casualties From This Company​

(Recently accounted for or still non-recovered)
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *