Vincent Richard Condelario
Corporal Vincent R. “Sonny” Condelario served with Headquarters Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 333996
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 8, 1920
at Martin, SD
Parents
Peter Joseph Condelario
Nancy (Moran) Condelario
Education
St. Francis Mission High
(valedictorian)
Occupation & Employer
Student
Other
Oglala Sioux
Service Life
Entered Service
December 17, 1941
at Kansas City, MO
Home Of Record
Pine Ridge, SD
Next Of Kin
Parents, Peter & Nancy Condelario
Military Specialty
Communications
Primary Unit
HQ/1/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Condelario trained as a field lineman and switchboard operator.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Condelario served with the communications platoon of First Battalion, 8th Marines, in the Solomon Islands and the battle for Tarawa.
At midday on 20 November 1943, BLT 1-8 climbed over the sides of their transport ships and boarded LCVPs in Tarawa lagoon. They anticipated imminent landing orders, but due to the desperate situation on the beach were held offshore in their little boats, bobbing in the waves for the rest of the day and a very long night. Early on 21 November, they were ordered to land on Betio’s Beach Red 2.
At 0615, the first waves of 1-8 rushed down the ramps and into the breaking surf on a coral reef some 500 yards from shore. Although friendly troops held the water’s edge, they “immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from both flanks.” The battalion was decimated on the long walk to shore. An action report penned by the 8th Marines noted that “many of the casualties resulted from drowning, due to the heavy packs and equipment men attempted to take across the submerged fringing reef.”
One of the fallen was Corporal Vincent Condelario. While the exact circumstances of his final moments are not known, his death was confirmed immediately after the battle.
Burial Information or Disposition
Condelario was reported as buried “at Tarawa” or “in Division Cemetery, grave unknown.” It is impossible to gauge the accuracy of this information, or whether it was simply the same clerical boilerplate applied to other casualties from his battalion. His remains have not been recovered or identified.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 9, Row 2, Grave 11.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Peter and Nancy Condelario.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Condelario was killed in the vicinity of Beach Red 2, Betio.
