Walter Tobe Percer
Corporal Walter T. Percer 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 330861
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 28, 1913
at Lawton, OK
Parents
John Wiley Percer
Nellie (Grise) Percer
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
(“Transient” on Selective Service)
Service Life
Entered Service
December 14, 1941
at San Francisco, CA
Home Of Record
Boswell, OK
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Nell Percer
Military Specialty
Machine Gun NCO
Primary Unit
D/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Silver Star
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Walter’s younger brother, Corporal John Percer, also received a Silver Star Medal during WWII.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Walter Percer served with Company D, First Battalion, 2nd Marines during the battle of Tarawa. As the leader of a heavy machine gun squad, he was responsible for an M1917 Browning and five junior Marines who fired the weapon and carried its equipment and ammunition.
Percer’s squad ran into difficulty during the landings on 20 November 1943. Under intense fire from Japanese defensive positions, they were unable to get their heavy Browning ashore and were compelled to fight as riflemen. Percer led his men over the sea wall and, dodging from crater to crater, managed to advance about seventy five yards inland. The intrepid corporal was painfully wounded in the stomach and lost his rifle in the process – however, he picked up a bayonet and challenged his squad to follow.
A Japanese pillbox spotted Percer and turned its fire on him. Percer charged the pillbox, bayonet in hand, but was shot down before he went ten yards. Gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen ended his life just a month before his thirtieth birthday. He received a posthumous Silver Star Medal for gallantry.
Burial Information or Disposition
Although Percer’s death was witnessed by those who submitted his Silver Star citation, his remains were not identified after the battle. While he may have been interred as an unknown, no specific burial details are known to exist.
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 11, Grave 9, Row 1, Plot 3.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Nell Percer.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Percer was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
