William Monroe Casto
PFC William M. Casto 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 302688
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 9, 1922
at Steinback, WV
Parents
Benjamin A. Casto
divorced
Castella (Taylor) Legg
Education
Nuttall High School
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
December 9, 1940
at Charleston, WV
Home Of Record
Norvell, WQ
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Castella Legg
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
D/1/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC William Casto 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.
Casto 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 abdomen. 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 11, Row 2, Plot 13.
Next Of Kin Address
Approximate location of Norville, WV; the community no longer exists.
During the war, Mrs. Legg worked for Triumph Explosives in Elkton, MD.
Location Of Loss
PFC Casto was killed in action at an unspecified location on Betio.
