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Marine killed in WWII to be laid to rest after 7 decades

Amanda J. Purcell
Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal
James Johnson

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the day of PFC James Johnson's burial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — A rosary ring. Coins and various gear. A small St. Christopher cross often worn for protection during long voyages.

These were the things that laid buried with Marine PFC James Johnson for more than 70 years and what he carried when he was killed in the Pacific during World War II.

To his nephew Jim Johnson, 68, of Florida those small mementos sparked a connection to the uncle who had died five years before his birth and was his namesake.

The warrior, who grew up in Poughkeepsie was killed in action on the first day of the four-day Battle of Tawara. He was just 19.

Now, some 70 years later, the Marine has come home to receive full military burial honors as part of a special ceremony on Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.

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Johnson was among the first Allied troops to storm the small island of Betio in the Tarawa atoll of the Gilbert Islands in November 1943.Approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed, and more than 2,000 wounded. Johnson is believed to have died sometime on the first day of the battle, according to military records.

In 1943, a death announcement was printed alongside his photo on the front page of the Poughkeepsie New Yorker, known now as the Poughkeepsie Journal. The article said Johnson was buried in a grave near the site of the battle. His parents were notified by the Navy and details of his death would be sent by a letter, the article said.

Not much else was mentioned about Johnson. A Poughkeepsie native, Johnson attended W.W. Smith School and Poughkeepsie High School. He was a member of Holy Trinity Church, according to Journal archives.

After Johnson finished school, he became a shipping clerk at the Glenwood-Clothing company plant, and entered the Marine Corps Nov. 5, 1942. He had served overseas for less than a year — since February 1943.

At the time of his death, Johnson’s brother, William, was a member of the Coast Guard. His sister lived in Texas.

An published in the Poughkeepsie New Yorker (Now known as the Poughkeepsie Journal) on Dec. 26, 1943 announces the death of Marine Private First Class James Johnson.

Johnson’s remains were recovered as part of the Department of Defense’s mission to account for soldiers who went missing while serving their country. The department works regularly with nonprofit organizations to recover soldiers missing in action or buried overseas as a result of combat.

Johnson’s remains were recovered by History Flight, which has already recovered 35 sets of remains, including Johnson’s, in Tawara as of July 2015.

To identify Johnson’s remains, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used DNA analysis, which matched his nephew.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died, according to defense records.

Overall, the Department of Public Affairs has identified found remains of 2,176 soldiers from all wars and conflicts since the project began in the 1970s. But a total of 83,000 remains still have yet to be recovered.

Said Lt. Col. Holly Slaughter, who works for public affairs for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: “It’s an important mission because when we send men and women in harm’s way overseas to protect the U.S., we owe it to them to bring them home. To bring them to their loved ones. That is our nation’s promise to these heroes.”

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The battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. because the Gilbert Islands provided the Navy a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline islands. This helped the U.S. advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but Johnson’s remains were not recovered.

On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Johnson’s remains non-recoverable.

In June 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight Inc., notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they discovered a burial site on Betio and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.

Follow Amanda J. Purcell on Twitter: @amandajpurcell

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