Arlington Full Honors Burial for Tarawa Marine Cpl. Anthony G. Guerriero 11-14-2017

In November 1943, Cpl. Anthony G. Guerriero was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Guerriero died on the second day of battle, Nov. 21, 1943.

Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to 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. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947, but Guerriero’s remains were not identified. All of the remains found on Tarawa were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification in 1947. By 1949, the remains that had not been identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In October 2016, DPAA disinterred Tarawa Unknown X-049 from the Punchbowl and sent the remains to the laboratory for analysis.

To identify Guerriero’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched his family, dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records; as well as circumstantial evidence.

[churchmom]

May Cpl. Guerriero rest in the peace of Christ. Thank you for your sacrifice and service. 🙏🏻❤️✝️🇺🇸

[jasonsabourin]

Thank you Guerriero Family, your family's Sacrifice for Freedom is Not Forgotten, God Bless you All.

[macgearalit]

Welcome Home, Marine .Your nation wishes you Fair Winds and Following Seas . Semper Fidelis

[taysmom]

This is my Great Uncle Tony. Welcome home and thank you for your service. Now you may Rest In Peace. <3

[SuperBillstanley]

Welcome home, Marine of the Old Breed.

[jasonsabourin]

Welcome Home Tony!
Semper Fi, Mac!