CPL Clay Odell Adams
Monument

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CPL Clay Odell Adams Veteran

Birth
Juanita, Foster County, North Dakota, USA
Death
20 Nov 1943 (aged 20)
Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati
Monument
Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA Add to Map
Plot
Courts of the Missing (Court 2) // Missing In Action
Memorial ID
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Marine Corps CPL Clay Odell Adams, 20, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.

Born June 1, 1923, in Juanita, North Dakota, Clay was the eldest of six children blessed to the union of Andy Clay and Alma Amanda (nee Pewe) Adams.

Clay enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on July 10, 1941, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Corporal Adams was with his brothers in India Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (I-3/2) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.

It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Clay - just 20 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in the West Division Cemetery on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.

Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son or husband off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.

For his service and sacrifice, Clay's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.

Also left to mourn his passing were siblings; Betty Jo, Georgia Louise, Harold Wesley, and Margaret LaVonne. (A younger brother, Thomas, only lived 5 years.)

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. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but CPL Adams’ remains were not recovered. On October 7, 1949, a military review board declared Clay “non-recoverable”.

On October 17, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Griffon and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Joseph’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his sister and great-nephew the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.

Marine Corps Corporal Clay Odell Adams is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing".

SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps CPL Clay Odell Adams, 20, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.

Born June 1, 1923, in Juanita, North Dakota, Clay was the eldest of six children blessed to the union of Andy Clay and Alma Amanda (nee Pewe) Adams.

Clay enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on July 10, 1941, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Corporal Adams was with his brothers in India Company, 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (I-3/2) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.

It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the “Battle of Tarawa”), when young Clay - just 20 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in the West Division Cemetery on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.

Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son or husband off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.

For his service and sacrifice, Clay's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.

Also left to mourn his passing were siblings; Betty Jo, Georgia Louise, Harold Wesley, and Margaret LaVonne. (A younger brother, Thomas, only lived 5 years.)

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. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but CPL Adams’ remains were not recovered. On October 7, 1949, a military review board declared Clay “non-recoverable”.

On October 17, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Griffon and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Joseph’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his sister and great-nephew the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.

Marine Corps Corporal Clay Odell Adams is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing".

SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist

Inscription

ADAMS CLAY ODELL
CORPORAL • USMC • LOUISIANA