On December 8th, 2015, Marine Corps CPL James Dimitri Otto, 21, killed in World War II, was finally laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
James was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania on November the 11th, 1923 to Catherine Ada Otto.
The family moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s and on June the 24th of 1941 - at the age of 18 - Jimmy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was off to Camp Elliott in San Diego, California for training. He would see action in American Samoa and Guadalcanal before arriving in New Zealand for R&R and to prepare for their next battle.
Corporal Otto was with his brothers in Love Company, 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marines (L-3/8) 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 Jimmy - barely 21 years old - perished. He was buried in a Marine cemetery on Betio, though specific details regarding his loss and the burial of his remains were unrecorded at the time.
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, James' mother accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
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 Island, but CPL Otto's remains were not recovered. On Feb. 10, 1949, a military review board declared James "non-recoverable".
For nearly 72 years, CPL Otto remained buried on that island where he and so many of his brothers-in-arms fell.
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
To identify Otto's remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which Matched Otto's records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
James was finally returned to his family and, on December 8th, 2015, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
In memorial, California Governor Edmund G Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol.
Marine Corps Corporal James Dimitri Otto is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although CPL Otto has now been recovered and identified, his name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (55926965, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that James is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLES
Island Moon Weekly, 22.Oct.2015
Islander's Marine Uncle Gets Arlington Burial 72 Years After His Death
Henryetta Free-Lance, 25.Nov.2015
Marine killed in WWII due to be buried Dec. 8
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 15-075 (Dec. 1, 2015)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
James was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania on November the 11th, 1923 to Catherine Ada Otto.
The family moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s and on June the 24th of 1941 - at the age of 18 - Jimmy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was off to Camp Elliott in San Diego, California for training. He would see action in American Samoa and Guadalcanal before arriving in New Zealand for R&R and to prepare for their next battle.
Corporal Otto was with his brothers in Love Company, 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marines (L-3/8) 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 Jimmy - barely 21 years old - perished. He was buried in a Marine cemetery on Betio, though specific details regarding his loss and the burial of his remains were unrecorded at the time.
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, James' mother accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
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 Island, but CPL Otto's remains were not recovered. On Feb. 10, 1949, a military review board declared James "non-recoverable".
For nearly 72 years, CPL Otto remained buried on that island where he and so many of his brothers-in-arms fell.
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
To identify Otto's remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which Matched Otto's records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
James was finally returned to his family and, on December 8th, 2015, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
In memorial, California Governor Edmund G Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol.
Marine Corps Corporal James Dimitri Otto is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although CPL Otto has now been recovered and identified, his name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (55926965, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that James is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLES
Island Moon Weekly, 22.Oct.2015
Islander's Marine Uncle Gets Arlington Burial 72 Years After His Death
Henryetta Free-Lance, 25.Nov.2015
Marine killed in WWII due to be buried Dec. 8
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 15-075 (Dec. 1, 2015)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
On December 8th, 2015, Marine Corps CPL James Dimitri Otto, 21, killed in World War II, was finally laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
James was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania on November the 11th, 1923 to Catherine Ada Otto.
The family moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s and on June the 24th of 1941 - at the age of 18 - Jimmy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was off to Camp Elliott in San Diego, California for training. He would see action in American Samoa and Guadalcanal before arriving in New Zealand for R&R and to prepare for their next battle.
Corporal Otto was with his brothers in Love Company, 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marines (L-3/8) 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 Jimmy - barely 21 years old - perished. He was buried in a Marine cemetery on Betio, though specific details regarding his loss and the burial of his remains were unrecorded at the time.
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, James' mother accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
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 Island, but CPL Otto's remains were not recovered. On Feb. 10, 1949, a military review board declared James "non-recoverable".
For nearly 72 years, CPL Otto remained buried on that island where he and so many of his brothers-in-arms fell.
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
To identify Otto's remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which Matched Otto's records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
James was finally returned to his family and, on December 8th, 2015, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
In memorial, California Governor Edmund G Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol.
Marine Corps Corporal James Dimitri Otto is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although CPL Otto has now been recovered and identified, his name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (55926965, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that James is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLES
Island Moon Weekly, 22.Oct.2015
Islander's Marine Uncle Gets Arlington Burial 72 Years After His Death
Henryetta Free-Lance, 25.Nov.2015
Marine killed in WWII due to be buried Dec. 8
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 15-075 (Dec. 1, 2015)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
James was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania on November the 11th, 1923 to Catherine Ada Otto.
The family moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s and on June the 24th of 1941 - at the age of 18 - Jimmy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was off to Camp Elliott in San Diego, California for training. He would see action in American Samoa and Guadalcanal before arriving in New Zealand for R&R and to prepare for their next battle.
Corporal Otto was with his brothers in Love Company, 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marines (L-3/8) 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 Jimmy - barely 21 years old - perished. He was buried in a Marine cemetery on Betio, though specific details regarding his loss and the burial of his remains were unrecorded at the time.
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, James' mother accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
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 Island, but CPL Otto's remains were not recovered. On Feb. 10, 1949, a military review board declared James "non-recoverable".
For nearly 72 years, CPL Otto remained buried on that island where he and so many of his brothers-in-arms fell.
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
To identify Otto's remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which Matched Otto's records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
James was finally returned to his family and, on December 8th, 2015, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
In memorial, California Governor Edmund G Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol.
Marine Corps Corporal James Dimitri Otto is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although CPL Otto has now been recovered and identified, his name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (55926965, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that James is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLES
Island Moon Weekly, 22.Oct.2015
Islander's Marine Uncle Gets Arlington Burial 72 Years After His Death
Henryetta Free-Lance, 25.Nov.2015
Marine killed in WWII due to be buried Dec. 8
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 15-075 (Dec. 1, 2015)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Inscription
JAMES / DIMITRI / OTTO
CPL / US MARINE CORPS / WORLD WAR II
Nov 11 1922 / Nov 20 1943
PURPLE HEART
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