Marine Corps SGT Jerome Bernard Morris, 22, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on October 2, 2020, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born March 6, 1921 in Paragould, Arkansas, Jerome was blessed to the union of Ernest Monroe and Leatrice (nee Harper) Morris. He married Miss Lorraine Cerene Reidt and they welcomed Jerome, Jr.
SGT Morris was with his brothers in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (B-1-6) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jerome – just 22 years old – perished. He was reportedly soon buried 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, Jerome's widow and baby boy accepted his Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation. Among those left to mourn his passing were also his sisters, Mary Kathleen and Frances Alberteen and a half-brother of Eric Wayne, with one half-brother and 2 half-sisters surviving.
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 SGT Morris' remains were not recovered. On October 21, 1949, a military review board declared Jerome "non-recoverable".
On September 27, 2019, the DPAA officially identified Marine Corps SGT Jerome Bernard Morris, 22, killed in World War II.
Jerome was returned to his family and, on October 2, 2020, laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in Lemay, Missouri, with full military honors.
Marine Corps Sergeant Jerome Bernard Morris is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, SGT Morris' name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette was placed on the monument next to his name to indicate Jerome has finally been found (56126280).
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release No: 19-212 (Oct. 29, 2019)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born March 6, 1921 in Paragould, Arkansas, Jerome was blessed to the union of Ernest Monroe and Leatrice (nee Harper) Morris. He married Miss Lorraine Cerene Reidt and they welcomed Jerome, Jr.
SGT Morris was with his brothers in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (B-1-6) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jerome – just 22 years old – perished. He was reportedly soon buried 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, Jerome's widow and baby boy accepted his Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation. Among those left to mourn his passing were also his sisters, Mary Kathleen and Frances Alberteen and a half-brother of Eric Wayne, with one half-brother and 2 half-sisters surviving.
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 SGT Morris' remains were not recovered. On October 21, 1949, a military review board declared Jerome "non-recoverable".
On September 27, 2019, the DPAA officially identified Marine Corps SGT Jerome Bernard Morris, 22, killed in World War II.
Jerome was returned to his family and, on October 2, 2020, laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in Lemay, Missouri, with full military honors.
Marine Corps Sergeant Jerome Bernard Morris is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, SGT Morris' name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette was placed on the monument next to his name to indicate Jerome has finally been found (56126280).
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release No: 19-212 (Oct. 29, 2019)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps SGT Jerome Bernard Morris, 22, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on October 2, 2020, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born March 6, 1921 in Paragould, Arkansas, Jerome was blessed to the union of Ernest Monroe and Leatrice (nee Harper) Morris. He married Miss Lorraine Cerene Reidt and they welcomed Jerome, Jr.
SGT Morris was with his brothers in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (B-1-6) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jerome – just 22 years old – perished. He was reportedly soon buried 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, Jerome's widow and baby boy accepted his Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation. Among those left to mourn his passing were also his sisters, Mary Kathleen and Frances Alberteen and a half-brother of Eric Wayne, with one half-brother and 2 half-sisters surviving.
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 SGT Morris' remains were not recovered. On October 21, 1949, a military review board declared Jerome "non-recoverable".
On September 27, 2019, the DPAA officially identified Marine Corps SGT Jerome Bernard Morris, 22, killed in World War II.
Jerome was returned to his family and, on October 2, 2020, laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in Lemay, Missouri, with full military honors.
Marine Corps Sergeant Jerome Bernard Morris is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, SGT Morris' name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette was placed on the monument next to his name to indicate Jerome has finally been found (56126280).
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release No: 19-212 (Oct. 29, 2019)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born March 6, 1921 in Paragould, Arkansas, Jerome was blessed to the union of Ernest Monroe and Leatrice (nee Harper) Morris. He married Miss Lorraine Cerene Reidt and they welcomed Jerome, Jr.
SGT Morris was with his brothers in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (B-1-6) 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jerome – just 22 years old – perished. He was reportedly soon buried 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, Jerome's widow and baby boy accepted his Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation. Among those left to mourn his passing were also his sisters, Mary Kathleen and Frances Alberteen and a half-brother of Eric Wayne, with one half-brother and 2 half-sisters surviving.
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 SGT Morris' remains were not recovered. On October 21, 1949, a military review board declared Jerome "non-recoverable".
On September 27, 2019, the DPAA officially identified Marine Corps SGT Jerome Bernard Morris, 22, killed in World War II.
Jerome was returned to his family and, on October 2, 2020, laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in Lemay, Missouri, with full military honors.
Marine Corps Sergeant Jerome Bernard Morris is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, SGT Morris' name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette was placed on the monument next to his name to indicate Jerome has finally been found (56126280).
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release No: 19-212 (Oct. 29, 2019)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Inscription
JEROME / BERNARD / MORRIS
SGT USMC / WORLD WAR II
MAR 6 1921 / NOV 22 1943
ALWAYS LOVED / NEVER FORGOTTEN / HONORED HERO / HOME AT LAST
Family Members
Other Records
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