Marine Corps CPL Thomas Harley Cooper, 22, killed in World War II, has finally been laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born November 2, 1921, in Omaha, Nebraska, Thomas was blessed to the union of Thomas Grady and Allien (nee Patterson) Cooper.
On September 18, 1940, the 72-1/2", 144 lbs, blue-eyed brunette walked into a Nashville, Tennessee Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Harley's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Private First Class Cooper's first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Corporal Cooper's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Harley and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Corporal Cooper was with his brothers in Alpha Company of the 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion 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 Harley - barely 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, Harley's brand new bride and baby girl 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.
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 CPL Cooper'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. On October 19, 1949, a military review board declared Harley "non-recoverable".
In March 1980, the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA, sent officials to Betio Island to receive skeletal remains that had been recovered during a construction project. Of the three sets recovered, two were identified. The third was declared unidentifiable and was subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu.
In 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs disinterred the remains of 94 Tarawa Unknowns from the NMCP for identification. The remains were consolidated and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
On August 9, 2019, the DPAA identified the remains of CPL Cooper, and his daughter received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Harley has finally returned to his family and was laid to rest with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Thomas Harley Cooper is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Cooper's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette will be placed next to his name to verify that Harley has finally been found (56127598, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 19-223 (Feb. 6, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born November 2, 1921, in Omaha, Nebraska, Thomas was blessed to the union of Thomas Grady and Allien (nee Patterson) Cooper.
On September 18, 1940, the 72-1/2", 144 lbs, blue-eyed brunette walked into a Nashville, Tennessee Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Harley's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Private First Class Cooper's first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Corporal Cooper's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Harley and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Corporal Cooper was with his brothers in Alpha Company of the 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion 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 Harley - barely 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, Harley's brand new bride and baby girl 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.
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 CPL Cooper'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. On October 19, 1949, a military review board declared Harley "non-recoverable".
In March 1980, the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA, sent officials to Betio Island to receive skeletal remains that had been recovered during a construction project. Of the three sets recovered, two were identified. The third was declared unidentifiable and was subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu.
In 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs disinterred the remains of 94 Tarawa Unknowns from the NMCP for identification. The remains were consolidated and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
On August 9, 2019, the DPAA identified the remains of CPL Cooper, and his daughter received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Harley has finally returned to his family and was laid to rest with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Thomas Harley Cooper is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Cooper's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette will be placed next to his name to verify that Harley has finally been found (56127598, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 19-223 (Feb. 6, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps CPL Thomas Harley Cooper, 22, killed in World War II, has finally been laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born November 2, 1921, in Omaha, Nebraska, Thomas was blessed to the union of Thomas Grady and Allien (nee Patterson) Cooper.
On September 18, 1940, the 72-1/2", 144 lbs, blue-eyed brunette walked into a Nashville, Tennessee Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Harley's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Private First Class Cooper's first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Corporal Cooper's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Harley and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Corporal Cooper was with his brothers in Alpha Company of the 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion 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 Harley - barely 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, Harley's brand new bride and baby girl 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.
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 CPL Cooper'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. On October 19, 1949, a military review board declared Harley "non-recoverable".
In March 1980, the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA, sent officials to Betio Island to receive skeletal remains that had been recovered during a construction project. Of the three sets recovered, two were identified. The third was declared unidentifiable and was subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu.
In 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs disinterred the remains of 94 Tarawa Unknowns from the NMCP for identification. The remains were consolidated and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
On August 9, 2019, the DPAA identified the remains of CPL Cooper, and his daughter received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Harley has finally returned to his family and was laid to rest with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Thomas Harley Cooper is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Cooper's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette will be placed next to his name to verify that Harley has finally been found (56127598, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 19-223 (Feb. 6, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born November 2, 1921, in Omaha, Nebraska, Thomas was blessed to the union of Thomas Grady and Allien (nee Patterson) Cooper.
On September 18, 1940, the 72-1/2", 144 lbs, blue-eyed brunette walked into a Nashville, Tennessee Marine Corps recruiting station and enlisted.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Harley's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Private First Class Cooper's first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Corporal Cooper's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Harley and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Corporal Cooper was with his brothers in Alpha Company of the 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion 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 Harley - barely 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, Harley's brand new bride and baby girl 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.
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 CPL Cooper'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. On October 19, 1949, a military review board declared Harley "non-recoverable".
In March 1980, the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA, sent officials to Betio Island to receive skeletal remains that had been recovered during a construction project. Of the three sets recovered, two were identified. The third was declared unidentifiable and was subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu.
In 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs disinterred the remains of 94 Tarawa Unknowns from the NMCP for identification. The remains were consolidated and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
On August 9, 2019, the DPAA identified the remains of CPL Cooper, and his daughter received "The Call" from the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section with the good news. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Harley has finally returned to his family and was laid to rest with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Thomas Harley Cooper is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Cooper's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette will be placed next to his name to verify that Harley has finally been found (56127598, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 19-223 (Feb. 6, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Inscription
THOMAS / HARLEY / COOPER
CPL / US MARINE CORPS / WORLD WAR II
NOV 2 1921 / NOV 20 1943
PURPLE HEART
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
