Marine Corps PVT Thomas Jefferson Munn, 19, killed in World War II, was returned to his family and, on January 10, 1949, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born February 6, 1924, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Thomas was eldest of five children blessed to the union of Otis Wingate Sr and Anna Bell (nee Steere) Munn.
The Munns lived in Stoneham. Tom and Bill moved to Marlborough to attend Hillside.
On June 30, 1942, the 6' 3", 210 lb, blue-eyed brunette registered for the draft in Holliston, Massachusetts. The ruddy 18-year-old was working at 291 High St for Hamer (?) Knights.
Thomas enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 21, 1943. He completed training with Headquarters Company of the Amphibian Base Battalion at Camp Lejeune, New River, North Carolina and with the Second Recruit Battalion of Recruit Depot at Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina.
Private Munn was with his brothers in the 2nd Amphibian Tractor (AMTRAC) 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 Thomas - just 19 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, Thomas' 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; Otis Wingate Jr, Elizabeth "Betty" (Mrs Francis "Babe" Santospago), Luella (Mrs Richard Thompson) and William Munn.
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.
Thomas was returned to his family and laid to rest, on January 10, 1949, with full military honors.
SOURCE
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born February 6, 1924, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Thomas was eldest of five children blessed to the union of Otis Wingate Sr and Anna Bell (nee Steere) Munn.
The Munns lived in Stoneham. Tom and Bill moved to Marlborough to attend Hillside.
On June 30, 1942, the 6' 3", 210 lb, blue-eyed brunette registered for the draft in Holliston, Massachusetts. The ruddy 18-year-old was working at 291 High St for Hamer (?) Knights.
Thomas enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 21, 1943. He completed training with Headquarters Company of the Amphibian Base Battalion at Camp Lejeune, New River, North Carolina and with the Second Recruit Battalion of Recruit Depot at Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina.
Private Munn was with his brothers in the 2nd Amphibian Tractor (AMTRAC) 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 Thomas - just 19 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, Thomas' 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; Otis Wingate Jr, Elizabeth "Betty" (Mrs Francis "Babe" Santospago), Luella (Mrs Richard Thompson) and William Munn.
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.
Thomas was returned to his family and laid to rest, on January 10, 1949, with full military honors.
SOURCE
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps PVT Thomas Jefferson Munn, 19, killed in World War II, was returned to his family and, on January 10, 1949, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born February 6, 1924, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Thomas was eldest of five children blessed to the union of Otis Wingate Sr and Anna Bell (nee Steere) Munn.
The Munns lived in Stoneham. Tom and Bill moved to Marlborough to attend Hillside.
On June 30, 1942, the 6' 3", 210 lb, blue-eyed brunette registered for the draft in Holliston, Massachusetts. The ruddy 18-year-old was working at 291 High St for Hamer (?) Knights.
Thomas enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 21, 1943. He completed training with Headquarters Company of the Amphibian Base Battalion at Camp Lejeune, New River, North Carolina and with the Second Recruit Battalion of Recruit Depot at Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina.
Private Munn was with his brothers in the 2nd Amphibian Tractor (AMTRAC) 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 Thomas - just 19 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, Thomas' 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; Otis Wingate Jr, Elizabeth "Betty" (Mrs Francis "Babe" Santospago), Luella (Mrs Richard Thompson) and William Munn.
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.
Thomas was returned to his family and laid to rest, on January 10, 1949, with full military honors.
SOURCE
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born February 6, 1924, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Thomas was eldest of five children blessed to the union of Otis Wingate Sr and Anna Bell (nee Steere) Munn.
The Munns lived in Stoneham. Tom and Bill moved to Marlborough to attend Hillside.
On June 30, 1942, the 6' 3", 210 lb, blue-eyed brunette registered for the draft in Holliston, Massachusetts. The ruddy 18-year-old was working at 291 High St for Hamer (?) Knights.
Thomas enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 21, 1943. He completed training with Headquarters Company of the Amphibian Base Battalion at Camp Lejeune, New River, North Carolina and with the Second Recruit Battalion of Recruit Depot at Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina.
Private Munn was with his brothers in the 2nd Amphibian Tractor (AMTRAC) 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 Thomas - just 19 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, Thomas' 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; Otis Wingate Jr, Elizabeth "Betty" (Mrs Francis "Babe" Santospago), Luella (Mrs Richard Thompson) and William Munn.
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.
Thomas was returned to his family and laid to rest, on January 10, 1949, with full military honors.
SOURCE
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
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