Marine Corps Reserve PFC Richard Malcolm Stewart, 22, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.

Private First Class Stewart was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) 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 Richard - just 22 years old - perished. His was reportedly buried in Cemetery #33, Main Marine 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, Richard'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.

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 PFC Stewart's remains were not recovered. On October 27, 1949, a military review board declared Richard "non-recoverable".

In October 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Stewart and provided their contact information to the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Richard's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered them the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.

Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Richard Malcolm Stewart is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 4 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