On September 18, 2019, Marine Corps PFC Charles Eugene Miller, 19, killed in World War II, was finally accounted-for (263329972).
Born May 15, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan, "Eugene" was the only child of Charles Edward Stewart and Wilma Francis (nee Brooks) Place. At the age of 4, his parents divorced and he and his mother moved in with his grandparents, Benjamin Franklin and Rhoda (nee Dancer) Brooks. Wilma later married John Edward Wallace and Eugene took his name.
PFC Wallace was with his brothers in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (A-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 Eugene - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery 33 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, Eugene' family 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 his aunts and uncles; Mr & Mrs Leonard (Marie) Brooks, of Fostoria, Michigan; Virginia Zdankus, of South Bend, Indiana; Mr & Mes Chester (R Patricia) Nelson, of Port Huron and Mary Ann Lacombe of Wyandotte.
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 Wallace's remains were not recovered. In 1949, a military review board declared Eugene "non-recoverable".
Marine Corps Private First Class Charles Eugene Wallace 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
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Personnel Profile
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born May 15, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan, "Eugene" was the only child of Charles Edward Stewart and Wilma Francis (nee Brooks) Place. At the age of 4, his parents divorced and he and his mother moved in with his grandparents, Benjamin Franklin and Rhoda (nee Dancer) Brooks. Wilma later married John Edward Wallace and Eugene took his name.
PFC Wallace was with his brothers in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (A-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 Eugene - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery 33 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, Eugene' family 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 his aunts and uncles; Mr & Mrs Leonard (Marie) Brooks, of Fostoria, Michigan; Virginia Zdankus, of South Bend, Indiana; Mr & Mes Chester (R Patricia) Nelson, of Port Huron and Mary Ann Lacombe of Wyandotte.
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 Wallace's remains were not recovered. In 1949, a military review board declared Eugene "non-recoverable".
Marine Corps Private First Class Charles Eugene Wallace 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
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Personnel Profile
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
On September 18, 2019, Marine Corps PFC Charles Eugene Miller, 19, killed in World War II, was finally accounted-for (263329972).
Born May 15, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan, "Eugene" was the only child of Charles Edward Stewart and Wilma Francis (nee Brooks) Place. At the age of 4, his parents divorced and he and his mother moved in with his grandparents, Benjamin Franklin and Rhoda (nee Dancer) Brooks. Wilma later married John Edward Wallace and Eugene took his name.
PFC Wallace was with his brothers in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (A-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 Eugene - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery 33 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, Eugene' family 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 his aunts and uncles; Mr & Mrs Leonard (Marie) Brooks, of Fostoria, Michigan; Virginia Zdankus, of South Bend, Indiana; Mr & Mes Chester (R Patricia) Nelson, of Port Huron and Mary Ann Lacombe of Wyandotte.
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 Wallace's remains were not recovered. In 1949, a military review board declared Eugene "non-recoverable".
Marine Corps Private First Class Charles Eugene Wallace 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
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Personnel Profile
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born May 15, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan, "Eugene" was the only child of Charles Edward Stewart and Wilma Francis (nee Brooks) Place. At the age of 4, his parents divorced and he and his mother moved in with his grandparents, Benjamin Franklin and Rhoda (nee Dancer) Brooks. Wilma later married John Edward Wallace and Eugene took his name.
PFC Wallace was with his brothers in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines (A-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 Eugene - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly soon buried in Cemetery 33 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, Eugene' family 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 his aunts and uncles; Mr & Mrs Leonard (Marie) Brooks, of Fostoria, Michigan; Virginia Zdankus, of South Bend, Indiana; Mr & Mes Chester (R Patricia) Nelson, of Port Huron and Mary Ann Lacombe of Wyandotte.
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 Wallace's remains were not recovered. In 1949, a military review board declared Eugene "non-recoverable".
Marine Corps Private First Class Charles Eugene Wallace 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
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Personnel Profile
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Inscription
WALLACE CHARLES E
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS • USMC • MICHIGAN
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