Fay Gene Teter was a United States Marine killed during the Battle of Tarawa on Betio Island of the Gilbert Islands, now part of Kiribati. His remains were located in March 2019 after the rediscovery of the Row D of Cemetery 33. They were identified on August 2, 2022.
Biography[]
The 2nd Marine Division landed on Betio Island on November 20, 1943 as part of Operation Galvanic, the American invasion of the Gilbert Islands. The mission was to take control of the airfield on the Tarawa Atoll so that the Imperial Japanese Army would be less close to the United States and the United States would be closer to Japan. Most of the fighting would occur on Betio Island as it was the largest of the islands on Tarawa Atoll. This battle proved critical for the American offensive and the first time they faced serious Japanese opposition as they were well-supplied and prepared and fought to the last man standing.
On November 23, 1943, the battle ended in an American victory. Overall, 1,696 Marines were killed and 2,101 were wounded and 4,690 IJA soldiers and construction laborers were killed and 146 were captured.
Aftermath[]
The day after Fay died, he was reportedly buried in "Gilbert Islands Cemetery" along with dozens of Marines from his battalion. He was one of eight who had a set of coordinates appended to his burial information: "Betio (KH 283072 D-2 Map 14Oct43)." However, it was destroyed after the battle. A memorial with his name appeared in Plot 3, Row 2, Grave 8 of Cemetery 11, it had no relation to where he was buried.
Fay's remains were eventually recovered and buried in Row D of Cemetery 33 on Betio Island. However, they were not recovered when the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations between 1946 and 1947. In 1949, a military review board declared him non-recoverable.
Identification[]
In March of 2019, History Flight Inc. discovered what is thought of as Cemetery 33 on Betio Island. The remains of thirty Marines found were sent to a DPAA laboratory and identified based on historical records, circumstances, dental analysis, and DNA evidence. Using these techniques, Fay Gene Teter's remains were identified on August 2, 2022. The identification was announced the next day.