MIA Update - August 7, 2020

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced one new identification and one burial update for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from WWII and the Korean War. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Frank L. Athon, Jr., 29, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Athon died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Athon https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2295671/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-athon-f/.
-- Marine Corps Sgt. George R. Reeser, 25, of Washington, Illinois, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Reeser died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. Reeser will be buried Sept. 26, 2020, in Deer Creek, Illinois. Read about Reeser https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2152801/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-reeser-g/.