MIA Update- October 11, 2019

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced the identification of four Marines who had been missing and unaccounted-for since World War II. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Marine Corps Pfc. Louis Wiesehan Jr., was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed, including Wiesehan on the second day of battle, Nov. 21, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Wiesehan https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1976082/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-wiesehan-l/.
-- Marine Corps Pfc. Robert J. Hatch was a member of Company D, 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. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed, including Hatch on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Hatch https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1976076/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-hatch-r/.
-- Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. John R. Bayens was a member of Company B, 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. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed, including Bayens on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. Interment services are pending. Read about Bayens https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1975712/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-bayens-j/.
-- Marine Corps Reserve 1st Lt. Justin G. Mills was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 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. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed, including Mills on the first day of battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Read about Mills https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1973276/marine-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mills-j/.