Marine killed in WWII found, to be buried in Beaver Valley next week By Larry Miller.

Marine killed in WWII found, to be buried in Beaver Valley next week

By Larry Miller.

Marine Sergeant Fae Moore is coming home. The Chadron-area Marine was killed nearly 73 years ago in the amphibious assault on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa during World War II. More than 1,000 U.S.

servicemen died in the 76-hour battle with Japanese forces to take control of a strategic airfield.

In June 2015, a nonprofit organization called History Flight notified the Department of Defense that they had discovered the remains of 35 servicemen on Tarawa.

One of them was Fae Moore.

Fae Verlin Moore was born in Chadron, Nebraska on May 16, 1920, the youngest of Alonzo and Mary Moore’s 10 children – six boys and four girls. The family farmed in Beaver Valley east of Chadron during the 1920s until moving to the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1931.

Fae attended Beaver Valley School and completed the 8th Grade before leaving school to work and help his family during the “Dirty Thirties.” He was barely 5’ 6” and weighed just 134, but he knew how to work and took on ranching jobs for a few years.

Moore signed up for a four-year hitch in the Marine Corps on August 18, 1941, nearly four months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Accepted for enlistment in Rapid City, he traveled to Minneapolis for his physical examination and processing. Three days later 21-year-old “Private” Fae Moore was at Marine Corps Recruit Depot-San Diego for “boot camp.” After just one week, he wrote to his sister Hazel Moss in Nebraska that “the Marines are a lot tougher and stricter than the Army or Navy…I don’t get to leave this post for seven weeks and after that they may send me somewhere else.

This Marine Corps keeps their men on the move all the time.”

By December 2, Moore had finished boot camp and was “on the move” himself, receiving orders to Company E (“Easy” Company), Second Battalion, Eighth Marines. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he again wrote to Hazel, “I guess everybody is worried, but I can’t understand why.

We aren’t…most of these boys have or had pals over on Wake Island, and they are crazy to go over and get even.” On January 6, 1942, Fae Moore and his unit departed San Diego aboard the SS Matsonia, part of a convoy carrying 5,000 Marines assigned to defend American Samoa – and begin 10 months of intensive jungle warfare training.

Moore was promoted to Private First Class (PFC) and in November his unit shipped out for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. They reinforced the 1st Marine Division, which was bogged down in the first major Allied offensive in the Pacific. It was the first taste of combat for the young man from Nebraska.

The death toll was high: some 20,000 Japanese and 2,000 Americans. The Japanese withdrew from Guadalcanal by February 1943, and “Easy” Company was on its way to New Zealand for a bit of rest – and further training. Upon arriving in Wellington, Fae again wrote to Hazel, “I am where I can get some pictures taken; this is a pretty nice place.”

Perhaps his impressions were shaped a bit by a girl named Jill Hudson. Little is known about their meeting or courtship, but eventually they became engaged. Moore was promoted twice during 1943, sewing on Sergeant stripes in August. He had to say good-bye to Jill Hudson in late October when his unit boarded the USS Heywood, for “exercises” and then an unknown destination.

By November 19, the Heywood was in the central Pacific, approaching the Gilbert Islands and the Japanese stronghold at Tarawa. Control of the airstrip there, according to the Navy, “offered the Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands” to help the Navy in its westward campaign. The island of Betio, where the airstrip was located, is only about two-and-a-quarter miles long and less than a half mile wide.

Operation Galvanic, the assault on Betio, began November 20, 1943. Moore’s 2nd Battalion, Eighth Marines launched the first wave, landing on “Red Beach 3” before the Japanese could man their weapons.

Unfortunately, many U.S. landing boats were caught on reefs, and hundreds of Marines had to wade through the chest-high surf and were mowed down by enemy machine guns before hitting the beach. The battle raged for 76 hours before the Marines took control of Betio. Among the 1,027 Marines reported killed was Sergeant Fae Moore.

Decaying bodies, including about 5,000 Japanese military personnel and Korean slave laborers, posed serious health issues. Most of the dead were buried in temporary trenches.

Back in Nebraska, Fae Moore’s mother and father in Chadron were likely making preparations for Thanksgiving.

They knew their son was in the Pacific, but they didn’t know where. News reports told of the Allied push across the Pacific, including the battle on Tarawa, but there were no details on casualties.

Comments

THE TERRIBLE STORY OF PRIVATE FIRST CLASS DESMOND T. DOSS OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA....

12th October 1945. Private First Class Desmond T. Doss of Lynchburg, Virginia, is presented the Medal of Honor for outstanding bravery as a combat medic, the first conscientious objector in American history to receive the nation’s highest military award. When called on by his country to fight in World War II, Doss, a dedicated pacifist, registered as a conscientious objector. Eventually sent to the Pacific theater of war as a medical corpsman, Doss voluntarily put his life in the utmost peril during the bloody Battle for Okinawa, saving dozens of lives well beyond the call of duty. During World War II, over 70,000 men were designated conscientious objectors, mostly men whose religious beliefs made them opposed to war. Some refused to serve, but 25,000 joined the US armed forces in noncombat roles such as medics and chaplains. Desmond T. Doss of Lynchburg, Virginia, was one of those men, though he personally shunned the title of conscientious objector. Doss, born in 1919, was raised wit...

The Heroic Story Of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Honoring Him For His Extraordinary Actions During WWII.

The Heroic Story Of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Honoring Him For His Extraordinary Actions During WWII. U.S. Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on June 16, 1943, over Buka area, Solomon Islands. In October 1939, Zeamer applied for the Army Air Corps flight training program and was accepted in December. His entrance to the program was deferred until after graduating from M.I.T. in June 1940 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Engineering. Zeamer began elementary flight school training as a flying cadet in the Chicago School of Aeronautics, Glenview, Illinois, where his leadership skills earned him the position of Captain of Cadets of Class 41-B. In March 1941, he received his wings and a commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating from basic and advanced flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama. On June 16...

The Japanese WWII Soldier Who Refused to Surrender for 27 Years

Unable to bear the shame of being captured as a prisoner of war, Shoichi Yokoi hid in the jungles of Guam until January 1972 When Japanese sergeant Shoichi Yokoi returned to his home country after almost three decades in hiding, his initial reaction was one of contrition: “It is with much embarrassment that I return.” Then 56, Yokoi had spent the past 27 years eking out a meager existence in the jungles of Guam, where he’d fled to evade capture following American forces’ seizure of the island in August 1944. According to historian Robert Rogers, Yokoi was one of around 5,000 Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender to the Allies after the Battle of Guam, preferring life on the lam to the shame of being detained as a prisoner of war. Though the Allies captured or killed the majority of these holdouts within a few months, some 130 remained in hiding by the end of World War II in September 1945. Yokoi, who only rejoined society after being overpowered by two local fishermen in Janu...

Why Anna Maria Von Stockhausen’s corpse, strapped to keep her coming back from the dead.

Why Anna Maria Von Stockhausen’s corpse, strapped to keep her coming back from the dead. This is the corpse of Anna Maria von Stockhausen. After death she was strapped down to keep her in her grave. According to folklore, Stockhausen was a witch who resurrected herself 5 times. She was accused of being a witch during the Middle ages and Black Plague. This folklore about Anna was that she was killed about 6 times. She was first hanged and later clawed herself out of the grave. The town people captured her in a nearby town and quickly drowned her in a lake, by tying her to a plank. The townspeople said they checked her several times after dragging her lifeless body out of the water. View more graphics content below View more below:

The Most Horrifying Forms of 3 Executions in History

What was the unusual execution method used in history? Stoning, also known as lapidation, is a method of execution that involves pelting the condemned individual with stones until death occurs. It has been practiced in various societies throughout history and is often associated with religious or cultural beliefs. Stoning as a form of punishment is primarily intended to instill fear and act as a deterrent. In stoning, the condemned person is typically buried up to their chest or neck in a pit or shallow hole to restrict movement. The crowd or a group of executioners then proceeds to throw stones at the individual until they are killed. The stones used in stoning are typically of a specific size and weight, ensuring that the punishment is prolonged and painful rather than immediately lethal. The severity and execution of stoning can vary between different cultures and regions. It is important to note that stoning is often linked to moral or religious offenses, such as adultery or bla...

HONORING EDITH CAVELL FOR HER WONDERFUL SERVING WWI, REST IN PEACE BRITISH WAR HEROINE.

Edith Cavell - a British war heroine. Edith Louisa Cavell was born on the 4th of December 1865 at Swardeston, near Norwich, the daughter of a local vicar. Edith trained as a nurse and would become the matron of The Berkendael Medical Institute in Belgium in 1907. She was also active in nurse training there. The first World War broke out in 1914 and at the time Edith was on holiday, visiting her mother in Norfolk. Her family begged her to stay in England but she returned to her job in Brussels. The city would fall to the Germans on the 20th of August 1914. Edith was allowed to remain at her post when the hospital was taken over by The Red Cross. Edith began rescuing and treating injured British and French soldiers and getting them across the border into neutral Holland from where they could return to Britain. She also assisted Belgian civilians. These activities constituted a crime under German Military Law. Paragraph 58 of the ...

Honoring Gene Autry "Cowboy Entertainer" For His Services During WWII .

🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Gene Autry: Cowboy, Entertainer and Proud World War II Veteran "When World War II broke out, Gene Autry was determined to join the armed forces and do his part. On July 26, 1942, during a live broadcast of his radio show Melody Ranch and at the Pentagon's request, he was inducted into the Army Air Forces as a Technical Sergeant. Already a private pilot, Gene set out to earn his wings as a Flight Officer. After basic training at the Santa Ana Air Force Base, and serving at Luke Field, Thunderbird Field, and Phoenix Airport, he was eventually accepted for flight training at Love Field in Dallas." "A week after Gene was sworn into the military, the Gene Autry Melody Ranch radio show became the Sergeant Gene Autry radio show on August 2, 1942. The program was part of Gene’s regular duties in the Army Air Forces and still had his music, comedy, and action in a dramatic story but now with a military theme. The songs were patriotic, the comedy based on...

The Terrible Story Of Richard Earl Bush of Glasgow, The Hero We Must Honor.

The Terrible Story Of Richard Earl Bush of Glasgow, The Hero We Must Honor. Richard Earl Bush of Glasgow, Kentucky, a U.S. Marine Corps master gunnery sergeant, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions in Okinawa on April 16, 1945. Bush enlisted in the USMC in 1942. He served with the Marine Corps Raiders in the Pacific, and while with the Raiders, he was promoted to corporal. On April 16, 1945, Cpl. Bush was serving in the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division. Cpl. Bush led his men in a charge against an enemy stronghold. During the assault, he placed himself on a thrown enemy grenade, absorbing the force of the explosion and saving the lives of his fellow Marines and corpsmen. In World War II, twenty-seven Marines similarly used their bodies against thrown enemy grenades in order to save their comrades’ lives. Bush was one of four who survived. He lost several fingers and sight in one eye. In the years following the war, Bush worked f...

JOHN MARTIN SCRIPPS THE TOURIST FROM HELL, HANGED IN SINGAPORE FOR MURDER

John Martin Scripps - "The tourist from hell". John Martin Scripps became the first Westerner to be hanged in Singapore for murder and only the second for any offence. (Dutch born Johannes van Damme was executed for drug trafficking in 1994). He is the last British murderer to be hanged since Britain abolished the death penalty. Dubbed the "tourist from hell" by the British tabloids he may well have murdered three people in all. Scripps was convicted of the murder of Gerrard George Lowe after a trial that began on October the 2nd, 1995. It was to be Singapore's most sensational murder case since that of Adrian Lim, who with his wife and girlfriend, were convicted in May 1983 of the murder of two children in 1981. Forty six old Lim, a self-styled spirit medium and the two women, Hoe Kah Hong and Tan Mui Choo who were both in their early 30’s, were hanged together in Changi prison in November 1988. September 18th, 1995. In the Singaporean equivalent of Comm...

The Terrible Death Of "Sergeant James Ward" The First New Zealand Airman to be Honored with the Victoria Cross

The Terrible Death Of "Sergeant James Ward" The First New Zealand Airman to be Honored with the Victoria Cross. Sergeant James Allan Ward of Whanganui, New Zealand serving with the No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron RAF, was the first New Zealander to be honored with the Victoria Cross. He is pictureed standing in the cockpit of his Vickers Wellington Mark IC, L7818 'AA-V', at Feltwell, Norfolk. (Source: IWM) ⭐Sergeant James Allen's Victoria Cross Citation reads as follows: "On the night of 7 July 1941, Sergeant Ward was second pilot of a Wellington bomber returning from an attack on Munster. While flying over the Zuider Zee at 13,000 feet his aircraft was attacked from beneath by a German ME110, which secured hits with cannon-shell and incendiary bullets. The rear gunner was wounded in the foot but delivered a burst of fire sending the enemy fighter down, apparently out of control. Fire then broke out in the Wellington's near-starboard engine and, fed by pe...

Search This Blog