In this Wednesday, July 17, 2019 photo, from left, Dr. James Anderson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC), and Rear Adm. Jon Kreitz, deputy director for operations, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), bow their heads for an invocation before transfer cases carrying the possible remains of unidentified service members lost in the Battle of Tarawa during World War II, during what is known as an honorable carry conducted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), in a hangar at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The remains were recently recovered from the Republic of Kiribati by History Flight, a DPAA partner organization, and will be taken to a laboratory in Hawaii to begin the identification process. (Sgt. Jacqueline Clifford/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)
Republished July 18, 2019 - 3:17 PM
Original Publication Date July 18, 2019 - 2:06 PM
HONOLULU - The U.S. military has brought back the remains of more than 20 servicemen killed in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
An Air Force cargo plane flew the remains from Tarawa atoll in the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati (KEE-ree-bas) to Hawaii on Wednesday. Marines carried flag-draped caskets off the plane for a ceremony.
The remains are among those discovered in March by History Flight, a non-profit organization that searches for the remains of U.S. servicemen lost in past conflicts.
They're believed to belong to Marines and sailors from the 6th Marine Regiment who were killed during the last night of the three-day Battle of Tarawa. More than 6,000 Americans, Japanese and Koreans died.
Forensic anthropologists with the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency will work to identify the remains using dental records, DNA and other clues.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019