US soldier killed during World War II laid to rest after being missing for 78 years

For Warren Hayden, it was difficult for him to believe that the carcasses of one of his family members would land at their home after being declared dead some 78 years ago. According to a report by CNN, Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Harold W. Hayden of Norwood, Ohio, died on the third day of the Battle of Tarawa (World War II) on November 22, 1943. After Hayden's remains had been unaccounted for since his death at 19.

World War II Marine laid to rest in Virginia almost 78 years 

"It’s been a long journey for the family, in terms of he’s been missing for almost 78 years," CNN quoted Warren Hayden, Harold's half-brother as saying. "It’s an exhilarating feeling to know that he has been brought home."

According to a press release issued by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in July this year, it said that Harold was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. The company had 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, claimed the statement. "Hayden died on the third day of battle, November 22, 1943. He was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33," DPAA said in a statement. 

Almost half of the known casualties still missing

Notably, DPAA is an agency within the United States Department of Defense whose mission is to recover United States military personnel, who are listed as prisoners of war or missing in action from designated past conflicts, from countries around the world.
According to the agency, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company centralized all of the American remains found on Tarawa at Lone Palm Cemetery for later repatriation in 1946 after accepting its failure to locate all the casualties. As per DPAA, almost half of the known casualties were never found.

"No recovered remains could be associated with Hayden, and, in October 1949, a Board of Review declared him non-recoverable," said DPAA. 

Hayden's remains handed over to family members for burial

Fortunately, a nonprofit organisation called History Flight, Inc. found a burial site on Betio Island in 2019. The site is believed to be Cemetery 33, which has been the site of numerous excavations ever since. In March 2019, remains from the excavation were sent to the DPAA Laboratory in Pearl Harbor to be tested. Later, the lab has confirmed that the remains were associated with Hayden. To identify Hayden’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Subsequently, the remains were handed over to the family members for burial. 

Image: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)