POWMIA.INFO

Marine Killed During World War II Accounted For (Gilman, P.)

By DPAA Public Affairs

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2018 - Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Paul D. Gilman, killed during World War II, was accounted for on May 17, 2018.

In November 1943, Gilman was assigned to Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th 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, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Gilman died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943.

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Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.

Gilman's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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