On September 13, 2017, Marine Corps Reserve PVT Donald Samuel Spayd, 19, killed in World War II, was finally laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born November 26, 1923, in Owatonna, Minnesota, Donald was blessed to the union of of Samuel Jacob and Bertha Mae (nee Cope) Spayd.
Private Spayd was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Donald - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly buried in the 8th Marine Cemetery on Betio Island - a temporary location until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Donald's parents accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
The battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands in order to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but PVT Spayd's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Donald "non-recoverable".
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
On March 16, 2017, the DPAA officially announced that PVT Spayd had been accounted-for. To identify Spayd's remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched his family; laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and anthropological comparison, which matched Spayd's records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Donald Samuel Spayd was finally returned to his family and, on September 13, 2017, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Marine Corps Reserve Private Donald Samuel Spayd is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, Donald's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56132281, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Donald is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLE
"Governor and First Lady Honor Marine Reserve Pvt. Donald S. Spayd"
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release (08.Sep.2017)
DPAA Recent News & Stories (17.Mar.2017)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born November 26, 1923, in Owatonna, Minnesota, Donald was blessed to the union of of Samuel Jacob and Bertha Mae (nee Cope) Spayd.
Private Spayd was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Donald - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly buried in the 8th Marine Cemetery on Betio Island - a temporary location until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Donald's parents accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
The battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands in order to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but PVT Spayd's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Donald "non-recoverable".
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
On March 16, 2017, the DPAA officially announced that PVT Spayd had been accounted-for. To identify Spayd's remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched his family; laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and anthropological comparison, which matched Spayd's records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Donald Samuel Spayd was finally returned to his family and, on September 13, 2017, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Marine Corps Reserve Private Donald Samuel Spayd is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, Donald's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56132281, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Donald is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLE
"Governor and First Lady Honor Marine Reserve Pvt. Donald S. Spayd"
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release (08.Sep.2017)
DPAA Recent News & Stories (17.Mar.2017)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
On September 13, 2017, Marine Corps Reserve PVT Donald Samuel Spayd, 19, killed in World War II, was finally laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born November 26, 1923, in Owatonna, Minnesota, Donald was blessed to the union of of Samuel Jacob and Bertha Mae (nee Cope) Spayd.
Private Spayd was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Donald - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly buried in the 8th Marine Cemetery on Betio Island - a temporary location until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Donald's parents accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
The battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands in order to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but PVT Spayd's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Donald "non-recoverable".
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
On March 16, 2017, the DPAA officially announced that PVT Spayd had been accounted-for. To identify Spayd's remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched his family; laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and anthropological comparison, which matched Spayd's records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Donald Samuel Spayd was finally returned to his family and, on September 13, 2017, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Marine Corps Reserve Private Donald Samuel Spayd is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, Donald's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56132281, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Donald is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLE
"Governor and First Lady Honor Marine Reserve Pvt. Donald S. Spayd"
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release (08.Sep.2017)
DPAA Recent News & Stories (17.Mar.2017)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born November 26, 1923, in Owatonna, Minnesota, Donald was blessed to the union of of Samuel Jacob and Bertha Mae (nee Cope) Spayd.
Private Spayd was with his brothers in Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines (F-2/8) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Donald - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly buried in the 8th Marine Cemetery on Betio Island - a temporary location until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Donald's parents accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.
The battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands in order to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but PVT Spayd's remains were not recovered. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Donald "non-recoverable".
In June 2015, History Flight notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that they had discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
On March 16, 2017, the DPAA officially announced that PVT Spayd had been accounted-for. To identify Spayd's remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched his family; laboratory analysis, including dental analysis and anthropological comparison, which matched Spayd's records; as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Donald Samuel Spayd was finally returned to his family and, on September 13, 2017, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Marine Corps Reserve Private Donald Samuel Spayd is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, Donald's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56132281, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name to verify that Donald is no longer missing.
NEWS ARTICLE
"Governor and First Lady Honor Marine Reserve Pvt. Donald S. Spayd"
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA News Release (08.Sep.2017)
DPAA Recent News & Stories (17.Mar.2017)
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Inscription
DONALD / SAMUEL / SPAYD
PVT / US MARINE CORPS / WORLD WAR II
NOV 26 1923 / NOV 20 1943
PURPLE HEART
Family Members
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