We Remeber WWII Vet, PVT John Tillman

Since our inception in 1941, the USO has been with our military every step of the way. Friday, April 6, 2018, PVT John Merrill Tillman, United States Marine Corps received full military honors as he was laid to rest in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. After making the ultimate sacrifice in the battle of Tarawa during WWII, Tillman was identified and accounted for almost 74 years later by DPAA.

Tillman was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division and landed on the small island of Betio in the south Pacific in November of 1943. He was killed in action along with 1,000 other Marines and Sailors in an intensive battle with the Japanese. His efforts were not in vain as the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military, playing a crucial role in their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

Those who died in the battle of Tarawa were initially buried in battlefield cemeteries on Betio. Recovery and identification efforts in 1946-1947 had not successfully identified Tillman and he was then buried as Tarawa Unknown X-35 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Sixty-seven years later, Tillman was accounted for after scientists from DPAA were able to identify him. There was an outpouring of support from the local community by a number of active duty Marines, local veterans and military organizations who came to pay their respects, which appeared to be a great comfort to John Benevides, Tillman’s nephew who traveled from his home in California to honor his uncle on behalf of their family. “Rest, warriors, rest Against the day of journeying forth Tender hands shall lift thee out To home soil waiting.” – Requiem on Tarawa