Fallen Marines come home
WASHINGTON — Her flight arrived late Thursday, but Olive Holtom was ready. The 88-year-old Alhambra, Calif., woman had waited 59 years to see her brother-in-law receive a proper burial.
Holtom's family was among hundreds of relatives and soldiers who gathered at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday to honor 13 Marines killed during an August 1942 raid on Japanese-held Makin Atoll in the South Pacific.
The bodies of 19 men of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion — the Makin Raiders — were discovered two years ago on the small island, now called Butaritari, where they had lain in mass graves for nearly six decades. A tip from a local resident who helped to bury the men when he was a boy led veterans and relatives to the grave site.
Thirteen flag-draped caskets were aligned on the grass under intermittent drizzle yesterday. A horse-drawn funeral caisson arrived with another casket bearing remains of unidentified soldiers.
The Marine honor guard played its recessional hymn, there were prayers and a 21-gun salute, and the ceremony concluded with a solitary rendition of taps.
Remains of the six other Marines have been returned to their families for private burials.
On Aug. 17, 1942, the Makin Raiders stormed the island, killing more than 80 Japanese but suffering 18 dead and 12 missing. Nine were captured and executed.
Tom Holtom said he felt it was important that his uncle, Gerald Holtom, remain with the men.
"They trained together, they fought together, they died together," Holtom said. "They've been laying together in the South Pacific for half a century, (so) it's appropriate that as many as possible be buried at Arlington."
Information from Gannett News Service is included in this report.