Full Honors Repatriation of U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Walter G. Critchley at Arlington National Cemetery [Image 2 of 14]

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES

10.18.2017

Photo by Elizabeth Fraser   

Arlington National Cemetery   

Bruce Placek receives the American flag from U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Norman Cooling, director, Office of Legislative Affairs for the Commandant of the Marine Corps, during the graveside service for his uncle, U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Walter Critchley, in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Oct. 18, 2017. In November 1943, Critchley was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, 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. A battle lasted several days in which approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 wounded. Critchley died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Initially, after the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. Service Members 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 Critchley’s remains were not recovered). On Feb. 10, 1949, a military review board declared Critchley’s remains non-recoverable. In June 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight, Inc., notified the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) 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 original battle. The remains were then turned over to DPAA in July 2015 and through laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence, Critchley’s remains were identified. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released)

• Date Taken: 10.18.2017
• Date Posted: 10.18.2017 17:35
• Photo ID: 3875837
• VIRIN: 171018-O-IW468-017
• Resolution: 7360x4912
• Size: 15.41 MB
• Location: ARLINGTON, VA, US