https://www.whsv.com/content/news/wwii-vet-buried-with-military-honors-74-years-after-being-killed-in-action-464401663.html

Private First Class Albert Strange and his company landed on the small island of Betio, in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in 1943, in an attempt to secure the island.

They faced stiff Japanese resistance, and over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. The Japanese forces defending the island were virtually annihilated.

Strange was killed in the first day of battle at just 18 years old.

"He died serving like he wanted to. He did what he wanted," said Carolyn Sturgeon, one of Strange's nieces. "That's what his goal was, to serve his country, and that's what he was doing."

Now 74 years later, he's returning to his home in Barren County, Kentucky, because in May, a team returned to Tarawa to excavate the remains of fallen soldiers. After a DNA match, Strange was brought back to be sent off the way he deserved.

Tyler Garrett, a Marine Corps Instructor said, "Just to be a part of that, to return our brothers and our sisters home, is a big honor."

On Wednesday, over 70,000 soldiers from World War II remain missing in action. After the discovery of Strange's remains, other Marines say programs to bring the fallen home are important.

"This gives a chance for those families to have closure and the big part with that is modern technology. With the forensics, they are able to do DNA matching and find out who these MIA are," Garrett said.

Strange's niece, Carolyn, was happy as she watched her uncle be laid to rest.

"I'm just so glad that he's got to be brought back home to be by my mother. They're back together again," she said.

The full military honor was fitting, sending off Strange the way he deserved, for paying the ultimate sacrifice.

He is survived by three nieces: Sandy, Carolyn and Marilyn, and a half-sister: Patsy Meredith Thompson.

CAVE CITY, Ky. (AP) — World War II Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Albert Strange was laid to rest Wednesday at a cemetery in central Kentucky.

Strange, of Mammoth Cave, had been missing in action since 1943. He was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, which fought the Japanese on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands.

At age 18, Strange died in that battle, which lasted three days. He was one of about 1,000 Marines and sailors who were killed on the first day of the battle. Those men were buried in several battlefield cemeteries on the island.

ADVERTISEMENT

Strange’s family never knew what happened to him until September 2016 when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency requested DNA samples from his nieces, Carolyn Sturgeon and Marilyn Thompson.

In October, Sturgeon and Thompson learned their uncle’s remains had been identified.

Strange, who was close to his sister, the late Eva Marie Beal, was buried near her at the Cave City Cemetery, which is something Sturgeon said means a lot to her.

“It’s very special to me because this is where my mother is,” Sturgeon said. “They are back together again.”

She is pleased her uncle is buried in Cave City as opposed to being buried elsewhere.

“I’m glad he’s back home with my mother,” she said.

Strange’s remains, as well as those of several other Marines and sailors who died in the battle, were found by accident.

“The lady who came to my house told me there was a man who was building a carport and whenever they were digging the carport they found all of these bones, so they notified the officials and they came out and that’s where they found a lot of the bodies. His body was in the bunch,” Sturgeon said.

Strange received a full military funeral complete with a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps,” which were performed by Echo Company, 4th Tank Battalion of Fort Knox.

Capt. Tyler Garrett with Echo Company, 4th Tank Battalion said for him and his fellow Marines it was a big honor to be a part of Strange’s funeral.

“We have the honor as part of our duties as inspector instructors to do funerals all over Kentucky and Indiana. Last year, we were able to be part of 140 separate funerals,” Garrett said. “For this one, it is a unique opportunity to actually bring a Marine home, so it stands out from what we normally do.”

ADVERTISEMENT

He continued that an added piece of being a part of Strange’s funeral is that they are able to give his family some closure after so many years of not knowing what happened to him.

Several people turned out for the funeral who did not know Strange or his family, including Dale Russell of Glasgow.

Russell is a Vietnam War veteran and said he came to the funeral because “he’s one of our brothers.”

Russell is also with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 5906 of Glasgow.

Also attending Strange’s funeral were sisters Deborah Dale and B.G. Roberts of Warren County. They are daughters of the late James Grinstead of Glasgow, a Korean War veteran.

“We do have a relative who is still missing from World War II. Omer Simmons was my dad’s cousin. They were crossing a river and later they realized nobody had seen him. We are still hopeful that maybe someday he will be returned,” Dale said. “There is a niece of his who has submitted DNA to the military. They are looking for a match.

Dale looked up more detailed information about Simmons on her smartphone. She found that Simmons drowned while attempting to swim across a river when troops were forced to withdraw near Buna, New Guinea.

They came to Strange’s funeral to honor him.

“We are so thankful for all the men and women who have served to make our country free so we can live the way that we live,” Roberts said.

___

Information from: Glasgow Daily Times, http://www.glasgowdailytimes.com

As he was put in his final resting place Wednesday in Cave City, Kentucky, powerful words were uttered.

"Semper Fi, and welcome home, Marine."

Strange, Albert