Missing WWII heroes found buried under a parking lot in Tarawa

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  • Опубліковано 10 чер 2024
  • Howard Brisbane's relatives thought he was buried in an idyllic setting. But only days after his death, the WWII service member's grave site was gone - turned into a parking lot, first paved by Americans.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 987

  • @fredselbman3319
    @fredselbman3319 6 місяців тому +40

    As an Infantry Marine myself, I applaud this group for their efforts of recovering the remains of our fallen brothers from WWII, Semper Fi 🇺🇸🙏🏻

    • @SP-qo3pd
      @SP-qo3pd 5 місяців тому +3

      You guys can never get enough credit Fred. Thank you!

    • @johnrussell5896
      @johnrussell5896 5 місяців тому +1

      We fight for freedom we go with toe God bless America.. in world war II this all came down.. they oh no let me tell you something they'll be proud for all Americans keep going.. I watch the movie band of brothers grandpa you a hero in the war nope I served with the heroes that sacrifice. Deadliest war was so you could world war II every other war was like you cannot imagine what what everybody went from a soldier to a civilian what they went through all hell broke out God bless USA America never let these things ever happen to anyone

    • @lulatorrey6360
      @lulatorrey6360 5 місяців тому

      ❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢😢SOHEARTBREAKINGTHANKSTOTHEMILITARYANDTHEWONDERFULSOULSTHATNEVERGAVEUPONLOOKINGFORTHESEBRAVESOULSILOVEOURGREATMILITARYANDIDODONATEANDIWILLALWAYSLOVEANDCHERISHMYHIGHLYDECORATEDVIETNAMMARINE❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢LOVEPEACEBLESSINGAMERICAANDOURSPECIALALLIESKINGTRUMPNOW❤❤❤❤❤❤FJBANDALLHISSORRYUSELESSCABINETUSELESSSORRYOLDICECREAMPIMPANDDONOTFORGETTHEUSELESSUNDEROLDWILLIEBROWNHYENAHAIRYGODPLEASEBLESSOURGREATNATION❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢😢😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢

  • @brianzimmerman4014
    @brianzimmerman4014 3 роки тому +96

    My father landed on Tarawa with the Marines in the third wave on Red Beach 2. He himself had said that everyone knew if you were killed that you would never go home, you would be buried where you fell or near it. The logistics just were not there like Viet Nam to bring you home. He said that after the war, people were just so tired of the war that they let everything lay where it was and tried to forget about it and get on with life for those that survived. We have to remember that this was a different time, they didn't normally bring the dead home back then. As for the air field built over some of the graves or the shoddy record keeping, the war was still going, men were still fighting, and the air field had to be enlarged. Moving the remains would have taken time and logistics that were needed elsewhere.

    • @michaelinhouston9086
      @michaelinhouston9086 2 роки тому +17

      Thanks for bringing some reality to this story.

    • @fasteddie9055
      @fasteddie9055 Рік тому

      There are plenty of unaccounted Vietnam Vets lost in country. All you have to do is bribe the corrupt communist officials and they'll "find" the POW/MIA missing bodies. Otherwise, the Iron Triangle Heroin Mafia will be glad to help. It's all about the money !!!!!!

    • @fastsetinthewest
      @fastsetinthewest Рік тому

      Partner, I'm a drafted Republic of Vietnam combat veteran '68. The government people hate you. I understand your father. I spent a fortnight in Vietnam field hospital without care. The government hate the living too. We had to buy our own life insurance policy because the government was too cheap to provide it. But by gawd the bastards sent us in harms way on a lie!

    • @codacreator6162
      @codacreator6162 Рік тому +14

      My dad was a Vietnam vet with USMC and acknowledged the same. I got the impression that those Marines understood the circumstances and would not have objected if it meant saving other Marines.

    • @edwardgoering1237
      @edwardgoering1237 Рік тому +4

      As society attacks Family life more adult teens want to forget how cheaply their parents viewed the Family unit and yes its does reflect of how hard a unit fights knowing thjis might be an outcome

  • @johnabbott2893
    @johnabbott2893 6 місяців тому +9

    I was stunned by this video. Not all that long ago, I was down at my family's grave site in Pearland, Texas and when I drove in, I saw a large cluster of Marines just down the path. I walked down and was greeted by a man who told me the story of the fallen Tarawa Marine who was finally being brought home. The story I was told was identical to this video. When I saw the hearse coming, I donned my Air Force Veterans hat and walked down to the site. There had to be at least 60 people, mainly from veteran's groups there. Along with a really good contingent of Marines. Only one member of the fallen Marine had been found, a nephew, and he was in attendance. He was given the hero's send off that he deserved and I was so proud to have been given the opportunity to pay my respects for this man. Semper Fi, Marine.

  • @joer5627
    @joer5627 3 роки тому +76

    My Grandmother’s Brother was one who never made it to shore, nor has been found.
    His name was Marvin Reynolds. He was 19.

    • @sladeb6036
      @sladeb6036 3 роки тому +12

      God bless him for everything he did for our beautiful country.

    • @brianzimmerman4014
      @brianzimmerman4014 Рік тому +4

      My father, who was there as well, said that Marine bodies were reported floating in the shipping lanes for months afterwards. Those that were killed in the water or many on the edge of the waterline were swept to sea with the tides. I'm sorry for your family's loss.

    • @carolluther1625
      @carolluther1625 6 місяців тому

      I am sorry for your loss.

    • @PauloPereira-jj4jv
      @PauloPereira-jj4jv 6 місяців тому

      ​​​@@brianzimmerman4014... I don't think they would leave their bodies floating for months. The shore is very shallow even with the tide. The battle took 3 days and they had enought time to collect the bodies after that. Maybe a few of then were lost during the battle.

  • @joerobbins6318
    @joerobbins6318 3 роки тому +29

    It's a comfort to know there are people working to bring our lost heroes back home .

  • @josephfernandez2130
    @josephfernandez2130 3 роки тому +91

    My father was a Marine, carrying a BAR; when I asked him about Tarawa, this is what he told me: "Joey, the water was the color of blood!"

    • @lafeeshmeister
      @lafeeshmeister 3 роки тому +4

      Jesus Christ.

    • @daviddionne8296
      @daviddionne8296 3 роки тому +4

      Semper Fi

    • @mcqueenfanman
      @mcqueenfanman 3 роки тому +6

      Some say it was the hardest amphibious landing of the war.

    • @josephfernandez2130
      @josephfernandez2130 3 роки тому +11

      This is what my father also told me about the landing: that he was in the third wave, and then, at the last minute, he was reassigned to the ninth wave; he then added that "the first seven waves were wiped out" (his words exactly).
      I remember that he said this last part addressing my mother, as if to say, that on such a thing having happened, depended their ever meeting and raising a family family together*. He added one more thing, that he had no idea why the last-minute change was made...
      * Please excuse my lack of eloquence here: perhaps a better way to express it would be to cite the Sword of Damocles, that our lives depend on the thinnest of threads...

    • @josephfernandez2130
      @josephfernandez2130 3 роки тому +4

      @Caп¡s Aпuв¡s The short answer is no, my father did not have survivor's guilt for what had happened, keeping in mind that he would never talk about it, and not that I would have recognized it at the time - - I always had to ask him. And he was not always appreciative:
      "Dad, did you ever kill anyone? I mean, that you knew of?" His answer: a civilian - - on a jungle trail - - he saw me and came at me with a machete; my father's tone of voice was, you got your answer, okay now? But I still had another question; what was I, 10 or 11? "But why did he come at you?" Probably out of his mind on malaria, my father answered; never mentioned it again...

  • @larrysfarris
    @larrysfarris 3 роки тому +34

    My uncle (father’s younger brother) was wounded in the Battle of Tarawa, 2nd Marine Division. Sent to Hawaii to recover and wounded again in the Battle of Saipan. RIP, Uncle Garnet - the Greatest Generation.

  • @knightowl3577
    @knightowl3577 3 роки тому +18

    It's so sad that the bodies of such brave men were treated with so little respect by their own fellow countrymen. May they and their families find the peace they deserve.

  • @fishyc150
    @fishyc150 3 роки тому +204

    That they were "lost" is completely understandable... it was brutal war. Guys buried out the back of a dressing station, medics making records and getting killed themselves... it happens.
    That no one looked for them AFTER the battle was won is however disgusting.

    • @genegarren833
      @genegarren833 3 роки тому +7

      There was an organized veteran's cemetery, but for some reason when the island was abandoned, the cemetery was not taken under the care of the American Battle Monuments Commission. There was a program a number of years back, on this issue. Then of course you have the kind of graves that you discuss above.

    • @anibalcesarnishizk2205
      @anibalcesarnishizk2205 3 роки тому +6

      I have read that over 20000 US airmen are buried in unmarked graves in the former territory of the Third Reich.

    • @huzary1092
      @huzary1092 3 роки тому +12

      @@anibalcesarnishizk2205 ...............In the Netherlands, but not only in the Netrherlands, there is a special ( trained ) group that tries to find out who the fallen soldier is , found at official cemetery's or in by accident found graves. That's not for allied soldiers only, they do that for ALL soldiers. So, also for the fallen German soldiers. On regular base family is coming over from Canada or the U.S to pay their respects to a never forgotten family member.

    • @THE-HammerMan
      @THE-HammerMan 3 роки тому +2

      Correct. Well said.

    • @anibalcesarnishizk2205
      @anibalcesarnishizk2205 3 роки тому +3

      @@huzary1092
      Thanks for the information
      !!.

  • @micks6797
    @micks6797 3 роки тому +50

    My respect goes out to the History Flight for spending their time to recover the remains of these brave servicemen.

  • @robertbenson9797
    @robertbenson9797 6 місяців тому +15

    Excellent video. A true heart wrenching story. Tarawa was a terrible battle-this was one of the first landings that the US Navy and Marines had undertaken. If you read battle accounts, the invasion planners had miscalculated the tides. Lots of landing crafts were stuck on coral reefs that ringed the island. Under heavy fire from Japanese coastal guns, Marines abandoned their landing craft and struggled to wade ashore in chest deep water under full combat equipment.
    The Marines lost almost as many men killed in the 76 hour battle at Tarawa as US troops suffered in the 6 month Guadalcanal campaign. This was a good example of having a great battle plan until the first shots are fired and then the plan goes out the window. The Allied planners learned a lot from this beginning of “ island hopping”.
    Interestingly, the actor Eddie Albert, was a Lieutenant in the US Naval Reserve and was a coxswain of a US landing craft. He was awarded the Bronze Star with a Combat “V” for his actions during the landing at Tarawa. He rescued 47 Marines that were stranded offshore. He also supervised the rescue of 30 other stranded Marines.
    In recent years, the US Government has expanded its recovery and identification of lost service personnel. The unit at Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue, Nebraska, has been in the lead of identifying deceased service personnel, like the sailors recovered from the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.

    • @RowdyBorders-ni3ti
      @RowdyBorders-ni3ti 6 місяців тому +2

      GOD Bless those Boys

    • @jasonhuttermusic424
      @jasonhuttermusic424 2 місяці тому

      The unexpected tidal errors were also a factor in creating the UDT teams that would go on to become the SEALs. That battle was hellacious. It's a wonder they retrieved any bodies at all.

  • @skiptrace1888
    @skiptrace1888 Рік тому +44

    as a veteran of Iraq myself, I salute this group and what they are doing for my fallen commrades-in-arms! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

    • @ewencameron1548
      @ewencameron1548 6 місяців тому +1

      War is horrible lest we forget

    • @williamherndon5065
      @williamherndon5065 5 місяців тому +1

      I did not fight that war. My brother and father did. Thank God they returned home from WWII. BM2(SW-AW) Herndon, WM ret,USN, " Does it storm does it shield Kuwait Saudi liberation armed forces expeditionary."

  • @rollotomasi8116
    @rollotomasi8116 3 роки тому +39

    My dad was a first day lander on Tarawa.....2nd Marines, wounded twice......I would see him just staring sometimes and ask what are you thinking about, and many times it was something that reminded him of that battle......On my dads discharge the description for some of his time in the Marines shows “ due to unavoidable war conditions the information on this discharge certificate is incomplete “ .......Semper Fi to all of the Marines...and thank you to the US Navy.....

    • @brianzimmerman4014
      @brianzimmerman4014 Рік тому +1

      My father was affected by this battle until the day he passed a few years ago. It affected him more than Guadalcanal, Sipan, or Tinian where he had also fought.

  • @31446963048
    @31446963048 3 роки тому +10

    This battle took place 75 years ago. They still find the missing from WWI and other wars, as well as battles as well. Also MIA means there was nothing recoverable in many cases. Its admirable what those volunteers are doing. Thanks guys.

  • @JD-gj2rj
    @JD-gj2rj 5 місяців тому +2

    As a USN vet God bless you for bringing him home. War sucks things happen. I'm grateful for those that are doing this work.🙏

  • @dougwestphal7003
    @dougwestphal7003 3 роки тому +56

    How entirely incomprehensible that an American Servicemen’s remains are abandoned. Forgotten about, ignored. And then the forgotten remains are abandoned and left to be paved over by a parking lot. Americans should be ashamed of our government to have forgotten about a dead service men

    • @chrisweber6374
      @chrisweber6374 3 роки тому

      They didnt care they got what they wanted

    • @shable1436
      @shable1436 3 роки тому +1

      My grandfather is still in france so i know what you mean

    • @KPearce57
      @KPearce57 3 роки тому +4

      Fog of War, happens everywhere, the body is but a shell, as long as someone speaks name he will be remembered, I have 2 Uncles in Normandy every other year I visit with them, lest they be forgotten.

    • @donlove3741
      @donlove3741 3 роки тому

      Dry up !

    • @goldenshark3182
      @goldenshark3182 3 роки тому

      GIG ECONOMIA Democrats FDR & Truman were the Presidents during WWII dumb dumb.

  • @Lisa1111
    @Lisa1111 3 роки тому +15

    It has become quite apparent over the years that the government cares not about anyone but themselves. Thank you for your service ❤️

    • @toddjohnson271
      @toddjohnson271 6 місяців тому +2

      They never do.....the little people are to be used, manipulated, and discarded without fanfare when not useful.

  • @mariaelenapagan230
    @mariaelenapagan230 3 роки тому +10

    How deplorable to leave a service man behind who served our country and government to be forgotten. R.I.P soldier and welcome home. God Speed 😢😢🙏🏼🙏🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸

  • @leesherman100
    @leesherman100 3 роки тому +89

    Well over 20 cemetery's were dug on the island. The fog of war lost track of many of them. It's a very sad truth I must say. War is hell!

    • @ronaldbosmans4387
      @ronaldbosmans4387 3 роки тому +2

      Yea and its very soon to repeat itself.

    • @KiwiFilmAIRCCS
      @KiwiFilmAIRCCS 3 роки тому +1

      All that you say is true..so is the fact that we made a promise , we made a covenant with the soldiers that we would no one behind....after the swords were beaten into plowshares...We should have recovered or established proper memorial area for our Selfless Fallen as the Japanese did for their fallen Thru-our the Pacific!.. How much waste of our National Treasure we have done since all of our military actions...Conditions of our society can be measured on how we treat our dead heroes....
      God Bless Our Forgotten Dead Heroes!

    • @leesherman100
      @leesherman100 3 роки тому

      @@KiwiFilmAIRCCS Amen.

    • @cochinaable
      @cochinaable 3 роки тому

      @Me Smith what year was this? And where in the Philippines?

    • @cochinaable
      @cochinaable 3 роки тому

      @Me Smith The narrative of your experience in the Philippines..

  • @mikequinn6273
    @mikequinn6273 3 роки тому +5

    My Grandfather, Paul Jussaume was a Marine. He fought on Tarawa. He later fought on Okinawa. He passed at age 94 in 2018. Siempre Fi Pepere'!

  • @30AndHatingIt
    @30AndHatingIt 3 роки тому +4

    I don't often donate to anything, but after watching this I certainly want to contribute in whatever way possible. I have a major soft spot in my heart for the Greatest Generation... always will.

  • @joedimaggio2378
    @joedimaggio2378 3 роки тому +17

    A brutal war that moved so fast with so many deaths it’s almost impossible to have registered , buried and remembered all the bodies

  • @jetzjetz3833
    @jetzjetz3833 3 роки тому +8

    Finally you’re home Mr Howard, thank you for your service and sorry for the long wait and for other brave men waiting for their time don’t worry we will bring you all home it may not right away but soon. ✊

  • @julesjules1079
    @julesjules1079 3 роки тому +63

    From one veteran to another:
    They shall grow not old
    As we that are left grow old
    Age shall not weary them
    Nor the years condemn
    At the going down of the sun
    And in the morning
    We will remember them

    • @carlhull8276
      @carlhull8276 3 роки тому

      Jules Jules
      Thanks Jules.

    • @danny8930
      @danny8930 3 роки тому

      Did you write this?

    • @julesjules1079
      @julesjules1079 3 роки тому +7

      @@danny8930 No: its the Ode of Remembrance we use in New Zealand:
      This is the fourth stanza from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen. Referred to as the Ode of Remembrance, it was first published in The Times of London in September 1914 and has been incorporated into the ritual of remembrance in many countries.

    • @jamescoleakaericunderwood2503
      @jamescoleakaericunderwood2503 Рік тому

      Have you all read " wounded" WWI POETRY...
      Or on the wire?
      Look them up...
      Enjoy your liberty

  • @chriscase1392
    @chriscase1392 3 роки тому +23

    The island is named Betio, (Bayt-show). The atoll is Tarawa. All the fighting took place on Betio. Many of the missing were probably carried out to sea by the tide and lost. Never forgotten. The living were fighting for their lives, with no time for carefully-laid-out cemetaries.

    • @jjdeepsea
      @jjdeepsea 3 роки тому

      I read once that Betio has the highest casualty rate per square yard than any other WW 2 battle site!

    • @hardheadjarhead
      @hardheadjarhead 3 роки тому +4

      One history I read described finding bodies floating in the lagoon. They were bloated. They’d get the dogtags, and then bayonet the bodies so they would sink. A gruesome burial at sea.

  • @gacs1973
    @gacs1973 3 роки тому +3

    I discovered this video recently. It was done almost 3 years ago. It would be great to have an update so that we would know how this agency is spending their $100+million dollar budget.

  • @idleonlooker1078
    @idleonlooker1078 3 роки тому +42

    Her quote: "There's only so much a government can do" is infuriating!! The US government can train you and then order you to go to war, fight and then get killed - and once you're dead say "Screw you pal!! We'll build a car park over you, and forget your sacrifice for us!!" That's precisely what's happened here.
    I'm not an American, but those that were killed in war must be respected and where possible, recovered. Thank God for History Flight and their resolute self-dedication - because the US govt is obviously a useless avenue for support!!

    • @knutdergroe9757
      @knutdergroe9757 3 роки тому +4

      The U.S. was founded and built by farmers.
      Farmers are practical, not always thinking of Honor, or understand the value of the dead.
      I am a third generation MARINE combat veteran.
      My Father was 1st MARINE division in WWII.
      We lost a cousin in the Battle for Okinawa. My Father was his recruiter. And our cousin fought at Tarawa.
      The veterans of past wars, had little too no value. We are overhead, a cost.
      It is changing, we veterans have had enough. And if enough of us Make ourselves heard...... well, I pray it goes a good way.

    • @heavenbound1536
      @heavenbound1536 3 роки тому +2

      @ensitu my father landed on Tarawa and by God's grace survived. The few times he ever spoke about it was the stench of decaying bodies and body parts that were gathered after the fourth day and trying to figure out what dog tags belong to who

  • @frankserra6709
    @frankserra6709 3 роки тому +10

    My utmost respect to these men for their upmost sacrifices and to their Families...

  • @genoson1128
    @genoson1128 4 роки тому +27

    This is so sad these young men went and fought a war and died fighting the good fight and then get forgotten and the government at the time doesn’t even give the family the common curtesy of informing them

  • @chryssoraidy9838
    @chryssoraidy9838 6 років тому +32

    God bless History Flight, and Mark Noah who founded it, and all the people who work so tirelessly to try and right this horrific wrong.

    • @billcooper6620
      @billcooper6620 3 роки тому

      What a second! Mark Noah knew about this because of my father Leon Cooper. Mark Noah called my father a “fraud”. Shame on Mark Noah!

    • @chryssoraidy9838
      @chryssoraidy9838 3 роки тому

      @@billcooper6620 If such a thing would have been allegedly said about my father, I'd say the same. But the reality is that neither you nor I directly witnessed the trouble you speak of. I know a little about it, and it appears to me as a situation that we should just keep to ourselves. No matter what you think about Mark (and it doesn't matter where he learned about the missing soldiers originally), it's not something that we honor either man, nor especially the heroes, serve anyone by expressing here.
      This video is about the very important cause, not the personal politics of passionate men.

  • @bulldog1131
    @bulldog1131 Рік тому +2

    So young. Brings tears to my eyes. From Australia I say thank you and God Bless you. Your home now so may you Rest In Peace.

  • @seosamhfiannachta434
    @seosamhfiannachta434 Рік тому +4

    Glad to see Howard is now in Arlington National Cemetery. The Uncle I’m named after burial in the waters of the Solomon Islands. My father was on board a ship as well that was sunk in the Solomon Islands. My father survived the sinking.It is nice to know they are buried with their brothers. My Uncle’s name on a memorial wall in Manila at the American cemetery. He is on duty on board his ship in the waters of the Solomon, Islands. My father lies at rest in an American cemetery in the USA.

  • @quadcoptervision
    @quadcoptervision 3 роки тому +45

    respects to Howards family - Howard was a better man than these officials

  • @pablotown77
    @pablotown77 4 роки тому +47

    There are some other islands where unburied human remains can be found all over the place.

    • @vaunfestus9768
      @vaunfestus9768 3 роки тому +2

      Like Little St. James Island

    • @SteveM-ly7oy
      @SteveM-ly7oy 3 роки тому +1

      @@vaunfestus9768 I wonder if you are referring to Mr Epstein?? I had a look on Wikipedia, not the most reliable of sources I grant you, but all I read about was the alleged paedophile acts and ''orgies'' going on there...

    • @bigbud8182
      @bigbud8182 3 роки тому

      There is a Netflix documentary on Jeffrey Epstein and there is one episode that goes into detail of what went on at that island. And unfortunately, it’s extremely disturbing and unbelievable

  • @CapeCodCNC
    @CapeCodCNC 3 роки тому +2

    Thank you Howard and to all that gave all......

  • @garylawless3608
    @garylawless3608 3 роки тому +13

    I have never been in a conflict, or indeed in military service, but even I find this situation to be inexcusable and appalling. For Howard Brisbane’s remaining family, and any other soldier’s family, to find out that their loved one was forgotten like this, must be heartbreaking. I understand that in the heat of wartime action mistakes are made, but shame on those who’s job it was post conflict to account for every man.
    Rest easy now Howard, you did your job, and you are finally home.

  • @rosemarybleackley208
    @rosemarybleackley208 3 роки тому +13

    Sleep in peace Howard, we will remember you.😥

  • @crosstimbers2
    @crosstimbers2 3 роки тому +3

    My dad was in C/1/6 and fought on Tarawa. He said his battalion spent a couple of days gathering bodies after the battle ended.
    He was only 18 and I doubt that he would be happy about losing the graves of some of his buddies.

  • @DarianCaplinger
    @DarianCaplinger 6 років тому +65

    This is absolutely unconscionable. It's horrid and deplorable. It's every evil name you can give it, and that's what those Marines got. "Semper Fi, Do or Die" is what they lived by and sadly they did the latter, and our country failed them on their part. It's inhumane and disconcerting. You wouldn't even do that to a pet cemetery (then again, they did it to a bunch of Marines, perhaps they would do it to a pet cemetery. Makes me shutter to think it. Thanks for sharing this!

    • @pablotown77
      @pablotown77 4 роки тому +5

      Darian Caplinger there was a veteran who traveled all the way over one of those islands in the pacification and tried to get them back but no one listened. There was a documentary about it. There were unburied remains around the beach.

    • @heavenbound1536
      @heavenbound1536 3 роки тому +7

      @Keith Schick The few times my father would ever speak about the hardships incurred on those dreadful days between the heat and stench of death and body parts strewn all over. Then trying to put the body parts back together with the correct dog tags . I believe alot was covered up for the sake of the living to survive for sanitary reasons.

    • @sharpeguns1
      @sharpeguns1 3 роки тому +10

      A pet cemetary, every one would be crying out. This is our new America. Just 1 generation of sedition is all it takes. NOW WE SEE IT, IN FULL BLOOM.

    • @colindebourg3884
      @colindebourg3884 3 роки тому +3

      Shameful.

    • @KPearce57
      @KPearce57 3 роки тому +9

      Fog of War, happens everywhere, the body is but a shell, as long as someone speaks name he will be remembered, I have 2 Uncles in Normandy every other year I visit with them, lest they be forgotten.

  • @The1Blackwatch
    @The1Blackwatch 3 роки тому +6

    It's certainly not unheard of. Remember, King Richard The Third's remains were ultimately located beneath an nondescript car park in the U.K. He was a crowned monarch of England!

    • @catherinelw9365
      @catherinelw9365 Рік тому +1

      I thought of that too... finding a king under a parking lot. Incredible.

  • @malikjamshed1207
    @malikjamshed1207 5 років тому +26

    This is what it is,a soldier fights for his country away from his home land if he got killed then his resting place will be that very place where he dies not the country he fought for depending on circumstances.This is real shame what government had done with this and other war heroes Grave,Memorial.

  • @davideccles7805
    @davideccles7805 3 роки тому +40

    Excuse Excuse Excuse, this is all we hear when the Government is involved- just think if these Brave Men made Excuses not to serve their Country. Never Trust the Politicians and never trust the Government,

    • @stevenkelly2477
      @stevenkelly2477 3 роки тому

      David Eccles shut up...this was not purposely done...it’s part of the fog of war.

    • @davideccles7805
      @davideccles7805 3 роки тому +4

      @@stevenkelly2477 Fog of war?? Please explain how the fog of war involes a bulldozer and Graves on a Island?? Your words sound like bullshit to me.

    • @davemaxa5263
      @davemaxa5263 3 роки тому

      Why didn’t you look for them?

    • @davideccles7805
      @davideccles7805 3 роки тому +2

      @@davemaxa5263 Dont be stupid, what a Dumb arse statement that is. The Soldiers are the Governments Responsibility to look after and return their Bodies to loved ones . That what this video is about- are your ears and eyes painted on??

    • @daves_NOT_Here_Man
      @daves_NOT_Here_Man 3 роки тому

      Well said Sir!

  • @tomjones2202
    @tomjones2202 Рік тому +2

    Roughly 73,000 are still missing from WW 2 alone....I had NO idea. I'm glad there are those who are working to find and bring home our lost but not forgotten.

  • @elmerhart8984
    @elmerhart8984 5 місяців тому +1

    Bless you all for your outstanding kindness

  • @kpd3308
    @kpd3308 3 роки тому +18

    “A lot has happened” except for the glaring exception of the government looking for our lost servicemen. The government was perfectly willing to throw them into the meat grinder but can’t be bothered with treating their remains with the respect due them. Inexcusable.

  • @tonyengland9744
    @tonyengland9744 3 роки тому +19

    I was there in 1993 we were the first US soldiers to return after WW2 .the people are very grateful and love America. They would do whatever it takes to recover any body of fallen soldiers,US Government could care less.

    • @tonyengland9744
      @tonyengland9744 3 роки тому +1

      @Me Smith that is what the US government has said and did you not see the report our government is the one covering up and not informing the love ones of what has happened with there remains. The Native population is there fall guy and you should have known that. And yes I have actually been there and talked and walked with the people so Iam sure I have a better insight on the true situation.

    • @tonyengland9744
      @tonyengland9744 3 роки тому +1

      @Me Smith 1993(4)days and our skipper talked personally with The President of The Solomon islands(who actually served side beside with the USMC in ww2.) I did volunteer work for the Catholic school and talked with 10 to 15 local folks.

    • @Doesnotcare12
      @Doesnotcare12 3 роки тому

      @@tonyengland9744 about what?

    • @tonyengland9744
      @tonyengland9744 3 роки тому

      @@Doesnotcare12 not sure what you are ? About what?

  • @edwinsalau150
    @edwinsalau150 Рік тому +2

    Welcome home Doc! Rest in peace! Semper Fi!

  • @bruceanderson6180
    @bruceanderson6180 3 роки тому +10

    That is so sad, they gave there lives, so that others could live in peace, and they are treated in such a way, shame on that government.

  • @jolu7019
    @jolu7019 3 роки тому +3

    As of today there are still currently
    73,057 unaccounted for service member who perished during the war. R.I.P.

  • @sladeb6036
    @sladeb6036 3 роки тому +3

    God bless all those amazing men
    You will never be forgotten

  • @oe57-_-51
    @oe57-_-51 3 роки тому +2

    Love from the uk to every us solider who died on the front line

  • @johnedwards1685
    @johnedwards1685 3 роки тому +2

    Tarawa. The name gives me chills and I have no link to the atoll.
    I think anyone who has seen the series The World at War episode 23 “Pacific” will feel the same.
    Laurence Olivier’s calm and measured narration counterpoints appalling horror on that island.
    I’m so glad they found those young men. I’m so glad they’ll get a decent place to rest, amongst their friends.

  • @semperfi7547
    @semperfi7547 3 роки тому +9

    Rest in peace all of them

  • @leeneale8776
    @leeneale8776 3 роки тому +33

    I'm shocked!....i truly am....and saddened. :( Bring these boys home for pete's sake!!!.....these boys split their guts for their country!, no lack of money should be an excuse.

    • @idleonlooker1078
      @idleonlooker1078 3 роки тому +2

      @emosh73 If Japan wishes to forget about it's war dead, then that is their decision. The US is purely concerned with recovering their fallen countrymen and women. Maybe Japan's decision to forget is based partly upon their national conscience of guilt for the widespread and documented atrocities their armed services committed during WWII?

    • @idleonlooker1078
      @idleonlooker1078 3 роки тому +2

      @emosh73 OMG you're so naive!! Of course those buried at sea cannot be recovered, or those vaporised BUT, until efforts to recover those missing on land are tried, the fact whether they're remains are recoverable or not isn't then known, hey? For the surviving relatives and family of those missing soldiers, this is a very important issue to them in finding closure - and it's to America's great credit, in this particular, that they actually DO give a damn to search for their service personnel.

    • @idleonlooker1078
      @idleonlooker1078 3 роки тому +1

      @emosh73 Its called finding closure for the living relatives, and that is just as noble a pursuit as is helping the underprivileged and homeless. In a "fucked up world" as you put it, isn't this a step in the right direction - out of that mess - for mankind? Think about it.
      Germans and Japanese are reluctant to discuss WWII due to the national shame from their respective documented crimes against humanity, so its not surprising that they want to forget and "whitewash" their complicity from their histories!!
      But the main reason why we're having this discussion is exactly because of what you admitted: your naivety!! 👍

    • @badmonkey2222
      @badmonkey2222 3 роки тому

      @emosh73 your a complete moron and definately naive, the Germans actually still to this day along with private donations and help are still trying to locate the war dead from ww2 same with the Russians, the Japanese who knows what the're reason is to forget but i would suspect is to not glorify is brutal regime of that time, thing is, the US government makes a promise to every man or woman for that matter sent off to war, and that is we will not leave you behind, and that means allot to someone who's going into harms way in some far off land wondering if you will ever go home. You said you're so worried about the starving children and the environment, what have you done about that? What have you done for starving children?, do you donate, do you give money? We Americans care about our fallen heroes, until every last one that can be found is found, we will never stop looking for them. 🇺🇸

  • @freddymarcel-marcum6831
    @freddymarcel-marcum6831 3 роки тому +10

    My grandmothers brother Erich Weudermann was a U-boat commander and he disappeared off the coast of Spain. I'm United States Navy and I think about him every day.

    • @fishyc150
      @fishyc150 3 роки тому +2

      Born on 15 Jan 1914 in Hamburg.
      Crew 33. Kapitänleutnant (1 Nov 1940)
      Knights Cross winner (14 Mar 1943)
      Died on 12 Jul 1943, North Atlantic near Spain.
      Commands:
      U-506
      uboat.net/boats/u506.htm

    • @fishyc150
      @fishyc150 3 роки тому +1

      uboat.net/men/wuerdemann.htm

    • @freddymarcel-marcum6831
      @freddymarcel-marcum6831 3 роки тому +1

      @@fishyc150 yup, that's him. U-506, hmm, thanks a lot for this bud, I never knew which boat he was on!

    • @fishyc150
      @fishyc150 3 роки тому +1

      @@freddymarcel-marcum6831 one of the "successful" commanders. Would be an ace if he flew planes! Knights cross winner... brave lad. Horrible way to go though I'm sure, though there were survivors (which for a u boat is rare really) so he possibly "went down with his ship"...

    • @fishyc150
      @fishyc150 3 роки тому

      @@freddymarcel-marcum6831
      Gets better...
      www.warhats.com/ww2-u-boat-hat-u-506.html#/
      You can actually buy a reproduction of his hat!!!

  • @huechang7101
    @huechang7101 3 роки тому +1

    There is no greater sacrifice than to lay down one's life for their country. No one has any RIGHT to disrespect fallen soldiers' remains by forgetting them.

  • @waltertaffs1737
    @waltertaffs1737 3 роки тому +7

    It's ashamed that we as veterans will not tolerate this for a minute .bring our love ones home for proper burial.. All heroes deserve this

    • @johnemerson1363
      @johnemerson1363 Рік тому

      None of you have any idea what a graves registration unit does. When you find out, then answer the question.

  • @bigindian5555
    @bigindian5555 3 роки тому +15

    My heart and condolences go out to these people, to find out where their family was found was like getting spat on in the face, I hope all the Fallen Heroes are finally Resting In Peace

  • @danor6812
    @danor6812 3 роки тому +1

    My uncle died on Tarawa. He was a US Marine. His body was the first brought back after the war to Milwaukee WI. At the time it was the biggest funeral in the states history. All because he was the first.

  • @stevenfairless4931
    @stevenfairless4931 3 роки тому +1

    It's a great country that brings fallen and lost soldiers home ... lost or missing in action, vaporized, buried at sea, turned to ashes ... to find and recover fallen family members is a good work these people are doing.

  • @groll7957
    @groll7957 3 роки тому +16

    They lost the location of the cemetery after the battle in 1946 they went back to the islands where the guys were fighting they found most of them but they didn’t have the technology

    • @BillBird2111
      @BillBird2111 3 роки тому +4

      They did their level best to bring everyone home. I would agree with you on this. Unfortunately, sometimes soldiers were just buried where they fell in the heat of battle and records of those burials were not kept. Many times the men who did the digging and buried the body were then killed later on in the battle. Tarawa was brutal. The fact that American soldiers got left behind does not surprise me in the slightest. To place blame upon anyone for this oversight is shortsighted. But, the moment they are found, they should be brought home.

  • @rjkeenan8955
    @rjkeenan8955 2 роки тому +7

    The United States Marines and Corpsmen that fought in the Pacific are the greatest men that ever walked the face of this earth.

    • @mmoffenbier
      @mmoffenbier 11 місяців тому

      My pop was in 1st Marines starting at Guadalcanal and all the way till it was over.

  • @jamesmurray9724
    @jamesmurray9724 3 роки тому +2

    we live in a free society because of these brave men r.i.p they gave everything for our freedom .

  • @Iann0400
    @Iann0400 3 роки тому +1

    Good report, funding and the reality of a brutal war. Let’s hope this generates more interest and funding for all our lost veterans and bring closure for families and friends. RIP Howard.

  • @kman-mi7su
    @kman-mi7su 3 роки тому +14

    Sad story, but keep in mind that was war. In war records get destroyed, lost, etc. Real estate on Tarawa was at a premium since it was a very small island. I'm sure that isn't the first instance they had to relocate or build over graves and other things during the war. Heck those who buried them during the war and would remember during the war may not have even survived the war themselves.

    • @kman-mi7su
      @kman-mi7su 3 роки тому +2

      @ensitu Well said entitlement and self-centered society today coupled with ignorance of history is a bad mix.

    • @chumccurry1765
      @chumccurry1765 3 роки тому

      Keith Schick It was explained clear at 3:00, the military know that they were buried there, and the military need that piece of land as parking lot. In result, all of them became MIA.

  • @andyginterblues2961
    @andyginterblues2961 3 роки тому +25

    My uncle Frank's remains were discovered, along with others, on a mountain in Borneo, by natives who were hunting for birds. If you are interested in the recovery and identification of soldier's remains, read the book "A Missing Plane", by Susan Sheehan. The book goes into detail about the army's forensics unit and how they identify long- lost remains.

    • @denniscoleman8802
      @denniscoleman8802 2 роки тому +3

      As a grateful American I am thankful for your Uncle’s service and all the veterans ❤️🇺🇸
      And grateful that this nation never forgets the MIA’s

    • @animula6908
      @animula6908 Рік тому +1

      I’m glad they found and identified him. The lady be good book also talks about the lengths they go to trying to locate and bring home the fallen, or at least learn as much as possible of their fates where that’s not possible

    • @edwarddacanay2266
      @edwarddacanay2266 Рік тому

      Ĺ.0ĺ0.0.mmmmmmmkmkmmmmmkm

    • @edwarddacanay2266
      @edwarddacanay2266 Рік тому

      @@animula6908 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

  • @valerieclark4580
    @valerieclark4580 Рік тому +1

    I am glad to know many groups are working to recover our men. I hope at a later date I can hear the people talk, the volume was only a murmur.

  • @crxdelsolsir
    @crxdelsolsir 3 роки тому +1

    Not finding a person after the War is one thing,
    Bull dozing a known resting site and losing the people that way is disgusting and deserves justice.

  • @Foxhound1Nine
    @Foxhound1Nine 3 роки тому +6

    How bloody disgraceful, to send your loved ones off to fight an enemy only to have their remains treated with so much disrespect later on by the locals.
    Breaks my heart, i'm not American but from an ex serving Australian, Semper Fi brothers.

    • @myohmy839
      @myohmy839 Рік тому

      The LOCALS??? The ones who where born and LIVED there? The ones who's homes where bombed to hell??

    • @cjillaalaphadog6382
      @cjillaalaphadog6382 Рік тому

      @@myohmy839 As you can see in the photos, alot of the island used to be very remote. Over time people have had kids of course and maybe some people even moved there. The issue is if your a local and its COMMON KNOWLEDGE of the history of the island and you know when your building your house you come across a few skeletons with artifacts, You just dont be an idiot and throw them in a effing rice bag in the river. You would have to really not only have common sense but not give a flying eff if you did something as retarded as that.

  • @chuenyeelau
    @chuenyeelau 3 роки тому +7

    Broken tools have always been discarded and forgotten. No different then and no different now. Sad but just a reality of war.

  • @danyerdon8494
    @danyerdon8494 3 роки тому

    Thank you for this.

  • @james8156
    @james8156 6 місяців тому +1

    Rest easy now brave warriors❤️❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸. I thank you for your service and allowing not only me but all of us Americans to be free and live our lives in peace❤️❤️❤️

  • @jessedepriest8082
    @jessedepriest8082 3 роки тому +14

    I know this is an old post but, calling a Navy Corpsman a medic is technically incorrect and to some, disrespectful.

    • @fritzvonhammer3578
      @fritzvonhammer3578 3 роки тому +1

      Totally agree. I was coming to correct him till I saw your post. Oorah

    • @CallsItLikeISeizeIts
      @CallsItLikeISeizeIts 3 роки тому

      And they are the medic to the USN/USMC, same thing different term. No one cares what ya called when they need you

  • @None-zc5vg
    @None-zc5vg 4 роки тому +14

    If the Navy had thoroughly shelled the island as the Marines asked it to, then Harold & co. might have had a better chance of coming back alive.

  • @timmo491
    @timmo491 3 роки тому +1

    Never leave them behind. We always get back to them in the end. Respect and all the best from England.

  • @terryezzell7376
    @terryezzell7376 3 роки тому +1

    My father turned 21 years old on Tarawa as a US Marine. He had a mortar squad but the sand was so soft, the first round went straight up and almost came back on top of them. It was M1 Garands only after that

  • @scottouellette9411
    @scottouellette9411 3 роки тому +8

    My god what have we become

  • @DJ-xo4jg
    @DJ-xo4jg 3 роки тому +5

    You have people buried by there buddy who was then killed, people buried in a rush, people that couldn't be identified for a number of reasons, and many more other circumstances. And there all over the world. You can't just dig up a country looking for lost Soldiers. They do there best but people get lost. Especially after something like ww1 and ww2, even Vietnam. They find them when they can or by chance and there taken care of. That's a lot more than other countries do. It's a risk that you take in war.

  • @raymartin9091
    @raymartin9091 3 роки тому +1

    Thank God for our precious veterans. Alive or deceased.

  • @SteveM-ly7oy
    @SteveM-ly7oy 3 роки тому +1

    I am not American but I like the way those servicemen and women even today give a full military burial with honours and do their job properly. I think the family, indeed all families appreciate the solemnity with which such a ceremony is conducted, even now, many many years after the Second World War has ended. Keep on looking, never give up, find as many bodies of the fallen as possible.

  • @Remaagen
    @Remaagen 6 років тому +7

    Something wrong with the volume???????

  • @nadzach
    @nadzach 4 роки тому +8

    I saw the documentary of the previous mission to Tarawa. I can't find it now, but these heroes were not forgotten. With the hurricanes and waves that wash over that little island, I thought the graves had been washed away. Maybe the surfacing of the parking lot preserved the graves?

  • @jmmck2361
    @jmmck2361 2 роки тому +1

    Tarawa was my fathers baptism of fire. He had turned 19 the month prior to this battle. He is seen in the combat footage running across the beach from
    left to right in front of the camera with other marines and he is carrying his entrenching tool (shovel). He had to wade into shore as well, bobbing up for air and crawling under water at times. He came across other marines that had been killed in the water. I can imagine perhaps some of those never washed up on shore and maybe floated out to sea?

  • @egv5986
    @egv5986 Рік тому +2

    Respect for the Marines.
    Respect for History Flight.
    Shame on the authorities that were responsible for the way the bodies of these heroes were treated.

  • @DoACarl
    @DoACarl 3 роки тому +4

    Welcome home Howard Pascal Brisbane! RIP

  • @xvsj5833
    @xvsj5833 3 роки тому +12

    The world is not perfect, the point is they found these missing Marines. Now Welcome them home🇺🇸

  • @timarcher7933
    @timarcher7933 3 роки тому +1

    Worked for the CWGC in the UK . Pilot was found in his hurricane in the pavement in Winchester UK .His sister had been putting flowers on his grave in Nottingham since the war.Her Question was Who,s grave had she been putting flowers on. There was even an eye witness account printed in the newspaper of how the pilot had stayed at the controls of his aircraft to miss crashing into houses.

  • @alanmoul8655
    @alanmoul8655 5 місяців тому

    Was very impressed with the spokeswoman for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Well spoken and honest.

  • @anthonyb27
    @anthonyb27 3 роки тому +4

    This should have been taken care of right after the battle, or at least right after the war...so sad!

    • @heavenbound1536
      @heavenbound1536 3 роки тому

      Anthony the battle went on for over 3 days my father only spoke of this a few times about the heat and stench of the dead and body parts strewn all over and after the battle gathering the body parts and dog tags

    • @anthonyb27
      @anthonyb27 3 роки тому

      @@heavenbound1536 God bless your father. It's good to know at least some effort was made.

  • @godzilladestroyer5552
    @godzilladestroyer5552 3 роки тому +3

    It's sad that everyone is forgetting about our troops, I tried going to a cemetery where a bunch of civil war vets were, and all it was, was a bunch of broken graves and too much grass

  • @alexlanning712
    @alexlanning712 Рік тому

    Thanks for telling us, this moving tale

  • @jenniferlarson6426
    @jenniferlarson6426 3 роки тому +3

    The fighting for those islands was brutal. If there was no one to keep accurate records of who was buried and where, unfortunately, that is how the deceased get forgotten about. Apparently, there was no one to take the initiative of identifying and recording where they were buried. It's a very sad situation of war. However, they were found and it's good to know that they were given a proper burial.

  • @patrickmcshane7658
    @patrickmcshane7658 3 роки тому +5

    I recall reading about Tarawa, we lost 800 of our boys in the 1st 5 minutes of the battle. I also read the Navy got serious about beach reconnaissance and UDT.

    • @John-ob7dh
      @John-ob7dh 3 роки тому +1

      Not sure if true ,but i read somewhere Tarawa decided they would use the Bomb.

    • @psilvakimo
      @psilvakimo 3 роки тому +1

      990 marines KIA, over 200 army KIA. Another 400+ missing (didn't know that), plus more than 2000 wounded, in just a few hours. The Japanese had sent a squadron of fighter-bombers to bomb and strafe the troops on the beach. By chance they were intercepted by a squadron of American planes, which stopped them. The slaughter would have been much worse. The Japanese had taunted the Americans as being afraid to die. Tarawa changed all that.

    • @patrickmcshane7658
      @patrickmcshane7658 3 роки тому

      @@psilvakimo
      Like the famous American philosopher Jonathan Winters said while he was an artillery marine gunner on a battleship bombarding Okinawa said we made believers out of them.

    • @stevenkelly2477
      @stevenkelly2477 3 роки тому

      psilvakimo I’m glad you got on here with common sense facts and not the wild ridiculous false statistics being written.

  • @johnzeszutko5661
    @johnzeszutko5661 3 роки тому

    Welcome back home Howard and my belated thanks.

  • @tessaleroux7725
    @tessaleroux7725 3 роки тому +2

    Bless him. Hope they all get sent home.

  • @louiswarmoth7354
    @louiswarmoth7354 3 роки тому +3

    Happens in every war...even in the Continental US. I participated in the recovery of Confederate remains buried during the war in a designated cemetery which was later turned into a parking lot and a university football stadium. Sad...yes, but it happens.

  • @eaglehill6171
    @eaglehill6171 3 роки тому +6

    My Dad fought on this Island

    • @heavenbound1536
      @heavenbound1536 3 роки тому +2

      My Dad did too ......May the blessings of GOD be with you

  • @raynonabohrer5624
    @raynonabohrer5624 3 роки тому +2

    How sad. God bless those families!

  • @jessicae.s.340
    @jessicae.s.340 25 днів тому

    I helped escort a Tarawa Marine home that was found here…Amptrac crew, hit w a shell…He left in early ‘42 and didn’t come home til 74 years later..his family had erected a regular headstone in the hopes he might one day return…Semper Fi Sir🇺🇸

  • @LeatherneckJoe133
    @LeatherneckJoe133 3 роки тому +16

    The government can pay for it....dam it...the funds are going to fat cats sitting in their arm chair waiting for their retirement...

    • @cochinaable
      @cochinaable 3 роки тому +1

      The government does not even take care of their living veterans properly do you think they would care for their dead warriors any better?

    • @Zerosen89
      @Zerosen89 3 роки тому

      its going to congress who keep voting themselves raises every year