Fae V. Moore

BORN: May 16, 1920

BRANCH: USMC

KILLED: November 20, 1943

The World War II Battle of Tarawa began on the Island of Betio on November 20, 1943. According to History.com, the Marines suffered more killed-in-action casualties in 76 hours than in a previous six-month campaign at Guadalcanal Island.  

Sgt. Fae Verlin Moore was one of those casualties. He died on the first day of the battle while serving with the 2nd Marine Division, though his remains would not be returned to his hometown for another 73 years.   

Fae was born on May 16, 1920, in Chadron, Nebraska. He was the youngest of Alonzo and Mary Moore's ten children. Fae lived in Chadron and attended a school a quarter mile away from the family cemetery in Beaver Valley before moving to a family ranch. Fae worked on the ranch and in construction prior to enlisting  in the Marines on August 18, 1941. 

"He was just one of the everyday guys," his distant cousin Glenn Denton said, "until he joined the Marine Corps."   

After Fae completed basic training in San Diego, California, he was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Over a year later, in November of 1942, Fae's unit was actively involved in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Four months later, the military sent his unit to New Zealand to train for the Battle of Tarawa. In New Zealand, Fae met and proposed to a woman named Jill Hudson. One day, Fae went on what he thought was a training mission but was actually the Battle of Tawara.   

After Fae perished, the battle raged on, but the Marines succeeded in taking the island from the Japanese. 6,000 people died - the majority of them Japanese ,but more than 1,000 Americans. Most of Fae's platoon was killed. The Marines collected the bodies and buried them on the island of Betio, Tarawa. The Army Graves Registration would return after the war to excavate the graves and take care of their remains. Unfortunately, Graves Registration could not find the gravesite that had to be moved multiple times. 

The military notified Fae's family that he was killed in the assault of Red Beach on November 20, 1943, and his personal effects were sent home. However, the remains of Fae, thirty-four Marines, and a Navy Corpsman would not be found for another 72 years.     

According to Larry Miller in his article "Return to Beaver Valley," Marine Commandant General A. A. Vandegrift wrote Mary Moore, Fae's mother, on February 24, 1947, expressing his regret that they have not recovered Fae and his platoon's remains. Mary was determined that the Marine Corps find and identify her youngest son. She wrote two letters searching for answers. However, on February 28, 1949, the Board of Review declared that Fae's remains were "non-recoverable." Mary Moore died December 1, 1958.

In 2015, History Flight Inc., which is a non-profit dedicated to searching for combat casualties, located the site under a parking lot on Tarawa. The gear and clothing led the non-profit to identify the gravesite as Fae’s burial. The remains were taken to Hawaii to be positively identified using dental records and DNA. An entire forensic team was assigned to each Marine. The team then contacted Fae’s nephew Lawrence and asked, “What does the name Fae Moore mean to you?”

The USMC Casualty office worked with Lawrence, who called Glenn Denton, to prepare for Fae’s return. Fae was coming home to Beaver Valley Cemetery to be buried next to his mom and dad.

In October 2016, the Marines took Fae from Hawaii to Los Angeles and to Rapid City, South Dakota  where the Marine escorts handled the transfer from  the plane.  The Mortuary from Chadron dispatched a hearse to Rapid City before driving 102 miles to Chadron, Nebraska.  

During the entire trip, Fae had escorts. In Rapid City, law enforcement, and veterans groups escorted Fae to the state line where they met the same types of groups from Nebraska to continue the escort.  The Marine escorts funeral detail - a bugler, flag folders, a flag presenter, pallbearers, and firing detail - were dispatched from Denver for the re-interment. 

Chadron is a small town. No more than 7,000 people live there. The highway to the funeral home in Chadron was closed out of respect to the World War II Marine. A line of people welcomed Fae home.  

Two days later on October 6, 2016, after a final service at a mortuary in Chadron, the Marine Corps and funeral detail took Fae to his family's cemetery. As Glenn recalls,  school children, ranchers, veterans, and neighbors lined the city streets with American flags to honor Fae's return after 73 years.     

Fire trucks and a new entourage escorted the hearse and family down the two-lane highway. Fire fighters set up a flag arch over the highway, which had been shut down for the procession. Then the entourage separated with one group returning to the American Legion for more remembrances and another the other group driving another 18 miles down a country road.    

The hearse pulled into a parking lot where a plaque marked the location of a church long gone. The Marines took Fae's remains from the hearse and put him on a wagon. Fae’s family had cleared the weeds near the church’s original foundation to make the journey possible. The last quarter mile was a long, lonely trip down a dirt road to the family cemetery.

"[The Marines] did a wonderful job with his internment," said Glenn. "And it was the type of honor I felt that should be paid, especially to anyone who has given their all, their life, their future to their country."