The Wounds Time Does Not Heal A Case of Historical Pitfalls and the Present-Day Identification of a U.S. Marine from World War II

Abstract

The segregation and subsequent identification of skeletal remains from commingled contexts is a multifaceted and complicated process. Success or failure in this process relies heavily on training and experience, both during archaeological recovery and
anthropological analysis. This case study details the identification of a World War II service member associated with the Battle of Tarawa, drawing on multiple lines of evidence. Historical context, recovery, and analysis of the remains resulted in a misidentification of this individual in 1946. Present-day accounting efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), including the use of historical research, anthropological analysis, dental analysis, and DNA, were used to segregate and ultimately associate skeletal material recovered from three different recovery operations on Tarawa, leading to the correct identification of this service member in 2024.