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Marine Corporal Walter G. Critchley comes home

by Jonn Lilyea••18

History Flight

Interment services are pending for Marine Corporal Walter G. Critchley. Despite the fact that a military review board declared Critchley’s remains non-recoverable in February, 1949, the folks at History Flight recovered his earthly remains according to DPAA;

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. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Critchley died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943.

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18 thoughts on “Marine Corporal Walter G. Critchley comes home”

  5. Welcome home Marines. The picture accompanying the article tells a lot. Semper Fidelis.

  6. Welcome home, Marine. Sorry it took so long for you to finish that journey. Rest in peace.

  7. In 1930, Walter Critchley was 10-years old and living with his parents, George and Alice, and a sister, Dorothy, in or near Evans in Erie county, New York, a stone’s throw from Lake Erie itself. His parents had arrived here from England but Walter and his sister were both born in the US. By 1940, the family had relocated to Valley Stream, on Long Island, but George, now 19 or 20 was no longer in the household. Their LI home, built in 1923, still stands on Elmwood street. Whether Walter was in the Marines or elsewhere in 1940 could not be learned with certainty. What is certain is that Corporal Critchley fell on the first day of the murderous Tarawa battle on tiny Betio island, along with hundreds of other Marines. From a sign at a burial site on Betio: “Who did his work, Held his place, and had no fear to die.” Welcome home, Walter.

  8. Correction. “the family had relocated to Valley Stream, on Long Island, but Walter, now 19 or 20…” My apology. George was Walter’s Dad.

  10. Sure is dusty in here right now…

    Welcome home, Corporal Critchley and thank you for your service.

  11. That the remains of these brave people can be recovered after so many years is truly amazing.
    Kudos to those who never stop searching.

    1. It is kind of an embarrassment to the Marine Corps that a herd of “amateurs” had to be the ones to go over to one of our battlefields and unearth or locate well over 100 of our people. My understanding is that some of those dead are now under buildings created after the war, and thus now unrecoverable. the Crotch dropped the ball on this one.

      1. USMC Steve. Tarawa was, as you know, a terrible series of battles that was described by a general as a fight “we were losing until we won.” The aftermath of the victory left little time for much and burial sites were established and their locations recorded. According to History Flight, an American Graves
        Registration Service team returned to the island in June 1946 and exhumed some 500 Marines but could not locate cemetery 27. Among the remains in that cemetery were those of Medal of Honor Recipient 1st Lt. Alexander
        Bonnyman Jr. History Flight is hardly an amateur organization. Its team includes archaeologists whose tenacity and motivation are top of the line. I know that it is sickening that any of our people could be lost and consigned to the unknown, but thanks to pros and its new and much better relationship with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, that is changing. Time was that DPAA seemed to resent History Flight’s efforts and successes. Now, thank goodness, it seems to welcome and appreciate them.

        1. I referred to them as “amateur” only as opposed to the government folks who are the supposed experts on the matter.

  14. Additionally, when they went back roughly two years ago, using ground penetrating radar, they claimed they found nearly 150 possible bodies laid out as if in mass graves. I notice the DPAA and such haven’t been back to Tarawa yet to check into that.

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