★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
The Battle of Tarawa began 80 years ago today, on November 20, 1943. Over 1,000 US Marines were killed in the battle, which lasted only three days. Two alumni of the Naval Academy were among those killed.
Captain Kenneth Brown, USMC '41 was an artillery officer with the 1st Battalion, 10th Marines. He was awarded the Navy Cross in part for taking command of a group of infantrymen who had become separated from their regular units and leading them against a dug-in Japanese machine gun.
Lieutenant Colonel David Claude, USMC '24 was a non-graduate alumni who'd resigned in February of his 2/c year at the Naval Academy. He appears to have been commissioned in early 1925; he spent many most of the rest of the 1920s in Norfolk, Quantico, and Nicaragua. A tour aboard USS Wyoming (BB-32) was followed by the Naval Academy, San Diego, another two battleships (Utah and Idaho), Quantico, then schools at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. Promoted to Captain in early 1936, he spent time at the Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Georgia before commanding Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. At the time of his death he was temporarily attached to the 2nd Marine Division as a "Senior Observer;" his own command, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines was training in California. He was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery at Tarawa. David is buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/KENNETH_L._BROWN,_CAPT,_USMC
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/DAVID_K._CLAUDE,_LTCOL,_USMC