Flag-draped caskets believed to contain the recovered remains of more than 20 service members were carried off of an Air Force cargo plane Wednesday in Hawaii.
Marines unloaded the caskets for a ceremony after they were flown from Tarawa atoll in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. The remains are believed to be from the 6th Marine Regiment who were killed during the final night of the November 1943 Battle of Tarawa.
“Although more than 75 years have passed, we’re here in formation tonight to honor and welcome home our fellow Marines, brothers in arms who fell long ago in battle, enabling the freedom and security we’ve enjoyed since the end of World War II,” Lt. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, said at the Wednesday evening ceremony.
The remains were discovered in March as part of search by the nonprofit group History Flight, whose goal is to search for remains lost in past conflicts. Forensic scientists will use dental records, DNA, and other methods in a bid to identify the lost soldiers.
More than 1,000 U.S. troops were killed during the Battle of Tarawa, as well as thousands of Japanese forces.
