Final Tribute: PFC Alfred Edwards

For 75 years, US Marine Private First Class Alfred Edwards was unaccounted for following a fierce battle against the Japanese on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll during the Pacific campaign of World War II. Now, he is resting among heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.

Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. US casualties were 1,696 killed in action and 2,101 wounded in action.

The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States had faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance, but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The losses on Tarawa were incurred in just over 4 days of fighting.