From the South Dakota WWII Memorial website:
Fay V. Moore was from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He entered the Marine Corps and attained the rank of Sergeant in the 2nd Marine Division. He was sent overseas to fight in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
The Gilbert Islands were a crucial beginning in the Central Pacific campaign. Without them, reconnaissance and combat planes could not reach the Marshall Islands. Carrier-based planes could not provide the photo reconnaissance necessary for planning the operation in the Marshalls. The Gilberts also offered Japanese-built airstrips and a shorter supply route to the southern and southwestern Pacific.
Tarawa Atoll, specifically Betio Island, was chosen as the target of the main assault of the 2nd Marine Division because it had an airfield and Japanese defenses. The atoll, at no point higher than ten feet above sea level, is a triangular string of long, narrow, coral islands surrounded by a barrier reef. Landing at Betio would be a challenge to the Marine’s landing craft.
Fay Moore, along with many of his fellow Marines, was killed in action on the first day the 2nd Division landed on Tarawa, on November 20, 1943. When the final count of the enemy was over, after only three days of battle, the total number of Japanese soldiers killed was 4,783 men out of 4,800 men. The 2nd Marine Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation because of its outstanding performance on the battlefield at Tarawa. Fay V. Moore will be remembered by the ones who loved him and he, along with the Second Marine Division, will never be forgotten for their service to their country. Fay was buried in a military cemetery at Honolulu, Hawaii.
This entry was respectfully submitted by Leo Janis and Maria Peneaux, 11th grade, Crazy Horse School, Wanblee, South Dakota on April 12, 2002. Information for this entry was provided by Internet research.
Thanks to the students of South Dakota for their hard work on the South Dakota WWII Memorial website which has been reproduced here on T.O.T.W.
Email - Jon@tarawaontheweb.org
copyright 2002 Wheaton, Illinois
Created 23 December 2002
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