Marine Corps Reserve PFC Clarence Kenneth Ary, 23, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.
Born April 30, 1920, in Pueblo, Colorado, Kenny was the youngest of four children blessed to the union of Clarence Sumner and Lorena Mae (nee Marriott) Ary.
When he was just two months old, the family moved to Del Norte. With the exception of a year in Florence, his home had always been in Del Norte. Kenny was a good boy—in his community, to his parents, brother and sisters. He was industrious and energetic, got "on his own" early and successfully in life. He was strong and able and full of determination in all his endeavors. His folks, the mountains, the outdoors, hunting—all were dear to him and figured in his future, which he often mentioned in letters home.
Kenny was graduated with the class of 1938 from the Del Norte schools and almost all of the boys of this class joined the armed forces as well. Following graduation, and during the summers before he was out of school, he engaged in farming in the South Fork district where he was associated with Lester Chastain at the Trout Creek Ranch.
When the U.S. entered the war, he was ready and anxious to go. The Marine Corps, with its history, its ideals, its danger, appealed to him.
Anxious from the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the "Kenny" walked into a Denver Marine Corps recruiting station, on 15 December 1941, and enlisted in the reserves. He took a train ride to California to complete training before being shipped out into the Pacific Theater June 5, 1942.
Kenny's first taste of battle came in the Solomon Islands, both on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Kenny and his fellow veterans carefully explained all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Private First Class Ary was a tank driver with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 23, 1943 (D+3 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Kenny - just 23 years old - perished. According to a Marine buddy later wrote his family saying that a Jap sniper had shot and killed Kenny as he alighted from his tank. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son or husband off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Kenny's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
Also left to mourn his passing were siblings; PFC Sylvester "Ray" Ary, somewhere in England; Edith Kathryn (Mrs Charles Fouquet) of Martinez, California; and Florence Madeline (Mrs Robert Duerr) of Del Norte.
Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but PFC Ary's remains were not recovered. On October 3, 1949, a military review board declared Kenny "non-recoverable".
His mother later had a memorial decorated on the marker she would share with her late husband in Del Norte Cemetery in hopes that one day Kenny would be found and returned home. She was later laid to rest there - the still empty ground offering now peace (80532973, a cenotaph).
On November 21, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Ary and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Kenny's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin and his niece the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Clarence Kenneth Ary is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing".
SOURCE
Rosalind Weaver
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born April 30, 1920, in Pueblo, Colorado, Kenny was the youngest of four children blessed to the union of Clarence Sumner and Lorena Mae (nee Marriott) Ary.
When he was just two months old, the family moved to Del Norte. With the exception of a year in Florence, his home had always been in Del Norte. Kenny was a good boy—in his community, to his parents, brother and sisters. He was industrious and energetic, got "on his own" early and successfully in life. He was strong and able and full of determination in all his endeavors. His folks, the mountains, the outdoors, hunting—all were dear to him and figured in his future, which he often mentioned in letters home.
Kenny was graduated with the class of 1938 from the Del Norte schools and almost all of the boys of this class joined the armed forces as well. Following graduation, and during the summers before he was out of school, he engaged in farming in the South Fork district where he was associated with Lester Chastain at the Trout Creek Ranch.
When the U.S. entered the war, he was ready and anxious to go. The Marine Corps, with its history, its ideals, its danger, appealed to him.
Anxious from the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the "Kenny" walked into a Denver Marine Corps recruiting station, on 15 December 1941, and enlisted in the reserves. He took a train ride to California to complete training before being shipped out into the Pacific Theater June 5, 1942.
Kenny's first taste of battle came in the Solomon Islands, both on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Kenny and his fellow veterans carefully explained all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Private First Class Ary was a tank driver with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 23, 1943 (D+3 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Kenny - just 23 years old - perished. According to a Marine buddy later wrote his family saying that a Jap sniper had shot and killed Kenny as he alighted from his tank. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son or husband off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Kenny's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
Also left to mourn his passing were siblings; PFC Sylvester "Ray" Ary, somewhere in England; Edith Kathryn (Mrs Charles Fouquet) of Martinez, California; and Florence Madeline (Mrs Robert Duerr) of Del Norte.
Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but PFC Ary's remains were not recovered. On October 3, 1949, a military review board declared Kenny "non-recoverable".
His mother later had a memorial decorated on the marker she would share with her late husband in Del Norte Cemetery in hopes that one day Kenny would be found and returned home. She was later laid to rest there - the still empty ground offering now peace (80532973, a cenotaph).
On November 21, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Ary and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Kenny's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin and his niece the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Clarence Kenneth Ary is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing".
SOURCE
Rosalind Weaver
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps Reserve PFC Clarence Kenneth Ary, 23, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.
Born April 30, 1920, in Pueblo, Colorado, Kenny was the youngest of four children blessed to the union of Clarence Sumner and Lorena Mae (nee Marriott) Ary.
When he was just two months old, the family moved to Del Norte. With the exception of a year in Florence, his home had always been in Del Norte. Kenny was a good boy—in his community, to his parents, brother and sisters. He was industrious and energetic, got "on his own" early and successfully in life. He was strong and able and full of determination in all his endeavors. His folks, the mountains, the outdoors, hunting—all were dear to him and figured in his future, which he often mentioned in letters home.
Kenny was graduated with the class of 1938 from the Del Norte schools and almost all of the boys of this class joined the armed forces as well. Following graduation, and during the summers before he was out of school, he engaged in farming in the South Fork district where he was associated with Lester Chastain at the Trout Creek Ranch.
When the U.S. entered the war, he was ready and anxious to go. The Marine Corps, with its history, its ideals, its danger, appealed to him.
Anxious from the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the "Kenny" walked into a Denver Marine Corps recruiting station, on 15 December 1941, and enlisted in the reserves. He took a train ride to California to complete training before being shipped out into the Pacific Theater June 5, 1942.
Kenny's first taste of battle came in the Solomon Islands, both on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Kenny and his fellow veterans carefully explained all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Private First Class Ary was a tank driver with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 23, 1943 (D+3 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Kenny - just 23 years old - perished. According to a Marine buddy later wrote his family saying that a Jap sniper had shot and killed Kenny as he alighted from his tank. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son or husband off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Kenny's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
Also left to mourn his passing were siblings; PFC Sylvester "Ray" Ary, somewhere in England; Edith Kathryn (Mrs Charles Fouquet) of Martinez, California; and Florence Madeline (Mrs Robert Duerr) of Del Norte.
Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but PFC Ary's remains were not recovered. On October 3, 1949, a military review board declared Kenny "non-recoverable".
His mother later had a memorial decorated on the marker she would share with her late husband in Del Norte Cemetery in hopes that one day Kenny would be found and returned home. She was later laid to rest there - the still empty ground offering now peace (80532973, a cenotaph).
On November 21, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Ary and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Kenny's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin and his niece the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Clarence Kenneth Ary is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing".
SOURCE
Rosalind Weaver
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born April 30, 1920, in Pueblo, Colorado, Kenny was the youngest of four children blessed to the union of Clarence Sumner and Lorena Mae (nee Marriott) Ary.
When he was just two months old, the family moved to Del Norte. With the exception of a year in Florence, his home had always been in Del Norte. Kenny was a good boy—in his community, to his parents, brother and sisters. He was industrious and energetic, got "on his own" early and successfully in life. He was strong and able and full of determination in all his endeavors. His folks, the mountains, the outdoors, hunting—all were dear to him and figured in his future, which he often mentioned in letters home.
Kenny was graduated with the class of 1938 from the Del Norte schools and almost all of the boys of this class joined the armed forces as well. Following graduation, and during the summers before he was out of school, he engaged in farming in the South Fork district where he was associated with Lester Chastain at the Trout Creek Ranch.
When the U.S. entered the war, he was ready and anxious to go. The Marine Corps, with its history, its ideals, its danger, appealed to him.
Anxious from the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the "Kenny" walked into a Denver Marine Corps recruiting station, on 15 December 1941, and enlisted in the reserves. He took a train ride to California to complete training before being shipped out into the Pacific Theater June 5, 1942.
Kenny's first taste of battle came in the Solomon Islands, both on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Following the "Battle of Guadalcanal", the guys enjoyed the sights, scenes and hospitality of Wellington, New Zealand. There, many received medical treatment for tropical ailments, such as malaria; while some continued to suffer wounds - of all kinds - dealt by their Japanese foes. Marines coming fresh from the United States would fill in the ranks. Kenny and his fellow veterans carefully explained all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Private First Class Ary was a tank driver with his brothers in Charlie Company of the 2nd Tank Battalion when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history.
It was November 23, 1943 (D+3 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Kenny - just 23 years old - perished. According to a Marine buddy later wrote his family saying that a Jap sniper had shot and killed Kenny as he alighted from his tank. He was reportedly soon buried on Betio Island - a temporary location chosen by his fellow Marines, the survivors of the battle, until the Fallen could be recovered and returned to their families.
Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son or husband off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day.
For his service and sacrifice, Kenny's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- Combat Action Ribbon
- World War II Victory Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal
- Marine Corp Expeditionary Medal, and
- Gold Star Lapel Button.
Also left to mourn his passing were siblings; PFC Sylvester "Ray" Ary, somewhere in England; Edith Kathryn (Mrs Charles Fouquet) of Martinez, California; and Florence Madeline (Mrs Robert Duerr) of Del Norte.
Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but PFC Ary's remains were not recovered. On October 3, 1949, a military review board declared Kenny "non-recoverable".
His mother later had a memorial decorated on the marker she would share with her late husband in Del Norte Cemetery in hopes that one day Kenny would be found and returned home. She was later laid to rest there - the still empty ground offering now peace (80532973, a cenotaph).
On November 21, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Ary and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Kenny's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin and his niece the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Clarence Kenneth Ary is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing".
SOURCE
Rosalind Weaver
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
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ARY CLARENCE KENNETH
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS • USMC • COLORADO
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