Marine Corps Reserve CPT Thomas Broadway Royster, 24, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.
Born February 26, 1919, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tommy was the 2nd of three children blessed to the union of Wilbur High and Olivette James (nee Broadway) Royster.
After completed his degree at UNC Chapel Hill, the 69", 150 lbs, blue-eyed brunette accepted his commission on July 17, 1940 in Raleigh. He married Miss Eleanor Badger in October 1941.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Tommy's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Their first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
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. CPT Royster's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Tommy and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Captain Royster was with his brothers in Bravo Company of the 2nd Amphibious Tractor 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Tommy - just 24 years old - perished. CPT Royster was reportedly killed when his LVT struck a mine near the intersection of Black and Green Beaches and soon buried in Cemetery #9 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, Tommy's widow accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Bronze Star
- 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 is passing were his parents and siblings, Vermont Connecticut and Sara Olivette "Saravette" (Mrs James Trotter).
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 CPT Royster's remains were not recovered. On October 7, 1949, a military review board declared Tommy "non-recoverable".
His family had this memorial marker placed in the Oakwood Cemetery, in Raleigh, North Carolina, in hopes that one day Tommy would be found and returned home. His parents would later be laid to rest next to this marker - its empty ground still offering no peace.
On September 15, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of CPT Royster and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Tommy's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his nieces the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Captain Thomas Broadway Royster is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56109089, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
"Utmost Savagery: the three days of Tarawa"
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born February 26, 1919, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tommy was the 2nd of three children blessed to the union of Wilbur High and Olivette James (nee Broadway) Royster.
After completed his degree at UNC Chapel Hill, the 69", 150 lbs, blue-eyed brunette accepted his commission on July 17, 1940 in Raleigh. He married Miss Eleanor Badger in October 1941.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Tommy's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Their first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
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. CPT Royster's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Tommy and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Captain Royster was with his brothers in Bravo Company of the 2nd Amphibious Tractor 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Tommy - just 24 years old - perished. CPT Royster was reportedly killed when his LVT struck a mine near the intersection of Black and Green Beaches and soon buried in Cemetery #9 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, Tommy's widow accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Bronze Star
- 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 is passing were his parents and siblings, Vermont Connecticut and Sara Olivette "Saravette" (Mrs James Trotter).
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 CPT Royster's remains were not recovered. On October 7, 1949, a military review board declared Tommy "non-recoverable".
His family had this memorial marker placed in the Oakwood Cemetery, in Raleigh, North Carolina, in hopes that one day Tommy would be found and returned home. His parents would later be laid to rest next to this marker - its empty ground still offering no peace.
On September 15, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of CPT Royster and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Tommy's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his nieces the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Captain Thomas Broadway Royster is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56109089, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
"Utmost Savagery: the three days of Tarawa"
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps Reserve CPT Thomas Broadway Royster, 24, killed in World War II, remains unaccounted-for.
Born February 26, 1919, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tommy was the 2nd of three children blessed to the union of Wilbur High and Olivette James (nee Broadway) Royster.
After completed his degree at UNC Chapel Hill, the 69", 150 lbs, blue-eyed brunette accepted his commission on July 17, 1940 in Raleigh. He married Miss Eleanor Badger in October 1941.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Tommy's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Their first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
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. CPT Royster's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Tommy and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Captain Royster was with his brothers in Bravo Company of the 2nd Amphibious Tractor 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Tommy - just 24 years old - perished. CPT Royster was reportedly killed when his LVT struck a mine near the intersection of Black and Green Beaches and soon buried in Cemetery #9 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, Tommy's widow accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Bronze Star
- 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 is passing were his parents and siblings, Vermont Connecticut and Sara Olivette "Saravette" (Mrs James Trotter).
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 CPT Royster's remains were not recovered. On October 7, 1949, a military review board declared Tommy "non-recoverable".
His family had this memorial marker placed in the Oakwood Cemetery, in Raleigh, North Carolina, in hopes that one day Tommy would be found and returned home. His parents would later be laid to rest next to this marker - its empty ground still offering no peace.
On September 15, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of CPT Royster and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Tommy's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his nieces the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Captain Thomas Broadway Royster is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56109089, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
"Utmost Savagery: the three days of Tarawa"
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Born February 26, 1919, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tommy was the 2nd of three children blessed to the union of Wilbur High and Olivette James (nee Broadway) Royster.
After completed his degree at UNC Chapel Hill, the 69", 150 lbs, blue-eyed brunette accepted his commission on July 17, 1940 in Raleigh. He married Miss Eleanor Badger in October 1941.
The 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion was activated on March 18, 1942, at Marine Barracks San Diego. A unit of the 2nd Marine Division, they were equipped with the LVT-1 - the boys called 'em "AMTRACs". Tommy's unit was shipped out with the First Marine Division to meet the Japanese tide sweeping across the South Pacific. Their first taste of combat would come in the Solomon Islands.
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. CPT Royster's promotion meant that some of these kids were his responsibility. He taught them that "it is the hits that count", the value of your AMTRAC and her crew, and the virtues of "dedication, perseverance, and training". Before they shipped out, Tommy and his fellow veterans also explained carefully all that the Japanese - and the Solomons - had just taught the Battalion.
Captain Royster was with his brothers in Bravo Company of the 2nd Amphibious Tractor 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 22, 1943 (D+2 for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Tommy - just 24 years old - perished. CPT Royster was reportedly killed when his LVT struck a mine near the intersection of Black and Green Beaches and soon buried in Cemetery #9 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, Tommy's widow accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Bronze Star
- 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 is passing were his parents and siblings, Vermont Connecticut and Sara Olivette "Saravette" (Mrs James Trotter).
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 CPT Royster's remains were not recovered. On October 7, 1949, a military review board declared Tommy "non-recoverable".
His family had this memorial marker placed in the Oakwood Cemetery, in Raleigh, North Carolina, in hopes that one day Tommy would be found and returned home. His parents would later be laid to rest next to this marker - its empty ground still offering no peace.
On September 15, 2013, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of CPT Royster and put them in contact with the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Tommy's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his nieces the opportunity to provide a Family Reference DNA Sample, should it be necessary for his identification.
Marine Corps Reserve Captain Thomas Broadway Royster is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. His name is permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56109089, a cenotaph).
SOURCE
DPAA Personnel Profile
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
American Battle Monuments Commission
"Utmost Savagery: the three days of Tarawa"
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Inscription
ROYSTER
IN MEMORY OF
THOMAS BROADWAY ROYSTER, CAPT. U.S.M.C.R.
SON OF WILBUR HIGH ROYSTER AND / OLIVETTE BROADWAY
BORN FEB. 16, 1919-KILLED NOV. 23, 1943
BATTLE OF TARAWA
"BORN TO KNOW NOT WINTER, ONLY SPRING."
