WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Marine Corps Sergeant Donald D. Stoddard, 22, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 16, 2020.
In November 1943, Stoddard was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Stoddard died on the third day of battle, Nov. 22, 1943. He was reported to have been buried in Row D of the East Division Cemetery, later renamed Cemetery 33.
After 77 years being listed as KIA/MIA, Sergeant Donald D. Stoddard was finally "accounted for". His Dignified Transfer took place on June 23, 2021 and he was laid to rest this morning, at Mountain View Memorial Park, in Boulder.
Following is a link to a 9 News Video that covers both the Dignified Transfer and the Interment Service:
