Battle of Tarawa Medal of Honor and Other Marines Remains Found

Discovery of WWII remains brings long-sought peace to Boulder County family
Lost since 1943, remains of Alexander 'Sandy' Bonnyman unearthed on Pacific isle
Daily Camera
By Shay Castle
Staff Writer
POSTED: 06/29/2015

In Highland Memorial Park in Knoxville, Tenn., a large marble headstone stands in honor of 1st Lt. Alexander "Sandy" Bonnyman Jr., a Marine killed in action Nov. 22, 1943, during World War II's Battle of Tarawa.

Etched upon its surface, the only reference to the empty earth beneath it, are the words "buried at sea."

For nearly 70 years, Bonnyman's family — members of which now live in Boulder County — remembered the handsome, adventurous man they had lost with what few artifacts they had left: his Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously for his efforts to hold back a Japanese counterattack; a large portrait, commissioned from an Italian oil painter; and a few black-and-white photographs taken during the assault on Betio.

After his death, the military issued a letter stating that most of the Tarawa war dead were presumed lost at sea near the island.
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Clay Evans Talks About His Grandfather, MOH Recipient Alexander Bonnyman Jr.

FIRST LIEUTENANT
ALEXANDER BONNYMAN, JR., USMCR
(DECEASED)
First Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., of Knoxville, Tennessee, who gallantly gave his life in the battle for Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, on 22 November 1943, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, for heroism.

The Medal of Honor was presented to his teen-aged daughter by Secretary of the Navy James F. Forrestal during ceremonies at the Navy Department, Washington, D.C., 22 January 1947.

Alexander "Sandy" Bonnyman, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on 2 May 1910, but when he was two years old, his family moved to Knoxville. His father was president of the Blue Diamond Coal Company of Knoxville.

As a youth, he attended Mrs. J.A. Thackston's School in Knoxville and graduated from Newman School in Lakewood, New Jersey, before entering Princeton University. He was a "first-stringer" on Princeton's football team until he left school in 1930.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a Flying Cadet on 28 June 1932 and was sent to the Preflight School at Randolph Field, Texas. He was honorably discharged 19 September 1932.

Following his discharge he went to work with his father, whose firm was one of the largest coal mining companies in the United States. In 1938, he acquired his own copper mine in the mountains about 60 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

When he decided to join the Marines in July 1942, he enlisted as a private in Phoenix, Arizona. Subsequently he received his recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California, and in October of that year, Pvt Bonnyman sailed for the South Pacific aboard the USS Matsonia with the 6th Marines, 2d Marine Division.

Combat in the final stages of the Guadalcanal campaign followed for the 6th Marines and he had his first encounter with the Japanese. In February 1943 Cpl Bonnyman received a field promotion to the rank of second lieutenant. He was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 September 1943.
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UPDATE Newly identified remains of World War II Marine killed at Tarawa heading home Associated Press Published September 25, 2015

Sept. 24, 2015: United States Marines salute during a ceremony in Honolulu for the departure of 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman's remains. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)