I was in Washington this past December 7 – the date was just coincidence, it wasn’t planned – and I saw the big shots in the Senate and in the House, and I prevailed upon them to do something about this. Promises, promises. Nothing as far as I know was ever done. The Australians and New Zealanders are at work, but we’re doing nothing there.

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JW: You have created, as least conceptually, an idea of the kind of memorial you would like to see.

LC: Absolutely. First of all, I’d like to have Red Beach restored to its pristine condition, and then have the Marine Corps memorial – which is in a parking lot, believe it or not, because they can’t put it any closer to the filth around Red Beach –moved from the parking lot to Red Beach. I feel I owe it to the guys that I saw fall under Japanese gunfire. Hopefully, showing the documentary Return to Tarawa, The Leon Cooper Story, will have the effect of – I’ll use the word – shaming our government to finally do something about this.

JW: Outside the government, in talks perhaps you’ve had with other organizations, private citizens, have you made any progress? Do you feel there’s any movement in this country that will help you toward your goal?

LC: No, it’s all inertia. A lot of people have sent me money or offered to send me money and I returned it. This is not a private affair, this is something that our government owes the guys who fought and died for our country. In the 1930s, British Prime Minister William Gladstone said, “One can judge the conscience of a nation by the recognition it gives to those who died for it.”

JW: And the possibility of unrecovered remains, has that induced any reaction among any of the people that you’ve talked to officially?

LC: Nobody in DOD has bothered to return any of my phone calls. In 1946, the Quartermaster Corps, the Grave Registration Unit, sent a group to Tarawa to establish, find, locate, identify and return the remains of Americans, but I quote from that report verbatim: “Unfortunately only 48% of those claimed to have been interred in Tarawa could be found.” As far as I know, nobody from the United States government has returned to do anything about the remaining 52%. I know about some of the burials myself because I participated in some of them when I was there.

I’m flattered to be in the company of Gen. Holland Smith of the Marine Corps who said Tarawa was a mistake. There is a cemetery honoring the Battle of Tarawa in Hawaii, but our nation owes a debt that should be recognized by restoring Red Beach to its pristine condition and repatriating the remains of the Americans still there.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this interview are those of Leon Cooper. Those who wish to follow his continuing efforts can do so at his blog site.

The author requested additional information from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and received the following response on April 29, 2009:

No excavations or recoveries specifically targeting the Red Beach regions have taken place since American Graves Service activities on Tarawa in 1946.  The last JPAC recovery operation on Tarawa occurred in 2000, vicinity of Black Beach #2.  We are currently in the planning phase of the next year’s operational cycle.  Results and details for upcoming JPAC operations are not yet available, as they are currently under development.

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