Marine Corps Reserve PVT Emil Ragucci, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on August 14, 2018, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.

Born January 17, 1924, in Philadelphia, Emil was the 7th of eleven children blessed to the union of Italian immigrants, Nicola and Carmela (nee Fasolina) Ragucci.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 5, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

PVT Ragucci was with his brothers in Echo Company, 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Marines (E-2/2) 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 20, 1943 (D-Day for the "Battle of Tarawa") when young Emil - just 19 years old - perished. He was reportedly 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 during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son 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, Emil'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.

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 the 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 Island, but PVT Ragucci’s remains were not recovered. On October 24, 1949, a military review board declared Emil "non-recoverable".

Accounted for on November 13, 2017, scientists from Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome (Y-STR) DNA analysis, anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

Emil was finally returned to his family and, on August 14, 2018, laid to rest within Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with full military honors.

Marine Private Emil Francesco Ragucci is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, PFC Ragucci's name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing". A rosette has now been placed next to his name indicating that Emil has finally been found (56119824, a cenotaph).

SOURCES

Marine Corps POW/MIA Section

DPAA Release No: 18-112 (Aug. 7, 2018)

DPAA Recent News & Stories (Dec. 4, 2017)

American Battle Monuments Commission

Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist