This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Michael Morton (Mike), DC1
to remember
Morton, Marion Ellis (Bus), SK2c.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Miami County, OH
Last Address Troy, Ohio
Casualty Date Jul 30, 1945
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Torpedoed
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Maple Hill Cemetery - Tipp City, Ohio
Wall/Plot Coordinates (memorial marker)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On 30 July 1945, after delivering parts for the first atomic bomb to the United States air base at Tinian, the ship was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-58. She sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,196 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship. The remaining 900 faced exposure, dehydration, and shark attacks while floating with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. Only 317 of the 900 survived.
SK2 Morton was among the men listed as missing in action and later declared dead.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 8554783
SK2 Morton is the great uncle of Michael Morton DC1 who created this profile.
Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Battle of Tarawa
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
November / 1943
Description The Battle of Tarawa (US code name Operation Galvanic) was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, located in what is now the nation of Kiribati. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio.
The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the war that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance. but this time the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The U.S. had suffered similar casualties in other campaigns, for example over the six months of the Guadalcanal Campaign, but in this case the losses were incurred within the space of 76 hours.
