William Earl Tatom ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Arkansas
On November 20, 1943 Captain Tatom was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Marine Corps. ★ He is remembered by the people of Arkansas. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of William Earl Tatom is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2019-12-20 18:43:16.
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Missing : Core Data
· Enlistment type
· Unit or regiment
· Special awards and honors
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location
· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Expanded references and citations
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Service Details
This Profile ID | 15738 |
Service ID | O-008920 |
Name | William Earl Tatom |
From | Stamps, Lafayette County, Arkansas |
Birth Date | January 8, 1916 |
Casualty Date | November 20, 1943 |
War | World War II |
Service Branch | Marine Corps |
Rank | Captain |
Specialty | Chaplain |
Casualty Type | Missing in action or lost at sea |
Location | Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati |
Burial | Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii |
Notable Awards |
★ Purple Heart |
Remembered |
William Earl Tatom is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. |
Additional Details
William Earl Tatom was a Captain and US Marine Corps Chaplain. He was killed in action at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands as he was debarking from his LVT. His body was never found. He was the son of Asa Jewel and Emily Fannie Freeman Tatom.
▼ Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: William Earl Tatom was serving his country during World War II when he gave his all in the line of duty. He had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Tatom had the rank of Captain. His military occupation or specialty was Chaplain. Service number assignment was O-008920.
He was born on January 8, 1916. According to our records Arkansas was his home or enlistment state and Lafayette county has been included within the archival record. We have Stamps listed as his city.
During his service in World War II, Marine Corps Captain Tatom was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on November 20, 1943. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Missing in action or lost at sea. Incident location: Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Purple Heart
★ Combat Action Ribbon
★ Chaplain Badge
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
★ Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
★ Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.
Arkansas Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of
Arkansas who gave their all for their country.
May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world.
Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Arkansas was home to over 6,457
American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
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▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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