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Lost Heroes Return

• Galveston Unscripted | J.R. Shaw

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A World War II Marine from Galveston, First Lieutenant Justin G. Mills, was identified 77 years after his death in the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were recovered through collaborative efforts between the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and History Flight

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Speaker 1:

13 Eyewitness News, initially listed as one of the 70,000 still missing. The Pentagon announced a World War II Marine from Galveston has been identified 77 years after his death. Justin G Mills, killed in November of 1943 during a battle on a small island in the South Pacific.

Speaker 2:

Memorial Day is a moment to honor those who gave everything in service to this country. We raise flags, gather in silence and in prayer For some who fell in battle. Remembrance has long come without a grave. In the fog and chaos of war, many fallen soldiers never made it back to US soil. Their remains lost or unidentified for years. Today's story spans over three-quarters of a century and over 7,000 miles. We honor the memory of Marine Corps Reserve First Lieutenant Justin Green Mills, a proud Marine from Galveston, texas, a courageous leader who gave his life in service to his country during the Battle of Tarawa in World War II. From the shores of the Gulf Coast to the fierce battles of the Pacific Theater, mills embodied the courage and sacrifice that Memorial Day asks us to remember. His story is not just about war. It's about the relentless dedication to bring thousands of our fallen soldiers home, even decades after they gave everything for our country, and giving our soldiers the resting place they deserve. After they gave everything for our country and giving our soldiers the resting place they deserve, we'll start this story here in Texas.

Speaker 2:

Justin Mills was born in Houston on December 12, 1917. Though Mills wasn't born on the island, he got here as fast as his family could and his father began working at the port and by 1931, justin was attending Ball High School athletic outgoing, excelling in marksmanship, swimming and football. After graduating Ball High, he joined the Galveston Wharf Company. When he wasn't working he was honing his skills on the gridiron, playing for the Galveston Hurricanes, an amateur football league. In 1937, he enlisted in the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve and quickly rose to the rank of sergeant and, like a true Texan, he was recognized for his shooting skills and he competed with the Marine Corps rifle and pistol team in 1940. By the outbreak of World War II he had earned a commission as a second lieutenant. His unit was activated and Mills left civilian life and joined the 2nd Marine Brigade by the end of 1940 and made his way to the South Pacific Theater to fight the Empire of Japan.

Speaker 2:

As a newly commissioned second lieutenant, mills was deployed as a platoon leader with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 2nd Marines. He quickly earned the reputation for fearless, aggressive leadership. In August 1942, mills led an amphibious landing on Florida Island in the Solomons. When the driver of the boat hesitated to approach the shore, mills threatened him at gunpoint to push forward, which truly defined his no-guts, no-glory leadership style. Following the nearly unopposed Florida Island operation, mills and his men took part in the assault on Tulagi on August 8, 1942. They then remained on Tulagi for the next two months performing garrison duty.

Speaker 2:

While the intense battle for the nearby Guadalcanal on the Solomon Islands raged on, their duty was occasionally interrupted by enemy raids and shelling. By October of 1942, lieutenant Justin Mills and his battalion conducted a raid on a Japanese position at Guadalcanal. This mission began with a tragedy when a boat capsized, drowning over a dozen Marines. Despite this, mills and the rest of Company C pushed on. Mills helped execute a successful dawn ambush, killing 30 Japanese soldiers. When his platoon encountered vigorous opposition, courageously pushed forward in the face of machine gun mortar and point-blank 37mm gunfire. Although his platoon suffered heavy casualties, he succeeded in capturing and holding his objective. Frustratingly, the Marines were soon ordered to withdraw from the ground they'd taken. By late October, mill's battalion was permanently deployed to Guadalcanal.

Speaker 2:

The Silver Star is the US military's third-highest decoration of valor in combat, awarded to those who demonstrate extraordinary heroism in the face of enemy forces. It recognizes courageous actions that go beyond the call of duty and embody the highest ideal of service and sacrifice. With that in mind, here is the official citation honoring Lieutenant Justin G Mills. The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Second Lieutenant Justin G Mills, united States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity during actions against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area on November 3, 1942. Due to his relentless valor on Guadalcanal, mills was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in early 1943 and continued conducting combat patrols and manning defensive positions through the end of January and by February 1943, justin Mills and his fellow Marines left Guadalcanal for New Zealand where they spent the next nine months recovering, training and enjoying liberty in Wellington. Like many others, mills appreciated the hospitality and bravery of the New Zealanders, praising them publicly as true allies.

Speaker 2:

Meanwhile, back at home in the United States, lieutenant Justin Mills was writing letters back home, and a few of these letters were even published in newspapers around the country, praising the allies he was fighting alongside in the Pacific. In one letter he wrote back in 1943, he states I have been associated with men and women of our allied nations British, australian, dutch, new Zealand, chinese and they are strong, gentle Christian people and in my biased opinion, it is necessary to not only our future welfare but to the peace of the world to continue to think of these people as friends and allies. They give as freely and die as gallantly as any American. He then goes on to describe a few of the black soldiers fighting in the Pacific, stating quote our colored citizens too. Out here are American citizens in every sense of the word, enduring, sharing and dying heroically. They deserve a better break than they are getting. America can never be the quote. Land in the newspaper, his entire letter. Before he signs off, he says Mr Johnson, mr Morris, mr Papiri, mr Webster, charlie Malia, dave Sweeney, mr Stein, dutch O'Regan and all of the gang I know. God bless you all.

Speaker 2:

First, lieutenant Justin G Mills. Galvestonians were proud of Lieutenant Justin Mills. A 1943 article in the Galveston Daily News states, quote Although he was born in Houston December 12, 1917, lieutenant Mills was reared here and was graduated from Ball High School in 1935. He joined the 15th Battalion Fleet Marine Corps Reserves, organized here by Colonel Clark Thompson in 1937, and left his job with the Galveston Wharf Company in November 1940, when the unit was mustered into naval service. The article goes on a crack shot he has won. Reshuffling, and promotions brought Mills a new role. He was promoted to Executive Officer of Company C, serving under fellow Texan Captain James R Clannahan of Amarillo.

Speaker 2:

On October 17, 1943, first Lieutenant Justin Mills and Captain James R Clannahan led Charlie Company aboard the USS Harry Lee to prepare for their next mission. For over a month they rehearsed amphibious landings and endured tense anticipation at sea. While spending weeks waiting and training at sea, justin Mills earned a new nickname. One of his buddies aboard the Harry Lee, remembered him as a loud-talking Texan, bellicose but with a saving, quick grin. He considered himself a tough fighting Marine and after the war he expressed interest in staying in the service and becoming a professional soldier. His buddies gave him the nickname Tex, like a true Galvestonian. He was a fighter and fit perfectly in the United States Marine Corps reserves.

Speaker 2:

In late November 1943, over 3,000 miles from mainland Japan and over 4,800 miles from the west coast of the United States, the Harry Lee arrived in the transport area off Batio Island in the Tarawa Atoll. Mills stood out for his bold personality, but he also understood the risks ahead, warning that many wouldn't return from battle. Despite a heavy naval bombardment, mills correctly predicted it wouldn't neutralize the Japanese defenses In the next reserve wave. Charlie Company couldn't land until noon due to limited transport and heavy enemy fire. When they finally came ashore, chaos followed. Only 70 of nearly 200 Marines regrouped with minimal weaponry During the landing. At just 25 years old, lieutenant Justin Mills was killed by a gunshot to the head. He was one of five Charlie Company Marines to die that day. The other four soldiers that were killed were Corporal Oscar H Cole Jr, fm First Class Roy E Keel and PFCs or Private First Class Marion E Breithaupt and Norman A Buant.

Speaker 2:

Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese on the Tarawa Atoll were virtually annihilated. Of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, more than 400,000 died in combat. Kia means killed in action, those confirmed dead on the battlefield. Mia stands for missing in action soldiers whose whereabouts remain unknown after battle, their families only receiving letters expressing that their loved ones were missing or killed in action, with little information and no remains returned. No closure, only hope that one day they might return home.

Speaker 2:

After the Battle of Tarawa, marines and Navy corpsmen were buried in hastily made cemeteries near the front lines. 1st Lieutenant Justin Mills and three others from Charlie Company were laid to rest in the Central Division Cemetery, later called Cemetery 26, marked only by simple wooden sticks. As months passed after the battle, mateo Island was transformed into a permanent US airbase In 1944, in an effort to improve the appearance of the battlefield, navy personnel launched a well-intentioned but ultimately damaging effort to beautify the many temporary burial sites across the island, unintentionally destroying original grave markers and misaligning burial rows. The original grave markers were removed and the precise locations and orientations of many individual burials were mixed up and lost. After World War II, in 1946, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company arrived to exhume the bodies. They found disorganized remains, making identification difficult. Kiel and Brighthalp were identified, but Mills and Buan were not. Their families were told in 1949 that their remains were unrecoverable.

Speaker 2:

Over seven decades later, a non-profit organization called History Flight, with sophisticated DNA technology, changed that. This remarkable discovery was made possible through a collaboration between the Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency, also known as DPAA, and History Flight, founded in 2003. History Flight is dedicated to locating and recovering the remains of missing American service members through a mix of forensic archaeology, ground-penetrating radar, historical research and DNA analysis. Their work has been especially impactful on Batio Island, where they uncovered lost cemeteries and recovered hundreds of soldiers once thought lost forever, including Lieutenant Justin G Mills. In 2014, history Flight's non-profit group excavated Cemetery 26 and found many remains left behind. In 2015, they turned them over to the Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency.

Speaker 2:

Among the remains exhumed was Lieutenant Mills. His identification was confirmed in 2019 through anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA testing. For decades, mills was one of the thousands lost to the fog of war. His resting place unknown. His family left without closure. Today, mills is no longer listed among the missing. On May 26, 2021, nearly 78 years after his death, mills was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In recognition of his bravery and sacrifice, his family received his military honors, including a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Purple Heart, a Combat Action Ribbon, marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation, marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, an Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, an American Campaign Medal, a World War II Victory Medal and a Gold Star Lapel Button.

Speaker 2:

Every Memorial Day, we honor the brave souls who gave everything for this country, men and women like Lieutenant Justin Green Mills. Mills' story is just one of thousands. As of 2020, there were still 72,639 service members still unaccounted for just from World War II, and with this new effort and technology, approximately 30,000 have been assessed as possibly recoverable, thanks to the tireless work of the DPAA, the dedication of non-profits like History Flight and the unyielding commitment of the UAA. The dedication of non-profits like History Flight and the unyielding commitment of the US military over the past few years, their efforts have resulted in soldiers in battlefields around the world to be properly identified and brought back home. Stories like these, sacrifices of soldiers and names of those lost in battle are being brought back from the shadows, reminding us all why we remember. Those lost in battle are being brought back from the shadows, reminding us all why we remember this Memorial Day. As we raise our flags and bow our heads, let us honor their courage by never letting their legacy fade and by continuing the promise to bring every soldier home.

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J.R. Shaw

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