Gunnery Sgt. Arthur Summers was 27 when he was shot and killed while fighting Japanese soldiers in the 1943 Battle of Tarawa. For 76 years, his remains were lost on a small island among hundreds of missing Marines.
A non-profit group that specializes in finding missing service members recovered his body in 2019 and on [August 30th] Summers’ remains were interred at Evergreen Memorial Park & Mausoleum in East Wenatchee.
“I think that Uncle Arthur deserves that,” said Don McCannel. “It’s the least we could do after 78 years, show some respect.”
McCannel and his twin brother, David, both of whom live in the Wenatchee Valley, are Summers’ closest living relatives.
“We’re his closest family,” Don McCannel said. “In a way, you could say I was selfish about it because I wanted to be able to come visit without driving 800 miles.”
The brothers were accompanied at the funeral by cousin Lynne Summers, who was presented a flag by a Marine Corps honor guard.
The funeral was attended by about 100 people, including members of the American Legion Post 10, American Legion Auxiliary, Veterans of Foreign War Post 3617, VFW Auxiliary, Sons of the American Revolution Mid-Columbia Chapter, Patriot Riders, East Wenatchee Police Department and Wenatchee Valley firefighters.
Battery P, 5th Battalion, 14th Marines of Yakima provided an honor guard and delivered Summers’ casket to the grave.
“Having him be a Marine and having the Marines be the honor guard and having the Marines for pallbearers was special,” said Bob Ashford, a former Marine and Vietnam era veteran.
Summers was born in 1916 and raised in Poplar, Montana, and worked as a farm hand before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1936. His first deployment was to China where he served as a guard at the U.S. Embassy.
At the time of his death, Summers served with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.
Summers was killed in action Nov. 23 or 24, 1943 on Betio Island during the Battle of Tarawa. More than 1,000 marines and almost 4,700 Japanese were killed in the 76-hour battle on the small atoll northeast of Australia.
Read the full article by Pete O’Cain from the Wenatchee World
Since the USMC Detachment from Yakima was providing the military honors, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and their Auxiliaries provided assistance by supplying the US and military flag set for the service, directing traffic, and helping with setting up the table of memories associated with GySgt Summers. Additionally, two popup shelters were erected in the background that provided cold bottled water for those in attendance. And once again, our local Costco came thru and donated all the water and ice for the service.
Thank you to everyone that showed up to honor this hero and support his family during this bittersweet memorial. Welcome home Marine, Semper fidelis.
