-- Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Sidney A. Cook, 32, of Ohio, will be buried Sept. 6 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Cook was
a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Division. Cook's unit was one of those tasked with securing the
small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Encountering fierce
resistance by the Japanese, almost 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed
and another 1,000 were wounded in the battle. Cook was killed on the
first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. Read more about Cook.
-- Navy Reserve Ensign William M. Thompson, 21, of Summit, N.J, whose identification was previously announced, will be buried Sept. 8 in Petersburg, Va. Thompson
was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored off Ford Island in
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when Japanese aircraft attacked his ship on Dec.
7, 1941. Thompson was one of 429 crewmen killed in the attack. Read about Thompson.