1st Lieutenant
Alexander Bonnyman Jr.

On September 27, 2015, the remains of Alexander Bonnyman Jr. were laid to rest in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, more than 71 years after he died a hero almost 7,000 miles from home. A Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient for his bravery during the Battle of Tarawa, Bonnyman was buried in a battlefield cemetery on tiny Betio Island. The impromptu burial ground’s location was lost, however.

Alexander Bonnyman’s prewar life was spent in the mining business. Following in his father’s footsteps, he joined the family business at age 22 after a short stint in the Army Air Corps. By 28, Bonnyman acquired his own copper mine in the mountains of New Mexico. His time with the military, however, was not done.

Bonnyman enlisted in the Marines in 1942, and soon set sail for the South Pacific on the USS Matsonia as a member of the 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. He quickly rose in rank, from private to 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant, in little more than a year.

Bonnyman landed on Tarawa—which was occupied by Japanese forces—with the 8th Marines, 2nd Battalion, on November 20, 1943. During the US invasion, Bonnyman acted “on his own initiative when assault troops were pinned down at the far end of Betio Pier by the overwhelming fire of Japanese shore batteries” and “repeatedly defied the blasting fury of the enemy bombardment to organize and lead the besieged men,” according to his Medal of Honor citation. Bonnyman led a group of men on a fearless attack upon heavily guarded Japanese installations. He was relentless, according to the citation, only halting advances to reload on ammunition. After successfully gaining strategic ground on a Japanese bunker, Bonnyman died holding his position against heavy Japanese fire.