Private Alden Curtis Mattison, A Marine's Story
Private Alden Curtis Mattison, A Marine's Story
Private Alden Curtis Mattison was born on April 22, 1921, in Blair, Wisconsin. He graduated from Blair High School in 1939, where he was active in athletics and academics, playing basketball and participating on the school’s forensics team.
With the United States entering World War II, Mattison enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and trained as a rifleman. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, an elite light infantry unit created in 1942 for amphibious raids behind enemy lines. The Raiders were among the first American forces to carry the fight directly to Japanese-held territory in the Pacific.
On August 17–18, 1942, the 2nd Raider Battalion conducted a daring raid on Makin Island (Butaritari Atoll) in the Gilbert Islands. The operation was intended to disrupt enemy forces and test new amphibious tactics. During the withdrawal, several Marines were unable to evacuate and were captured by Japanese forces.
Private Mattison was among those taken prisoner. On October 16, 1942, he and several fellow Raiders were executed by their captors. Their remains were never recovered.
Private Alden Curtis Mattison is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, a place honoring those whose final resting places are unknown. He was 21 years old.
The Marine Raiders were among the earliest Americans to strike back in the Pacific War. For some, including Mattison, the cost of that first offensive would be final.
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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
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