GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The remains of Dale Robert Geddes, a Grand Island native who was serving in the Marine Corps when he was killed 72 years ago during World War II, have been identified through DNA testing and are coming home.

Graveside services with full military honors are scheduled for Aug. 22 in Grand Island.

Geddes died in the Battle of Tarawa, which took place Nov. 20-23, 1943, as American troops fought to capture the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. About 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and another 2,000 wounded.

Geddes was born on Feb. 21, 1922, in Grand Island. He graduated from high school in 1940 and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves on Nov. 20, 1942.

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