Mr. Cooper goes to Washington

November 28, 2008, Malibu, CA – Leon Cooper's plane will arrive at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC on December 7, 2008. The World War II combat veteran is making the trip to meet with members of Congress, following up on his efforts for the past three years to have the US Government remove the garbage that litters Red Beach in Tarawa, the hallowed ground where hundreds of Americans died in the battle that came to be known as "Bloody Tarawa"– three days of savagery where more than a thousand Americans died and more than two thousand were wounded. The Tarawa battle was the first major amphibious assault in the Central Pacific on a Japanese stronghold during the Pacific War.

---

Cooper is making the trip because he has been appalled by the lack of interest from US Government officials. His more than 100 letters, faxes and emails to various high officials have simply been ignored. A personal visit, he feels, is the only way to get action. Leon Cooper's job, as a Naval landing craft officer, was to land Marines of the 2nd Division on Red Beach. He made several landings, each time watching scores of his countrymen being cut to pieces by Japanese gunfire. His sad duty later was to transport the wounded back to his ship for medical treatment. Unlike later invasions, there was no Navy hospital ship in attendance to render expert medical care. Far more disturbing than the garbage on Red Beach: hundreds of Americans still lie where they fell during the battle sixty-five years ago, including a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Marine Lt. Alexander Bonnyman. Backed by veterans groups, History Flight (Marathon, FL) and WFI Research Group (Fall River, MA) have now completed an exhaustive survey of battle sites in Tarawa using radar and a surveyor-quality Trimble GPS system, and have located the remains of 139 Marines. The last organized effort by the Government to identify and repatriate the remains of Americans killed in Tarawa, and located in various sites on the island, was a six-month study completed on May 20, 1946. A report by the Army Quartermaster Section, Memorial Branch, dated July 3, 1946, states that, "About fifty per cent of the bodies previously reported buried on Tarawa were found, and of that number, only 58% were identified." There has been no effort by the Government to follow up on the 1946 investigation. Live ammunition, mainly ours, lies everywhere on this tiny island. Australia has sent a bomb demolition group which is now at work removing these dangerous devices. America is not participating. Cooper says "It is a sad commentary about our nation that private organizations have assumed the responsibility of locating the remains of American dead in Tarawa. They are doing this because our nation has failed to do so. These private organizations feel that those who died in defense of our country deserve to be repatriated and to be remembered with dignity and respect. Their relatives are entitled to closure. It is our nation’s shame that we have allowed these honored dead to lie in unmarked graves in that far off land all these years." According to the Department of Defense, 72,766 American Armed Forces personnel of WWII are still listed as MIA. At least fifty percent lie where they fell in various Pacific islands, including Tarawa. Cooper made a trip to Tarawa this past February, returning with still painful memories of his battle experiences, taking a camera crew with him to film the garbage on Red Beach and to find out more about the American dead on the island. The record of his visit is captured in a documentary, "Return to Tarawa–The Leon Cooper Story." Narration is by movie great, Ed Harris. It will soon be released. Mark Noah, of History Flight, made significant contributions in the making of the film. Major television channels have expressed interest. A major national magazine wants to review the film. Leon Cooper is available for interview. Call (818) 325-2089. Copies of his books are available for review: "90 Day Wonder–Darkness Remembered," and "The War in the Pacific–A Retrospective." Both books are on sale at all major bookstores. He is currently at work writing another book, based on his recent trip to Tarawa, "Remembering Private Somes." For further information visit his Web sites: [url=http://www.90daywonder.net/]http://www.90daywonder.net/[/url] or http://www.warinpacific.net. Or his blogs: [url=http://www.90daywonder.org]http://www.90daywonder.org[/url] or www.asmatteringofignorance.info. He can also be reached at PO Box 6030, Malibu, CA 90265. Call (310) 457-2832; fax: (310) 457-2866; E-mail leoncooper@verizon.net.