Clifford Winkler
| Date and Place of Birth: | Circa 1923 McKeesport, PA |
| Date and Place of Death: | November 20, 1943 Betio, Tarawa Atoll |
| Baseball Experience: | Amateur |
| Position: | Outfield |
| Rank: | Private |
| Military Unit: | Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division USMC |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Clifford A. Winkler was from McKeesport, Pennsylvania. The son of Mr.
and Mrs. Fred W. Winkler, he was a star outfielder with a McKeesport
sandlot team before entering military service.
Winkler enlisted with the Marine Corps on December 13, 1942, and was
serving in the South Pacific by February of the following year. A
private with Company M, 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd
Marine Division, Winkler landed on Betio (a tiny island with a very
import airfield) in the Tarawa atoll on November 20, 1943. Facing him
were 2,600 well-trained Japanese troops with 40 artillery pieces, nearly
500 pillboxes, and a complex system of trenches and fortifications.
Private Winkler was killed that day. He probably never made it ashore
and was among the hundreds of Marines who were gunned down in the ocean
as they tried to leave their landing vehicles. The 19-year-old's body
was never recovered. He is remembered at the Honolulu Memorial in
Hawaii.
Sources
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 24, 1943
http://missingmarines.com
http://www.findagrave.com
Date Added February 26, 2013
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