Boy Scout pocket knife helps in identifying remains of WWII Marine from NY

The remains of a Marine killed in a World War II Pacific battle nearly 73 years ago have been identified by military officials using dental records and a Boy Scout pocket knife.

Pfc. George Traver’s mother sent him the knife after he joined the Marines in 1942, WNYT-TV reported Friday. He had it on him when his remains were found in May 2015 buried in a mass grave on the island of Tawara in the South Pacific.

“When we got the report back from the recovery team one of the artifacts that they found on him was a knife,” nephew George Traver, of Chatham, N.Y., told the station. “And the description of it was a 3-inch or a 4-inch knife blade, bone case covering and a Boy Scout emblem on it. So it was almost like he carried something that meant something to him so much and mentioned about being home.”

Traver was killed Nov. 20, 1943 when Marines attempted to secure the island from the Japanese. Over several days of intense fighting, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, according to the Defense Department. Traver died sometime on the first day of the battle.

The mass grave contained the remains of 35 fallen Marines. It was discovered by the Florida-based group History Flight.

“His mother lived to be 90-years-old and right up until her dying day she was hoping to hear something about George and get him back,” relative Al Wheeler told WNYT.  “She tried and tried. Never happened.”

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Image courtesy of Thomas Van Tassel