CARIBOU, Maine — Over 70 years after his family and friends first gathered to say goodbye, Marine Corps Reserve Private Alberic M. Blanchette will be committed to his final resting place on Monday, September 18, at 1 p.m. at the Old Holy Rosary Cemetery on Lyndon Street in Caribou.
His remains were flown from Hawaii to Atlanta and to Boston before receiving a Maine State Police escort to Caribou on Thursday afternoon. A journey that seems short in comparison to the long wait experienced by those who held out hope for this resolution.
Born in Caribou in 1924, Alberic M. Blanchette joined the marines at the age of 17. In November of 1943, Blanchette was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were defeated.
Many of the marines were killed during the initial landing, facing Japanese machine gun fire, mortars, and artillery. Blanchette died sometime on the first day of battle on November 20, 1943. The following spring, his funeral was held and a plot was purchased at Old Holy Rosary Cemetery where a marker stood with his name for over seven decades.
Three years later after the battle, excavation teams could only find about half of the buried Marines and the rest were listed as missing. Until recently, that list included Private Blanchette, whose name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at an American Battle Monuments Commission site along with the others who are missing from World War II.
This summer, an investigation conducted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency led to the positive identification of Private Blanchette’s remains. A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing to indicate he has been accounted for.
Dignitaries and a military honor guard will be among those who gather for the rite of committal with final commendation on Monday. Fr. David Raymond, pastor of the Parish of the Precious Blood in Caribou will preside, and all are welcome to attend. In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held inside Holy Rosary Church.
For more information, contact the Mockler Funeral Home at (207) 498-2531.
