Marine Corps Cpl. Joshua Bettis, an outbound clerk in the distribution management office at Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Headquarters at Henderson Hall, Virginia, became interested in the military after watching the World War II-themed movie “Saving Private Ryan” when he was around age 12.
Bettis said he was captivated by the movie’s opening scenes depicting the D-Day amphibious assault of U.S. troops at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.
“I would watch the opening scene over and over again,” said Bettis, who hails from Jacksonville, Illinois.
One day, when visiting his great-grandfather, Bettis talked about how much he enjoyed the movie and had also started reading military history written by Stephen Ambrose. His great-grandfather mentioned that his brother-in-law was a soldier in World War II who was killed during the D-Day invasion.
Discovery of Family Hero
“I was shocked to find out I had somebody who was there -- killed in the invasion and buried in Normandy,” Bettis said. “No one had talked about him as time went on, and the subject was only brought up after watching the movie.”
Bettis started researching and talked with his great-grandfather, learning his relative’s name was Alfred H. Carlton.
No one, Bettis said, had ever visited his relative’s grave at the Normandy American Cemetery here.
Papers and letters about Bettis’ great-great-uncle were kept by his family and passed down to his mother, who gave them to Bettis. The papers included a letter sent during July 1944 to inform his family Carlton was critically wounded. Then a letter came in September 1944 from the War Department’s adjutant general, informing Carlton’s next-of-kin of his death on June 7, 1944.
“It was really surreal to me holding something his mother held when she found out that her son had been killed,” Bettis said. “I can only imagine how she must have felt. It was like holding a piece of history.”
Bettis serves as the vice president of his unit’s Single Marine Program. During a meeting, the idea of Marines from the battalion going on a professional military education trip to Belleau, France, was mentioned; initially, Bettis said, he didn’t know the trip would include Normandy.
“My great-grandfather had told me if I ever had the chance to make it there, I should take the opportunity,” he said. “When this trip came up, I felt my time had come.”
Trip to France to Visit Relative’s Grave
The trip took place May 23-27, with more than 70 Marines in attendance. On the third day, the Marines visited D-Day landing sites and the Normandy American Cemetery.
“Corporal Bettis talked to me after formation to see if he could visit his family member’s grave,” said Marine Corps Master Sgt. Scott Hart, administration chief of plans, policy and operations and the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the trip. “I spoke with the guide for our trip, Mr. Ray Shearer, and he contacted the cemetery staff.” The cemetery staff escorted Bettis to his relative’s gravesite.
“Visiting the grave was unreal; it didn’t feel real,” Bettis said. “It was unreal to be there in person, and [it] gave me a sense of closure even though I never knew this gentleman. It’s like my family’s blood is on that beach.”
At the request of his mother, Bettis placed the only photo of Alfred Carlton on the grave and knelt while touching the white Lasa marble Latin cross. The cross reads: “Alfred H. Carlton PFC 116 INF 29 DIV Illinois June 7, 1944.”
New Information
Cemetery personnel provided new information about his relative, Bettis said. He learned Carlton was likely in the first wave during the assault and wounded in action on the beach. The cemetery also provided a summary of action that provided information about Carlton’s awards and additional research information to possibly access more records, such as Carlton’s Purple Heart citation and to locate his Purple Heart Medal.
“The cemetery personnel were able to paint a clearer picture,” Bettis said. “All the paperwork I had reflected he was a private, but he was a private first class.”
The cemetery staff also gave Bettis two flags that were flown on Carlton’s grave on Memorial Day. Bettis said he provided the papers and letters to the staff to scan for their records so they can tell Carlton’s story to visitors.
Before Carlton went to initial Army training, he had taken out a life insurance policy, Bettis said. After his death, Carlton’s family filed for the claim, which saved the family’s farm in Roodhouse, Illinois.
“My family [then] was very poor; no electricity in their home and barely had money to put food on the table,” Bettis said. “They were basically going under because of the Great Depression, and they couldn’t afford to bring my great-great-uncle’s body back. My family thought he should be buried with his friends.”
Bettis added, “I feel that he saved our family. So, in a lot of ways, I credit my existence to his sacrifice.”
Bettis said he wants to continue to find information and pass it on to future generations.
“I couldn’t have done this alone,” he said. “It was the staff noncommissioned officers that made this happen, and the personnel at the cemetery, as well. My family is going to be ecstatic and thrilled with all the information I come back with.”