BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — A Colorado Marine will finally be laid to rest after being missing in action for nearly 77 years.

Marine Corps Sgt. Donald D. Stoddard of Boulder was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. In November 1943, Stoddard and his company landed on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. The company was met with extreme Japanese resistance.