Etched upon its surface, the only reference to the empty earth beneath it, are the words "buried at sea."
For nearly 70 years, Bonnyman's family -- members of which now live in Boulder County -- remembered the handsome, adventurous man they had lost with what few artifacts they had left: his Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously for his efforts to hold back a Japanese counterattack; a large portrait, commissioned from an Italian oil painter; and a few black-and-white photographs taken during the assault on Betio.
After his death, the military issued a letter stating that most of the Tarawa war dead were presumed lost at sea near the island.
But without conclusive proof that Bonnyman was among them, his family began a decades-long campaign to procure information about their beloved soldier's final resting place.
It's a campaign that now, finally, has come to an end.
