Odontology and the battle of Tarawa: forensic dentistry solves a 70-year mystery

U3A Cambridge members were joined by guests from the Historical Society for a special partnership lecture featuring forensic odontologist Dr Jim Goodrich, hosted with the support of the Cambridge Museum. Dr Goodrich, a Cambridge dentist with an international reputation in forensic identification, spoke about his role in identifying the remains of American war hero Second Lieutenant Alexander "Sandy" Bonnyman Jr, killed in the Battle of Tarawa in 1943.

A hero lost, then found

Bonnyman was awarded the Medal of Honour for his actions during the battle, one of the fiercest of the Pacific War, fought on the tiny Tarawa atoll (now part of Kiribati) in November 1943. Despite being told for decades that their son had been buried at sea, Bonnyman's family always believed otherwise, and his grandson, author Clay Bonnyman Evans, spent years pressing the US military for answers, eventually documenting the search in his book The Bones of My Grandfather.

Dr Goodrich explained that the Battle of Tarawa was the first major amphibious assault of the Pacific campaign, fought against heavily fortified Japanese defences. Naval bombardment failed to significantly damage the island's bunkers, and many landing craft became stranded on the reef, exposing thousands of US Marines to heavy fire. Of the roughly 5,000 Marines involved, 1,696 were killed, along with 4,690 Japanese defenders. To this day, more than 500 Marines remain unaccounted for on the island.

The forensic breakthrough

Dr Goodrich became involved through a private historical organisation after a battlefield cemetery, long thought lost, was rediscovered beneath a building on Tarawa in 2015. Working with an international team of archaeologists and odontologists, he helped compare dental records against remains recovered from the site. Detailed gold dental work matched Bonnyman's known dental history, and bone healing patterns confirmed a missing tooth was lost years before death, not during battle. Age estimation from tooth structure closely matched Bonnyman's age at death.

The identification was formally confirmed, and Bonnyman's remains were repatriated to the United States in 2015 with full military honours, more than 70 years after his death. Dr Goodrich noted the process required no DNA testing, as extracting DNA from decades-old skeletal remains was not feasible on-site, and the team wished to avoid disturbing the remains further than necessary.

Life on Tarawa today

Responding to audience questions, Dr Goodrich described Tarawa today as extremely densely populated, with no reticulated water or sewerage, and highly vulnerable to climate change due to its low-lying geography. He also spoke about the challenges of forensic identification generally, noting New Zealand has no national dental records database, meaning identification relies on tracking down individual dentists' records.

About the speakers

Elizabeth Harvey, curator and manager of Cambridge Museum, introduced the talk on behalf of the Friends of Cambridge Museum, a 200-strong support group for the museum. She is not a U3A committee member but spoke in her professional capacity as museum manager, inviting attendees to visit the museum near the Victoria High Bridge.

Upcoming U3A Cambridge events were also announced, including a talk by historian Dr Vincent O'Malley on 13 October 2026, a joint partnership lecture by Rod Smith on 27 October 2026, and a talk by Linda Roil on 8 September 2026 titled "It takes a community: supporting children in care and their caregivers."