(CNN) Pvt. 1st Class William Edward Brandenburg was only 17 when he died fighting in the Pacific during WWII.

Patricia Moore didn't know her Uncle William, but she certainly remembers her mother, Mae Black, talking about him all her life. The family was from New Miami, Ohio.

Bradenburg was Black's youngest brother, and he enlisted in the Marines on November 27, 1942. He was only 16 at the time. That meant he had to lie on his enlistment forms so he could join the war effort.

William Edward Brandenburg

When the Battle of Tarawa began on November 20, 1943, Brandenburg was there. On the second day of battle, as he was leaving a landing ship on the island in the South Pacific, he was killed in action.

Moore said she was told he was hit with a missile.

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