Battle of Tarawa

Tarawa

Destruction of one of the four Japanese eight-inch Vickers guns on Betio was caused by naval gunfire and air strikes.

"Home is Where You Find It-The fighting qualities of the Marines is well known but their sense of humor is running a good second. Their humor coupled with their adaptability to make the best of an impossible situation is demonstrated by these two Marines on Tarawa who have named their dugout "The Lousy Lousy Lounge."" From the Julian C. Smith Collection (COLL/202), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH

non-original caption. Original caption: "GROUP OF MARINES" Photographer not given. USMC Photo. 127-GR-123-64390

Non-original caption. Photographer not given. Original caption: South side of concrete command post. 127-GR-125-64397

Pack howitzers of the 1st Battalion, Tenth Marines in action on Tarawa.

Anthropologist Dr. Gregory Fox (left) and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Tyler Green, both of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, work together to separate various bone fragments into two different collection compartments while in the village of Betio on Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati, on Aug 12. JPAC is in Tarawa to recover the remains of U. S. Marines from the Battle of Tarawa, which took place during WWII and was the first amphibious assault for the U. S. Marine Corps.

U.S. Army Mortuary Affairs Specialist, Staff Sgt. Tyler Green of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii digs deeper into a hole in an effort to find remains of a U. S. Marines from the famed WWII battle, The Battle of Tarawa, which are believed to in one of six designated sites in the village of Betio on Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati on Aug 12. Green is a native of East Liverpool, Ohio.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Tyler Green of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, shovels dirt into a screen so that the dirt can be broken up in order to find remains of a U. S. Marines from the famed WWII battle, the Battle of Tarawa, which are believed to in one of six designated sites in the village of Betio on Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati on Aug. 9.

Marine Cemetery, Tarawa

Japanese prisoners of war at Tarawa. VIRIN: HD-SN-99-02962

This overlay highlights the attack of 3d Battalion 6th Marines on Tarawa. Map Image 6649 From the World War II: Gilbert Islands Collection (COLL/3653) at the Marine Corps History Division OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH

80-G-57356: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Japanese pillboxes on Tarawa. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57359: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Unloading supplies on seaplane ramp at Tarawa. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57391: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill, USN, inspects one of the fortress-like bomb-shelters. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57394: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Captain Thomas J. Ryan, USN, examines cans of condensed milk from the Dutch East Indies found in the defenders stores at Tarawa. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57397: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Part of the heavy anti-aircraft gun installation beside the body of a dead Japanese soldier. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57405: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Sprawled bodies of U.S. Marines on beach of Tarawa, testifying to the ferocity of the struggle for this stretch of sand. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57422: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Private First Class “Tex” Rudloff, USMC, in his tank, which was hit several times by cannon fire by Japanese tanks on Tarawa but was undamaged. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57428: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Japanese pillboxes on Tarawa made from palm tree trunks. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57431: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Lieutenant Commander John W. Heath and Captain Thomas J. Ryan inspect Japanese aerial torpedoes. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57433: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Japanese pillboxes on Tarawa. U.S. Marine inspects a reveted Japanese tank used as a pillbox. In the foreground, a dead Japanese soldier lies grotesquely, frozen by death as he fell. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

80-G-57435: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. Japanese pillboxes on Tarawa. Emplaced in a pit behind a barrier on heavy logs, this Japanese tank served as a pillbox. Photographed by CPU-7, November 22, 1943. (6/2/2015).

84-28-S: Operation Galvanic, Invasion of Tarawa, November 1943. The invasion seen through the mouth of Japanese pillbox, November 1943. Artwork by John Hamilton from his publication, “War at Sea,” pg. 181. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Gallery.

M4 Sherman medium tank abandoned after the Battle of Tarawa in the Republic of Kiribati.

Map Image 6560A From the World War II: Gilbert Islands Collection (COLL/3653) at the Marine Corps History Division OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH