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SPOTLIGHT ON MARINE HEROES #7
III. TARAWA Once ashore in their camps around Wellington, the Marines renewed old friendships and made new ones. They danced with local girls at the Hotel Cecil, strolled along Lambdon Quay and ate tons of steak and eggs. New Zealand truly became a home away from home. The wounds and tropical infections healed and the 2nd Marine Division built its strength in preparation for the next campaign. In the autumn of 1943, the division received its orders: a rendezvous with destiny on a coral atoll named Tarawa. The operation was code-named GALVANIC. The 6th Marines, now under the command of Col Maurice G. Holmes, loaded transports for the long voyage to war. Designated as Combat Team 6, the Regiment embarked on ships of Transport Division Six. On 2 November 1943, the convoy slipped out of Wellington Harbor, past the lush green hills of New Zealand, never to return.
Sailing northward into the Gilbert Islands, the convoy arrived in the waters off Tarawa early on the morning of 20 November 1943. The mission—capture the strategic island of Betio. Combat Team 6 was assigned as the Vth Amphibious Corps floating reserve for the initial assault. Other elements of the 2nd Marine Division landed during the day in the face of withering resistance. The battle quickly developed into one of the very toughest in US history. The Sixth was released to divisional control on the afternoon of D-Day and prepared to land in support of the units already ashore. On 21 November 1943, under the command of MajWilliam K. Jones, 1/6 landed from rubber boats across Green Beach. They were a sight for sore eyes to the Marines who had clawed a precarious toehold on Tarawa. The Marines established a perimeter to secure the beach. On D+2, attached to the 2nd Marines, 1/6 attacked on a 100 yard front with tank support to clear the south side of the island. The battalion secured over 800 yards against suicidal Japanese resistance. 3/6, under LtCol Kenneth McLeod, spent a miserable night in landing boats after embarking on D+1. Ordered to land on Green Beach on the afternoon of D+2, the battalion moved in along the route 1/6 had secured during its attack. Digging in for the night, all hands in the battalion prepared for the final phase of the battle.
On the night of D+2, Japanese defenders launched a series of banzai attacks against the dug-in Marines of 1/6. The first probe came at about 1930 when the enemy attacked in platoon strength though thick vegetation to the front of Able and Baker Companies. The battalion reserve, made up of Marines from Weapons and Headquarters Companies, moved forward to support the hard-pressed line outfits. The Japanese attackers were completely destroyed in a series of close-in fights with rifles, grenades and bayonets. At 2300 about 100 Japanese troops launched an attack against the dug-in Marines. Splitting into two groups, the main effort fell against Baker Company's positions. This time, machine guns were needed to break up the attack. 1/6 now expected the main attack. Under a bright moon, they could clearly see movement in he Japanese lines.
The largest attack occurred at 0400 on D+3, when over 300 Japanese troops came screaming out of the darkness against the lines of Able and Baker Companies. The Marines fought back with everything they had, but the fanatical enemy seemed to keep coming. The acting skipper of Baker, 1stLt Norman Thomas, telephoned battalion, "We are killing them as fast as they come at us, but we can't hold much longer. We need reinforcements!" Maj Jones replied, "You've got to hold." In the lagoon, the USS Sigsbee and USS Schroeder pounded the Japanese assembly areas with salvo after salvo. Pack howitzers of 1/10 pulled their fire dangerously close—as little as 75 yards—to the Marine lines. The Marines fought through the darkness against a fanatical foe. Machine gunners fired their weapons at rapid rate, pouring thousands of rounds through their barrels against the exposed enemy troops. At dawn the last enemy charge had been fought off. Marines counted over 200 dead Japanese troops within 50 yards of their lines. But 1/6 paid a high price beating off the attack. During the night, the battalion had 45 Marines killed and 128 wounded. On D+3 the end was in sight. With heavy direct support from 75mm halftracks and tanks, 3/6 began a systematic attack eastward. Enemy resistance was fragmented and without coordination. At 1310, the battalion reached the eastern end of the island. Betio was secured.
The battered Gyrenes of the 2nd and 8th Marine Regiments loaded transports and sailed away from the small island where they had seen so much death and destruction. Their destination: Hawaii. For the Sixth though, there were still more missions to accomplish before they could join the rest of the 2nd Marine Division. On 25 November, 3/6 occupied Apamama after it had been secured by the VAC Reconnaissance Company. In soft sunshine, the Marines landed to a warm reception from the islanders. Girls wearing nothing but grass skirts offered fresh coconut milk and the air was fresh and clean. In that interlude, the war seemed like a National Geographic story. Under the command of LtCol Raymond Murray, 2/6 landed on D+1 on the small island of Bairiki, southeast of Betio. Starting at dawn on 25 November, they began hiking northward across the small islands on the eastern flank of Tarawa Atoll. Struggling through dense jungles, wading across tidal flats, 2/6 cleared each island. The final battle occurred on the northern tip of the atoll at Buariki. Here, 2/6 wiped out the enemy garrison of 175 troops at a cost of 32 Marines killed and 59 wounded. After what seemed forever, the Sixth Marines loaded transport in December for the long voyage to Hawaii. Behind them were many of their brothers who rested forever beneath wooden crosses. And still there were more campaigns to fight.
To further explore Operation GALVANIC, visit World War II Gyrene's Spotlight on Tarawa
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