After several days of bombardment from nearby U.S. naval battleships, the 2nd Division of the United States Marine Corps made their way to the small island of Tarawa. The objective was simple: take the island, but Tarawa was heavily fortified by the Japanese forces that occupied it with 500 pillboxes and many machine gun nests. The Top Brass knew the assault was risky and dangerous. They were right. During the 76 hours of combat, nearly 6,000 Japanese and Americans died. Continue reading →