CA-35
Senior Member
US Marines survey the carnage ashore Betio, the principal island of Tarawa, a group of coral atolls that make up The Gilbert Islands. on November 20, 1943. After 76 hours of intense fighting, they had wrested it away from 4800 tenacious Japanese defenders.
More than 1,500 Marines and sailors had been killed, with nearly 2,300 wounded. Of the roughly 4,800 Japanese defenders, about 97% were thought to have been killed. Only 146 prisoners were captured — all but 17 of them Korean laborers.
More than 1,500 Marines and sailors had been killed, with nearly 2,300 wounded. Of the roughly 4,800 Japanese defenders, about 97% were thought to have been killed. Only 146 prisoners were captured — all but 17 of them Korean laborers.