Joris Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 (edited) During late-November 1943 one of the most savage battles in the history of the Marine Corps took place on the tiny island of Betio, located in Tarawa Atoll. The capture of this island took three days and cost the lives of 990 Marines and Navy Corpsmen. In addition to these, another 2,200 were wounded. The American public back home was shocked by news of this bloodbath--all for such a tiny piece of coral in the Pacific. Following the battle we buried our dead on the island and the war moved on. In time other events and battles overshadowed the public's memory of Tarawa. Following the end of the Second World War, Americans returned to Tarawa to recover those of our men who were interred in a number of cemeteries on the island. What happened during the recovery operations has, to my knowledge, never been revealed to the American public. The shocking truth is that the bodies of about 300 Marines who were killed and buried at the cemeteries on Tarawa were never recovered. There they remain to this day in unmarked graves, many of which are now beneath the houses of the local residents. Read the official 1946 report http://www.yanacek.net/tarawa.htm Edited February 2, 2010 by Joris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreadavide Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I like that the two men considered to be trusted enough to remove grenades from the buried bodies were an Italian Sergeant and an Irish Chaplain... Andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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