Black Hole Sun
12 years ago
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Battle of Tarawa Questions for Mr. Steed (and information from veterans and their family members)
Please post any questions you have for Mr. Steed based on his Tarawa presentation here and look for his responses in the days ahead.
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22 comments:
Mr. Steed,
I thought that the slideshow on Terrowa was truly amazing. You know so much about the topic. The only question that i have for you is when did the Japanese first inhabitat the small island and how long roughly do you think it would of taken to build all the defences of the island?
Christian Frediani
I have just one question on the video you showed in class on Terrowa. Do you know why the americans didn't just land on the other side instead of trying to land on the beaches with reefs that were stacked with heavy defense?
- George Cloud
Mr. Steed
Was it that nessesary for us to fight the battle of Tarrowa. Why didn't we just bomb them? It save lives and if we destroyed the important airfield we could rebuild it because it was only made out of durt.Thanks for the slideshow.
Taylor Robinson
Mr.Steed,
I remembered that during your slideshow you mentioned that you traveled to terrowa. I was wondering since you were American were you treated differently than other travelers.
-Harry Smith
I too think that your presentation was incredible, and i aslo have a question; How long and why did the Japanese and Americans want to have, and defend so many of the tiny islands of the Japanese Empire? Why did they need to take so many small islands that were not that close to Japan's Mainland, for example, Tarawa. And why would BOTH sides, japanese and american, waste so much time, machinery, ammunition, and men on these small island operations?
-Thomas Taylor
Mr Steed,
I thought it was really amazing how much heroism there was. I don't think I would have ever ran into open fire to take out some japanese bunkers. I also liked how they were never pushed back no matter how much the needed help.
Gray Chambliss
Mr. Steed,
I really enjoyed your presentation on Terrowa. My question is:What is the small island like now?
Lea Booth
Mr. Steed,
I thought the slidshow was truly incredible. It had so many great pictures and drawings and the fact that you had a bunch of information on the Battle of Terrowa. However I did have one question: Where the cameramen and filmers trained as much as the regular soldier?
Christian,
The Japanese seized Tarawa Atoll on Dec 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. But they didn’t begin to aggressively fortify the island until after a daring US Marine attack on nearby Makin Atoll in August 1942. A small group of US Marines was carried to Makin on a submarine, did a surprise attack landing in rubber boats, and quickly withdrew back to the sub. The attack was meant to be a diversion to our main Guadalcanal landings and a morale booster for Americans tired of defeats early in the war. Unintentionally, the raid awoke the Japanese to the vulnerability of Makin and Tarawa. The Japanese then sent in the best defensive engineers they had and plenty of supplies to build the fortress that was to become Tarawa.
-Mr. Steed
Why didn’t the Marines attack on the other side of the island?
The other side had even stronger defenses and was heavily mined. We choose the lagoon side because the Japanese had not yet finished sowing mines on that side.
-Mr. Steed
George and Taylor
Was Tarawa necessary?
Defeating Imperial Japan was necessary . Given the military technology and strength available to the Allies in the first half of the 1940s, what was the best way to defeat Japan? Because gaining air superiority is a prerequisite to an invasion, we had to establish air bases within bombing distance of Japan. We didn’t have cruise missiles that could reach Japan. We didn’t have bombers that could fly all the way from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo and back. We had to leap frog our way across the Pacific establishing air bases within distance of the bombers then available to us. As you move across the Central Pacific, there are thousands of islands, but only a small number of those islands were physically suitable to establish an air base. Tarawa was one such island and so was nearby Makin Atoll. An airbase in the Gilbert Islands was absolute necessary. Perhaps we could have made do with just Makin Atoll in the Gilberts as an airbase and bypassed Tarawa. But somewhere along the island road to Tokyo, it seemed inevitable a Tarawa type battle had to take place -- that is an amphibious landing against a strongly defended Japanese held island. Indeed, many such invasions did take place. Tarawa stands out because it was our first attempt at an across the reef assault against a heavily defended beach. We learned many costly lessons that were immediately put to use in all subsequent landings.
-Mr. Steed
Harry,
The people of Tarawa are called the I-Kiribati (pronounced ee-kiribas). They are a wonderful people. Many of the older I-Kiribati I met were used as forced labor by the Japanese. The younger I-Kiribati know very little about those distant events in 1943, but they do enjoy the freedom our victory gave them. The I-Kiribati people overall are delightful and very gracious. As beautiful as their islands are, the I-Kiribati people themselves are the island group’s strongest attraction.
-Mr. Steed
Gray,
Tarawa was unarguably won by the courage of the US Marines. We won not because we had better weapons or more weapons, we won because the Marines’ courage was inexhaustible. When one hero fell, another rose to take his place.
-Mr. Steed
Lea,
Tarawa today is the capital of their country. Sadly Betio island, where the battle was fought, is over populated -- greater population density than Hong Kong! -- and dirty. It was not always this way. I feel very fortunate to have travelled to Tarawa at a time before its overcrowding when the bunkers and tanks from the war were very accessible.
Every Marine is trained to be a combat riflemen—cooks, bakers and cameramen. Norm Hatch, the combat cameramen who took the video of the assault on the large bunker, shot expert on the M1 Garand rifle. Along with his camera he carried a .45 pistol ashore and he shot at a Japanese sniper who was aiming at his camera assistant. At one point in the battle, an emergency plan was being drawn up to organize the cooks, bakers, and other non-frontline Marines into a reserve force to land on Tarawa. Knowing Marine Corps training, this ad hoc force would have put up a fight worthy of all Marines. Fortunately, we were able to get the 6th Marines ashore via rubber boats on Green Beach and didn’t have to implement this emergency plan.
-Mr. Steed
Mr. Steed,
Thank you for the great presentation in class. Also I was very interested in the charcoal illustrations of the war by the soldier. Is there any way to see more of his illustrations?
- Jay
My dad, Leroy Kisling landed on Tarawa on Red Beach Three with the 2nd Marine Division. He was with Lt. Aleander Bonneyman when they disabled the bunker that killed so many Marines.
Leroy Kisling, Jr.
My uncle, PFC George H. Traver, was killed on Tarawa, and is still there. We believe he is buried in an unmarked grave with about 40 others. We hope that recent data from investigators will result in our government taking a good look at Tarawa and begin the process of exhuming the remains and returning them to their families. Dave S. Email: thedavid52@aol.com
Jay,
Kerr Eby is the name of the artist who drew the deeply moving charcoal drawings of Marines on Tarawa. Interestingly, Kerr Eby was born in Tokyo, Japan , the son of Canadian missionaries. He was in the US Army in WWII and tried to enlist in WWII but was turned down because of his age. At 53 years of age, he landed with the Marines at Tarawa as a combat artist. Follow this link to see more of his stirring Tarawa drawings.
http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/amphib/amphib1.htm
-Mr. Steed
My father was in the 18th combat engineers as a flame thrower and demolition man on Tarawa. In the definitive history of the battle the authors describe that the first landing was on the 1000 yard pier that jutted out into the lagoon. The marines that landed were about 6 members of Lt. Deane Hawkins Scout and Snipers and 6 members of Lt. Alan G. Leslie's combat engineers with flame throwers.
My father Corporal Elmer Crue was one of the flame throwers with Lt. Leslie. Their job was to remove the enemy from the pier. My dad who did not talk about his experiences at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian until he was very old, told me that Lt. Leslie fearlessly led his men out of the small bobbing landing craft onto the pier. Lt. Deane Hawkins led his men onto the pier with the same fearlessness. These brave men were exposed to blistering enemy fire and some were killed but they were able to kill most of the enemy, although not all.
Lt. Leslie was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in leading his men fearlessly and without regard to his own life. He was also awarded a Silver Star for pre invasion action he did on Saipan. My dad was with him on that mission also.
Lt. Hawkins survived but was killed the next day after single handedly taking out many of the enemy. He was awarded the Medal of Honor and the airstrip was named Hawkins Field.
As a child growing up in Chicago in the 1950's my dad never talked about himself but he did talk about the great marines he served with. I heard stories about Lt. Leslie and what a great marine he was until my dad died in 2001 at 83. Dad had nightmares his entire life yet never uttered one word of complaint. He was a wonderful dad and was proud to be a marine.
I made it a mission to find out what happened to Lt. Leslie. He continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve in Portland Oregon and lived to be 89 years old. He died in 1998 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I was fortunate to have found his sister, who recently died at 100, and his son Alan Leslie 3rd. His son has told me many wonderful stories about his dad and his love for the Marine Corps.
-Jim Crue
(son of Corporal Elmer Crue)
Mr. Steed,
Your slide show was very well done and informative. I highly suggest you show future classes this slide show. Although, I have one question for you about your Tarawa slide show: when you arrived on the island, you said the I-Kiribati were friendly, so if you happened to see veterans from the war, did they act differently when they saw you, an american, on tarawa? Thanks again Mr. Steed!!! -saunders
The following is an account from Corporal Robert L. Cooke that he sent to Mr. Steed.
TARAWA'S LANDING!
As always, we approached the island in the dark of night so the element of surprise would be on our side. We, who had been through this before, knew when had reached station off Tarawa as the engines were turned down or off.
The troops were all alerted and were on standby from the night before the invasion. We were given a quick trip to the messing compartment and bid to stay below decks until called up to the debarking station. There, the first waves went over the side and down the nets into the waiting Higgins boats.
As a demolitions man, I was not selected to go in on the first waves. I was not a combat oriented member of the team.
When the dawn came up the troops hit the beaches, or tried to! The return fire from the enemy was so intense that the first waves were cut down to a great percentage of their original strength. By guts and persistence the troops gained a little foothold and then more and more as the battle went on. On D-Day the fight was in question as to who was going to be the winner. Marines are not the type to give up without a do or dies fight. Slowly they made their way deeper into the Japanese defenses and took the enemies positions one by one. By the night of the first day we were well entrenched and had the initiative to move on with the fight.
The enemy was well dug in and refused to surrender. It was a matter of digging them out of the bunkers, and so I as a demolitions man was sent ashore. [On D+1] Along with a couple of other men, I left the ship with a small four by four truck and a load of gear that would be needed on the beach. We made our way to the beach area near the main pier that stood out from the island. It was here that the original landing hoped to get heavier equipment ashore. But the pier had been partially damaged by Navy shelling in the opening of the assault, and the men trying to bring heavy guns ashore were thwarted by this condition. They had to find another place to bring in their heavy guns. Until the Japanese guns along the shore line were silenced, the Marines could not get heavy guns on the beach. As a result, the men fighting the battle were left to fight with rifles and light machine guns. My demolitions were in demand.
Our landing craft came in alongside the pier and dropped the ramp, which landed in water too deep to get the truck off in a running condition. The coxswain was too concerned with getting hung up on the beach and being stuck there in the middle of the battle.
We tried to get the truck off the landing craft before the boat took on water, which startled the coxswain. He reversed the engine and pulled out from under our vehicle, leaving it stuck in the water, drowned out! There was no getting ashore with that truck! The evening was coming on and we knew it would be dark soon. But we were concerned with leaving the truck, so we decided to stay on the truck for the night.
We took up positions on the truck hoping that might afford us some little comfort and settled in for the night. In the meantime the Japs were sniping at us from a few positions left intact along the beach front. Also, there was an old small freighter that had been partially sunk in the harbor from which there were a few snipers shooting!
We got some vestige of sleep for a short time. I awakened to the feel of water around my feet! We had not figured on the tide coming in, which it invariably does. I suggested that we make our way to the pier that was only about thirty feet from our position. Holding our weapons over our heads we bounced over to the pier and endeavored to climb upon it. We were met with rifle pointed at our heads and a demand for the password (how I remembered it, I will never know!). We were allowed to climb up on the pier and lay out of the way for the remainder of the night. The sniper shells were zipping over our heads as we slept. When you are tired and hungry you can sleep anywhere!
Morning of the third day [D+2] brought us to the realization that we could now get to our company, where we should have been the prior day. I grabbed my demo gear and took off looking for the Weapons Company area. I found them working on a big bunker that held some of the enemy. When I was recognized they grabbed me and put me to work assembling some "Banglaore torpedoes" that were needed to blow a hole in the bunker. These torpedoes are three inch tubes of TNT that are about six feet long, the tubes are connected in a string end to end, and are normally used to blow through barbed wire. However, this was not the problem we needed them for. So I made a bundle of them of three in a bunch and applied a short time fuse that allowed them to explode in about a minute after pulling the exploder cord.
The guys working on the bunker would run up to the entrance and jam the Bangalore torpedoes into the shattered doorway and pull the igniter cord and run back to protection. They were working with one of our halftracks that had managed to get ashore. The track would drive right up to the bunker and fire the .75 mm gun into the bunker. Eventually, between the torps and the gun, the bunker was blown open, but there were no live men inside. They had been killed by the concussion!
After that little job I was free to roam about the island, which I did. Adjacent to where I had been working with the half track, I ran into a skirmish line of men, some of whom were from my company. They had a line of men who were advancing on another gun emplacement that still had a live enemy armed with a rifle who refused to give up. I noticed that one of the men was directing the fire and the line. I recognized him to be a PFC who had no bars of officer ran, but who was doing a fine job of directing the fire. Some got it, some didn't!
I helped with some demolition work for a couple of other groups that were in need of heavier fire power. I traveled around the end of the island that was in our zone. I was able to observe the damage done by the pre-invasion shelling done by the Navy's big guns. On the east end on the island had been the big artillery that had once been on an island in the Philippines, I was told. The gun was in no condition to fire again! The barrel was pointed in very odd angle and the base was cracked in two.
That night, in our company area, I slept in a foxhole that someone had dug prior to my arrival. It was only about twenty inches deep and mounded up with the dirt removed from the hole. I slept with my boots on!
Just about dark, there appeared a lone Japanese plane from who knows where. He swept down over the troops and fired a strafing burst, hitting no one that I heard about. I could see his tracers stitching along the area! I am not ashamed to say I clung closely to the bottom and sides of that foxhole! He missed me!!
The island was pretty much secured by the fourth day of the battle. They began loading the troops back aboard ship in preparation to going on to our next rendezvous, which in Hawaii on the big island. Some people were left behind to clean up the beaches and bury the dead, of which there many, many.
-Corporal Robert L. Cooke
I also have one of those pictures in my photo album. I wish I could meet Norm Hatch
PC2
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