December 9, 1943



EYE-WITNESS TO TARAWA
Marine Sergeant Tells Story of Battle
TARAWA—Master Technical Sergeant Jim Lucas of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the first Marine combat correspondent to hit the beaches in the battle for Tarawa. He writes Tarawa was “…the bitterest, costliest, most sustained fighting on any front.” Preceding the battle was a sustained aerial and naval bombardment. Before the landings “…it was great fun. We grinned and chortled…”, the expectation was no defenders would be left alive. Instead, 4,000 entrenched imperial Japanese marines awaited them. “Virtually every marine on Tarawa looked death in the face.”  The stories from Tarawa will likely be told and retold for months to come. There will be heroes named, but “…it is impossible to single out one man…doing so we would overlook the thousands who have gone through the same thing.”

No comments:

Post a Comment