76 years ago today.........

the Battle of Tarawa began........76 hours of hell on earth. I've read numerous accounts of this battle and the bravery exhibited was above and beyond. PS.........did you know that actor Eddie Albert was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions a member of the US Navy during this battle.

 

I can't imagine the horror these brave Marines faced, knowing some would die.
And still they surged forward.
Great vid
thanks for posting
We need to give these wonderful warriors more supporrt

 

There is an effort to find the graves of Marines killed a buried on the island during the fighting. The ocean level is rising and in the near future the island will disappear. One man in our neighborhood was a Marine during WWII and was on both Tarawa and Iwo. He never talked about either and we never asked. We knew better. He and my father, also a Marine, would talk, but not to us about action they saw. My father opened up A couple of years ago about fighting in Korea, landing at Inchon, pushing up to the Chinese border, and how cold it was. He’s 90 now, but still going strong.

 

My Dad was Marine Corps in Korea also.........got over there as a replacement right after the Blue Diamond got back from Chosin.............that cold ruined him.......when we would go duck hunting it could be 30 degrees and he would have the window in the pickup rolled part way down freezing my *** off.........lol.

PS..........they have ID'ed (DNA) and repatriated many fallen Marines over the last few years from Betio.

 

People have asked me if I was in the military, I tell them I spent 18 years in boot camp. That surprises them and I explain my father is a Marine and when active finished as a DI, so when I was a kid, every day was like living in the Corp. I did 18 years as a grunt at the buck private rank...with NO pay!

 

Joe,

Has your dad been to the WWII Museum in NOLA?

My grandson is 11, and is fascinated y WWII. When we went to The Sugar Bowl, he was 10 and spent a day and a half in the museum. It's now NOLA's biggest tourist attraction.

 

I don’t think so. I’ll ask him the next time we have a chat. Thanks for the info!