Tarawa Battlefield Relics
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- This episode of History Adventures will be going to check out some Tarawa War Relics.
The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20-23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Over 1000 US Marines were killed and over 2100 were wounded. The Japanese had just under 4700 killed and only 17 captured, there were also 129 Korean laborers captured.
After the battle many bunkers and wrecked equipment were left on the island. Today we are going to explore the island of Betio and look for some of these war relics.
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#ww2 #wwii #Tarawa #Betio #worldwar2 #history #military #militaryhistory #secondworldwar #historyadventures #sfrproductions
In 1970, I left the Navy and went to work for a company I eventually retired from. One coworker I met survived the assault on Tarawa coming ashore in the second wave. Wading a very long way from shore, with enemy gunfire with bullet splashes everywhere. Bill assumed he would not reach shore. Today he would be diagnosed with PTSD but in 1970, many of those veterans just had continue to cope as they had for decades.
And he's still alive? He must be nearing 100 yrs of age.
I had an Uncle that was with the 2nd Marines, and he had problems all his life with what he saw and did in the island campaign. I pray his soul is at rest with God now. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@@autoguy57Kudos. One of my veterans of BIAK had vivid dreams of shark attacks all his life. Now passed away he is at rest. 🛐
I had a history professor at VMI that was an intelligence officer with the 2nd MarDiv. I was doing a presentation on Tarawa and asked if he had anything that might be of interest. He brought in a little box of his patches and decorations-- and photos taken immediately after the battle of the Japanese guns...and the Japanese that committed suicide in their bunkers rather than be captured. All of the photos still had "Classified" stamped on them.
Tarawa was also the first time photos of American dead were released to the public and it caused quite an uproar: seeing swollen bodies floating in the lagoon upset people at breakfast. It was a rude awakening that this was a vicious war and, yes, men were dying.
It also, as well as Guadalcanal, taught the Navy and Marines the importance of combat loading aboard transport and supply ships. Equipment that was needed immediately in the invasion needed to be readily accessible, not buried in the bowels of a ship.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I collected films and photos of the battle of Tarawa. Some of the films are on my UA-cam page. The photo collection I posted on my SFR Productions Facebook page. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
United States Marines, Naval personnel, and Coastguard personnel assaulted this heavily fortified atoll defended by Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces, referred to as Rikusentai I believe. (If I’m incorrect please tell me, but kindly don’t ridicule me). These troops were disciplined, courageous, and fought to the death in their defensive complexes and took a heavy toll of the American assault forces. What always astounds me is how men went forward into this maelstrom of fire, took the fight to the enemy with horror all around, and won the day. Truly great men whose feats of bravery and sacrifice really should be remembered, respected, and appreciated.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. the GREATEST GENERATION. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Yes. They were the Rikusentai. Japanese Marines as it were. Some of the most disciplined and ferocious fighters in the Imperial Forces.
well trained
My Mother's Brother, John Alvin Kuhn was Coxswain on one of the Higgins Boats. He never spoke about the experiences of this and other campaigns in the South Pacific until his final years. He became associated with a veterans group in northern Alabama that managed to get him to final open up about what they all had been through.
During a trip to Pearl Harbor, they were given a program and lecture about Tawara, the battle and on going efforts to recover American Dead on the island. He informed the speaker that he had been part of a burial detail after the battle and pointed out to the speaker several places on the map of the island where he had assisted in the burial of Marines.
The speaker was grateful to get this
information.
My Uncle was in his late 80's then and still vividly
remembered.
B.T.W. he was my inspiration, for enlisting in the Navy 1968-72
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am heading back to Tarawa in November.
The marines who took part in the assault on Tarawa trained in New Zealand at what is now Queen Elizabeth Park north of Wellington. The town just south of the park is called Paekakariki. A lot of the streets are named after the islands where the marines fought, one street is Tarawa Street.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I will be on Tarawa in November 2024 again to tour around, I will need to make a trip out to New Zealand one of these days. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
@@SFRProductions not yet but I will.
Thank you for the video S.F. R. ! Good to see all the areas and relics. Keeping history alive.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am returning to Tarawa in November 2024, leading a tour for Valor Tours. You should make the trip, we will also be going to Makin. Again thanks for watching.
Ok the 17 Coastwatchers who you say were British were actually New Zealanders, The Coastwatchers stationed around the Pacific Islands were employees of the New Zealand Post Office,
Some of the Coastwatchers got away and were rescued by US Forces, They gave the US command relative information INCLUDING Tide charts, The US command were advised not to go in at low tide due to the nature of the Island but go in at High tide where they would land directly onto the beach, They chose to go in at low tide and the Marines where mown down by the Japanese as they had to wade in quite a way, You can still see the remains of landing craft stuck on the reef, Many US lives would have been saved it the command had used their brains and listened to people who had been stationed there, I did work there for an electrical company and when they came across human remains when they dug trenches for cables they had to GPS log it for authorities to exhume later to find out if they were local, Japanese or US servicemen MIA.
My dad landed on Tarawa on either the third or fourth day of the battle. The only thing he would tell me that he was a 40 mm Bofors repairman. I know there were probably no US Bofors guns on the beach during the battle to be repaired. We know that all Marines were infantry first then their specialty MOS. That's all he would ever say about Tarawa. Thank you for the excellent video. I have only seen a few photos of the battle. I do have Dad's 2nd Marine Division History Book published right after the war. It is my only source of what Dad didn't tell me. Again, thank you for the video.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. the GREATEST GENERATION. I will be on Tarawa again in November, I will be posting a video of my trip once I return. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Wait a dang minute here!
Shouldn't all of this be underwater by now?
Is rising sea levels a fib?😮
Good work here. Clean, crisp video as well.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am returning to Tarawa in November 2024. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
My dad landed in the first wave, in a tank nicknamed COMMANDO, in the book "Tanks in Hell" Oscar E. Gilbert quotes a correspondent Samuel Shaffer that COMMANDO destroyed two 5" guns and five pillboxes, and it's well documented that they destroyed a Type 95 tank, COMMANDO was disabled by 18 37mm hits, my dad was one of the 2000+ wounded (PFC Warren Earl du Plessis 💜)🇺🇸
The episode of the Lions Led By Donkeys podcast about the Battle of Tarawa is a great listen that covers this battle in detail.
My father had just turned 19 when he crawled ashore on Tarawa. He is in the combat footage here at the one minute mark running from left to right with his entrenching tool in his hand and rifle in the other. He is also in footage of the marines on the bunker. He got through that battle without wounds but subsequently received two purple hearts for actions on Saipan and Iwo Jima.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I bet his stories of the landings and battle are incredible, the GREATEST GENERATION. Any details of his unit and all that would be great, I can walk those areas when I go back. I will be on Tarawa in November 2024 again to tour around. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
That's pretty cool to have movie footage of your dad in combat.
Total respect for your father. A brave man indeed.
@@SFRProductions wish I could find out his unit breakdown. Michael Anthony Mckernan, 2nd Marine Division and in the 4th. Thats all I ever knew. I have IDs and discharge
My father was on that island/atoll. He told me about being stranded far from shore and wading to the beach. He said some would step into a shell crater and because of the weight of their equipment wouldn't come up....Brave men.
Great stuff, puts the hair up on my neck
My dad was stationed on Miyaco-Jima back in the very early 1970s, they were still finding skeletons in the caves back then.
Those islands are still revealing their horrid history to this day and will be doing so for sometime to come.
Thank you! Very well made!
Can you share how difficult it was for you to get to Tarawa? Would love to visit myself and see some of these historic locations. Excellent video!
Thanks for watching and commenting. I am leading a tour to Tarawa this November with Valor Tours. We are then heading to Guadalcanal. You can find Valor Tours online and they have a tour brochure.
So historic! ❤
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I will be on Tarawa in November 2024 again to tour around. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Thank You very much, I really enjoyed watching this video.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I will be on Tarawa in November 2024 again to tour around. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
How have they not found the burial pit of the coast watchers yet? The the Japanese build fortifications over it? Many of the coast watchers were kiwis. Lest we forget
The sea has not flooded any where around this island
You mean no ocean rising because of climate change! Lol 😂
All of the elites crying global warming, & now climate change, all have mansions along the coast.
Great video! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am heading back to Tarawa and then on the Guadalcanal in November, I will post more videos after the trip. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
@@SFRProductions Sounds great, I just made an animated iwo jima doc video. We need more pacific front content on UA-cam for sure! Cheers
Love the video, my Grandfather was in the first wave and had to wade in under fire, and was wounded by a grenade by the coconut log beach walls. Are any of the walls still left. Thanks
Thanks for watching and making a comment. His stories of the battle must be incredible, The Greatest Generation!! Red Beach 3 has been extended out so the original beach is about 50 yards inland from the current shoreline. It is the same with Red Beach 2, they made most of the area the island dump, only a small section of Red Beach 2 remains. I am heading back to Tarawa in November to see what else I can find on the island. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
thanks ! Excellent video
Excellent video. I have always wondered how many relics of this battle remain.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. It was strange talking with some of the locals with all these relics around and they had no idea of a battle taking place. I will be on Tarawa again this November. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Just looking at the trees and the land in the old video tells how vicious and awful the fighting was i cant imagine what they went through. guns firing bombs exploding death all around .looks like we would learn from our past instead of doing the same thing over and over again .would be amazing to go see these historic places .good job informative
Great video!
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I will be posting a Peleliu video very soon, I just returned from the 80th Events.
Nice work and thanks.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am heading back to Tarawa in November to go back to the bunker and see what else I can discover. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Amazing film work beautiful and peaceful now but hell on earth in the war
Thanks for watching the video and making a comment.
Could you please do a video about the naval side of the Tarawa operation? Specifically about the USS Liscombe Bay !
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am going to work on a video about the battle soon and it will cover some of the Naval side of the battle. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
what a totally awesome video, and make you think a lot, that gastly sight of a japanese bunker now is a school side by side, where children play and 80 years before that was a field of death and carnage
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am heading back this November to tour the area and see if I can do a bit more. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Excellent...
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am returning to Tarawa in November 2024. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Great vid,thanks.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am heading back to Tarawa and then on to Guadalcanal in November, I will post more videos after the trip. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Great video...nice job!
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am returning to Tarawa in November 2024. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
@@SFRProductions Yes Ive watched others...very interesting and looking forward to the new ones as well!
"Tarawa..Boom D- Ay....Tarawa Boom D-Ay!!!!!"
Song Sung years ago By my Dad WW2 vet.
I would SOOOOO love to go there & see this in person. Too bad my first name is Bill but my last name isn't Gates ! 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for watching and making a comment. Check out Valor Tours their prices are pretty good for these trips. Again thanks for watching.
That was phenomenal and absolutely fascinating to watch Sir. You’ve done your research. In some of your film you can see where the shallower waters of the lagoon give way to deeper ocean. You can almost envision the Marines in their Higgen’s Boats becoming stuck on coral or sandbars, and being at the mercy of those coastal guns and Japanese heavy mortars.
Question: Can you please provide a brief description of the process it takes just to travel to modern-day Tarawa? (Not specifics, such as your hotels.). For example, is it San Francisco to Guam to ________ and so forth? And finally, was the process to obtain the necessary travel documentation straightforward? Visa? I’m guessing one thing- getting there, even if you are traveling with a WWII guided history trip, isn’t exactly cheap. But the footage was awesome. Thanks again.
I’m going there next month with an outfit called military history tours. We fly out of LA to Fiji and then to Tarawa. Went there about 7 yrs ago and was an excellent trip. The tour company gives you all the information you need to schedule a trip. Passport needed, but they take care of most of the other logistics.
On a side note, they are still finding fallen Marines on the island. When I was last there, they had just disinterred Bonnyman.
@@bennettrogers7921 : Thank you. I hope your upcoming visit is as interesting as the one seven years ago. I read about the recent discovery of human remains. Never having traveled there myself I don’t know, but I do personally know several people who have visited Tarawa and Guadalcanal. And in addition to the incredible history at every turn, they all told me one other thing- that there are unexploded/undetonated munitions EVERYWHERE on both islands. In fact, two friends recounted the safety lectures they and their tour group received on Guadalcanal from local officials. Much of the munitions are believed to be deeply buried, so I would hope they perhaps aren’t as much as a threat, but I’m not an expert.
Thanks for watching and making a comment. I will be on Tarawa in November 2024 leading a tour for Valor Tours. They have all the info on their web page. We stay at the Betio Lodge which is right in the middle of the island walking distance to most of these locations. I was able to walk out a fairly long distance in the lagoon and it does drop off, thinking of those Marines wading ashore is unreal. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
@@SFRProductions thank you for your videos and sharing of your trips. It looks like a lot has changed since I went last time. We were able to go into the command bunker, as well as the bunker where Bonnyman was killed. ( not sure where you filmed, but it is the structure next to the police station- they stored confiscated home brewed alcohol there and it was pretty foul smelling). Glad to hear you are going back, and most happy to see that there are tours that keep our collective history alive. Thank you!
I had no idea how populous the island is today.
I went to high school with a friend who’s father was in the first wave of Marines landing on Tarawa.
Thanks for watching the video and making a comment.
Great video but if I had one minor thing (for my liking) that would be reduction of the dramatic music.
sehr interessant
Most if not all of the islands in the “hopping” campaign are nothing but large graves… 🙏🙏🙏🙏
eerie.
i'm into the history of the second world war and i know that the Tarawa campaign was the bloodiest battle of WW2 . luckily there are no unexploded munitions on the island of Tarawa i think i could be wrong ? .
Thanks for watching and making a comment. They find stuff all the time, they use the Bonnyman Bunker which is at the Police Station to secure of munitions until they are disposed of. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Thanks to the islanders for not cleaning EVERYTHING up!
My dad who was a navy radioman on a sbd. He was put in s marine uniform and sent on on the 11th wave. He was to set up communications to land navy air craft. That never happened and he ended up spending the night in a pile of dead marines. Also there is a little island they burn all the bodies. They called it fly island. He said he will never forget the smell.
Your Dad must have incredible stories from the Pacific, the Greatest Generation. Thanks for watching and making a comment. I am heading back to Tarawa this November the 81st Anniversary. Again thanks for watching.
Is Tarawa inhabited now?
Thanks for watching and making a comment. Yes Betio is very populated, many of the lost graves are under buildings.
where is this location
Thanks for watching and making a comment. This is Betio Island part of the Tarawa Atoll, the battle on Betio is commonly known as the Battle of Tarawa. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
Did they ever clean up all the garbage on the beaches?
No. The sea will reclaim it in time.
Betio is but 1 island in the Tarawa atoll...
So what do the people do here for a living?
Thanks for watching and making a comment. Most work in fishing, there are a number of little stores and shops around the island, a lot just do things that help them survive. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
A mate of mine, John Brown, married a local lady named Molly and retired there while on posting with the Australian Embassy. He wrote to me while I was serving in India in the 90s suggesting I visit him to help him collect and destroy hand grenades and other UXBs strewn around an area he wanted to construct a small motel on in order to cater for visiting veterans and interested parties.
I hear his venture was highly successful and he become somewhat of a guide and historian on the battle of Tarawa. John has since passed, but I believe there may be stories and tributes to him somewhere on the internet.
Being a Vietnam vet and having visited places like Corregidor, Bataan, Guadalcanal, Sandakan, Mersing, Singapore and many other battle sites of significance, and making it my business to pay my respects at Commonwealth and U.S. war cemetaries wherever possible, I now regret not taking John up on his offer.
R.I.P. good mate.
My grandfather was on a ship that shelled the island
Thanks for watching and making a comment. His stories of the battle must be incredible, The Greatest Generation!! I am heading back to Tarawa in November to see what else I can find on the island. Again thanks for watching and I hope you had a chance to watch some of our other videos.
That's still pillbox, would be like being in prison with a gun.
Couldn't imagine how hot it would be in the summer
I had an uncle, that I never met. Die on Tarawa during the invasion.
Thanks for watching the video and making a comment. If you have any more info on him I can try and film specific areas for you, I am heading back in November for the 81st Anniversary of the Battle
With all who died in that small island I'd imagine there's many ghosts in the middle of the night who roam. 🇺🇸
On the day when the battle started it must have been a beautiful blue sky sunny day .. that changed into Hell
Sorry no. My story was from 1970…Jim
The dramatic music is pretty silly. Either use natural sound or Japanese and American music of that time.
Remove the music
You know..when you don't use a microphone it sounds like you're talking in a tin can.
Sin subtítulos...👎
It’s interesting to see some crisp, high definition video of Batio, but as documentary, this leaves a lot to be desired. The music is laughable, and the video images are just some guy walking around with his cell phone.
What a beautiful place, so much death and destruction wentnon there. Man is the ruination of this earth. Turning beautiful and all inspiring environments into killing fields for what? Money and self gratification, power and hatred.
Betio is a trash pit...nothing beautiful about it.
@bigorangecatgoogal7586 Don't know what it's is like now. It had some beautiful views of sunsets and sunrises. It probably a ecosystem in its own rite. I thought that was a man's dream to be on deserted Island with a hot chick. One thing that dream doesn't think about food or drinking water.