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IPTC: Caption
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A Japanese soldier (or Korean laborer), stripped naked to search for hidden grenades, is covered by infantry of the 4th Marine Division. The 4th Marine Division suffered a total of 737 casualties on Roi-Namur, including 190 killed, while estimated enemy losses totaled 3,472 dead, with 40 Korean laborers and 51 Japanese captured. Of the 8,782 Japanese personnel deployed to Kwajalein atoll (including Korean laborers), only 2,200 were estimated to be combat trained. Nevertheless, Japanese resistance was strong and resilient, despite being outnumbered by tens of thousands of American troops. By the end of the battle 373 Americans, 7,870 Japanese and Koreans, and an estimated 200 Marshallese were killed. Kwajalein was one of the few locations in the Pacific war where Islanders were killed while actually fighting for the Japanese. On February 6, 1944, Kwajalein Atoll was claimed by the United States and liberated from Japanese rule.
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IPTC: Copyright Notice
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Caption ©2007 MFA Productions LLC
Image in the Public Domain
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