| Original caption: “F6F takes off from USS Lexington (CV-16) for third day of strikes in attack on Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands.” A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat of Fighting 16, part of Carrier Air Group 16 (CAG-16), takes off to support strikes on Mille (Mili) Atoll. Mille Atoll has the 2nd-largest land area in the Marshall Islands, after Kwajalein. The Japanese occupied Mili Atoll throughout the Pacific War. The development of Mili air base began in autumn 1942 when the Korean and Marshallese labor force building the seaplane base on Majuro was transferred. By late 1943, supply lines to Mili were cut off, and the Japanese garrison was left to starve. Imperial Japanese Navy Captain Masanari Shiga (???? – August 29, 1945) was in overall command as Commanding Officer of the 66th Garrison Unit, 1,200 officers and men; this was augmented by the 4th Naval Construction Unit of 1,200 men. In August 1942, 2 Catholic Sacred Heart priests, French national Louis Durand (1905 – 1942) and Swiss national Leon Marquis, left the Gilbert Islands in a large canoe to seek refuge on another island. They drifted at sea for 3 weeks until they finally made landfall on Mille Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Japanese military police caught the priests and interrogated them; their bullet-ridden bodies were found by some Gilbertese Catholics, who buried them. Shiga’s Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Hiroshi Tokuno (???? – ????), arrived in July 1943, having been wounded twice in the battles in the Solomons. They were reinforced for the last time by December 22, 1943, by the Imperial Japanese Army 1st South Seas Detachment, consisting of 740 men, and the 107th Infantry Regiment, composed of 1,500 men. Ultimately, 4,282 Japanese and Korean laborers were stationed on Mille by January 1, 1944. Mille had 8 127 millimeter (5-inch) anti-aircraft guns, 43 millimeter (50 caliber) machine guns, 42 millimeter (1.1-inch) anti-aircraft guns, 37 millimeter (1-inch) anti-aircraft guns, and a 100 7.7 millimeter (.303 caliber) machine guns. Mille had 1 radar station that gave early warning of air attacks until August 1944. Bombing of Mille began on November 15, with an attack by Consolidated B-24s that killed 10 and wounded 10. The next day, the B-24s returned but inflicted no damage or casualties. They returned on November 18 and 19. CAG-16, composed of 41 F6F-3 Hellcats (4 spares), 34 Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bombers (4 spares), and 18 Grumman TBF-1 Avengers (1 operational loss en route), sent 6 strikes against Mille. 4 strikes were made on November 19, and single strikes were sent on November 20 and 22. They did not encounter Japanese aircraft, as Mille had only 10 Type 97 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers, unsuitable for engaging in air combat, so they took off and fled until the raid was over. They were recalled to Rabaul after the raid on December 15. Lexington claimed 4 bombers destroyed on the ground, but Tokuno didn’t remember that. Mille airfield was rendered temporarily unusable, which Tokuno thought was the best use of a single-engine aircraft. The large B-24 heavy bombers didn’t have the accuracy to target the airfield as effectively as the carrier aircraft did. There was only 1 airfield, so disabling it meant Mille had no military effectiveness. Shiga ordered immediate repairs, and subsequent Lexington strikes could see repairs in progress. Repairs took 2 days. The garrison at Mille was bypassed and used to train American forces for operational combat missions, preparing them for more challenging targets closer to Japan as the front advanced. Packed with thousands of Japanese troops, Korean laborers, and Marshallese natives, Mille was cut off, especially after Operation Flintlock reduced the garrisons at Kwajalein and Majuro. American patrols by sea and air interdicted Japanese fishing from the island, and while the garrison built fortifications until June 1944, they increasingly turned to the question of food and medicine. Shiga had his men plant gardens for food, which were often torn up by bombing, and many died of starvation or eating poisonous fish. On January 19, 1944, North American B-25D-20 Mitchell serial number 41-30613 of the 396th Bombardment Squadron, 41st Bombardment Group, 7th Air Force, was shot down in Mille’s lagoon while bombing and strafing the atoll. 2 aircrew died in the crash. A Japanese patrol boat picked up the 5 injured and badly burned survivors. They received medical treatment, but then they were brutally tortured and interrogated. Shiga then ordered the men beheaded. The airfield was finally put out of commission in February 1944. By then, Mille had no aircraft anyway. The aircraft, their pilots, and ground crew were flown out and saved for other battles. Starvation took hold of the Mille garrison. On March 18, 1945, on Chirubon island in Mille Atoll, dead Koreans were stripped of their flesh and fed to the living survivors, telling them it was “whale meat.” Furious, the Koreans made plans with the Marshallese natives to attack the Japanese and steal boats to flee to the roving American sea patrols. The Koreans killed 7 Japanese in a gun battle. 1 fled and returned with Japanese troops, who fired on the Koreans with machine guns. A 100 Koreans were massacred. 17 who surrendered were taken off the island and shot elsewhere. 14 survivors fled by boat and were rescued by American sea patrols. A Marshallese family that fled to nearby Japanese-held Jaluit Atoll was also massacred, including the 2 children. The Japanese were terrified that even Marshallese children would ferment rebellion. Following Japan’s acceptance of Allied terms, the 1st overseas Japanese post to surrender was that at Mille Atoll. Mille’s Japanese garrison had endured over 18 months of regular bombardment and deprivation. Its surrender took place on August 22 on board the Destroyer Escort USS Levy (DE-162), which later hosted such ceremonies at Jaluit and Wake. The United States flag was formally raised over Mili on August 28, and most of the Japanese there began their trip home to Japan the following day aboard the Hikawa Maru, the last large passenger ship still capable of seagoing operations. Today, she is a museum ship in Yokohama. United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Edward Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was due to be removed from proximity to active combat duty due to his age – he was in his mid-sixties. He successfully appealed that decision and instead boarded the USS Lexington (CV-16) with Lieutenant Victor Jorgensen (July 8, 1913 – June 14, 1994) to journey from Hawaii to the Gilbert Islands for Operation Galvanic – the invasion of the Gilbert Islands and air operations to support the Battle of Tarawa. This assignment would lead to some of Steichen’s most memorable images of World War II. After the war, he compiled his photographs and written reflections from this period into “The Blue Ghost,” a photographic log documenting his tour of duty on the Lexington. Steichen was appointed director of the newly established Naval Photographic Institute 6 months before the end of the war. He oversaw approximately 4,000 combat crew photographers in addition to his original unit. Following the declaration of Allied victory, the unit was swiftly demobilized, and Steichen concluded his active service on October 22, 1945. He was awarded the Navy’s Distinguished Service Medal. His work with the Navy formally ended the following year with the release of United States Navy War Photographs, a collection of a 100 images from his Naval Aviation Unit. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1629.jpg |
| Image Size | 1,008.28 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2788 x 2004 |
| Photographer | Edward Steichen |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 22, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Mille Atoll |
| Country | Marshalls |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-415580 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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