| Original caption: “On Tarawa Beach – Marines landing on Tarawa Island beach creep up on Jap[anese] pillboxes. The island’s terrain offered minimal protective cover, but these Marines made use of what little there was. Some of the Jap[anese] troops in pillboxes held out for two days before they surrendered or were blasted out.” Original caption: “Three United States Marines are preparing to advance on the west beach of Tarawa. The rightmost marine lies prone beside an extra rifle, the man in the center is seated, and the leftmost marine moves while crouching. They look toward a small structure surrounded by broken trees, at the opposite side of a debris-strewn beach.” These Marines are looking for signs of life before they move on a Japanese searchlight emplacement near the airfield near the Landing Beach designated Black 2. An antitank ditch, running in long sections behind most of Beach Black 2, was a haven for scores of the Marines who had braved the open ground of the taxiway and main runway. But it was also a mixed blessing for many, because Japanese sharpshooters in nearby burrows knew the Marines were taking cover there and thus had it zeroed in. The Japanese built open-air artillery emplacements, expecting the main landing to come on Black Beach. They were stunned that the Americans had Amtracs that could cross the reef at Red Beach. Black 2, the southern beach opposite Red 2, would entail 2 separate assaults. And, because there were small groups of Marines intermingled with larger groups of Japanese, the ground between the battalions could not be prepped by naval gunfire. United States Marine 2nd Lieutenant Larry Vlach (January 10, 1910 – June 2, 1994) ordered his 2nd Battalion machine gunners to move from the vicinity of the seawall. The platoon jogged south with the general flow until it reached a trench full of Japanese and became embroiled in a firefight. Within moments, the Japanese facing Vlach’s gunners, many of whom had been wounded on D-Day, received heavy fire support from the right. Many of the gunners, including Vlach, were put out of commission, and the remainder had to disengage. The gunners returned to Red 2 in pairs and trios, each man supporting at least 1 other who supported him in return. On regaining the beach, the wounded were lined up for treatment, and the uninjured were moved back to reacquire the guns and continue the journey to Black 2. For all practical purposes, however, Larry Vlach’s platoon had ceased to exist. The 3rd day looked more promising. Colonel Merritt A. “Red Mike” Edson, Sr. (April 25, 1897 – August 14, 1955), 2nd Marine Division Chief of Staff, had foreseen the most significant difficulties, and he had accounted for them in his orders. The 3rd day was to be a day of consolidation and perhaps victory. Major William K. “Willie” Jones’s (October 23, 1916 – April 15, 1998) 1st Battalion – and possibly Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth F. McLeod’s (October 2, 1911 – June 25, 1944) 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines – was to be the instrument of that consolidation. Edson apparently hoped to oversee the establishment of a unified eastward-facing line beyond the eastern extremity of his holdings on Red 3. This would enable his troops to conduct a mopping-up operation from Red 1 to Black 1, and from Red 2 and Red 3 to Black 2. Several of the initial assault battalions might be relieved that day, possibly the entire 2nd Marine Regiment. The prevailing attitude among the commanders was expressed by United States Marine Colonel David M. Shoup (December 30, 1904 – January 13, 1983), Commanding Officer of the 2nd Marines, when Father Francis W. “Foxhole” Kelly (October 16, 1910 – January 9, 1982) asked him how the division was faring. “I think we broke their backs,” said the Colonel to the Priest, “but the bastards have a lot of ammunition left.” In compliance with orders issued by Colonels Shoup and Edson the preceding evening, the rag-tag elements under United States Marine Major Wood B. Kyle (March 3, 1915 – October 25, 2000) began preparations for an eastward assault along Black 2. The object was to clear the opposition and link up with United States Marine Major Henry P. Crowe’s (March 7, 1899 – June 27, 1991) 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, on Red 3. Major Kyle, who had to oversee the defense of the entire trenchline, turned the command of the assault over to Captain Maxie Williams, who had a company-sized mixed bag to work with: 1 officer and 39 Marines from his own B Company, 26 Marines from A Company; 15 Marines from C Company; 2 machine-gun platoons, and 1 officer and 30 riflemen from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd. The force of the drive got the leading elements of A and B companies to within a dozen yards of Black 2. Too weak to muster a renewed drive, the troops consolidated along a 200-yard-long (a 180 meters) line running parallel to Black 1. But the advance had opened the gates. Small units trailing behind Captain William T. “Bill” Bray (December 14, 1916 – September 30, 1967) of A Company and Captain Maxie R. Williams (August 2, 1918 – December 22, 2010) of B Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, from the northeast and opposite C Company, in the northwest, began working through the triangle. Holed up in a large shell pit midway across the triangle, Captain Warren “Lefty” Morris (December 8, 1917 – May 20, 1981) and his 15 F Company Marines were looking for the best moment to make their bid to cross the main runway. Morris was readying his men for the move when a straggler ambled in and gave the captain a box of cigars. All hands stood down until the cigars were passed around and kindled. Then the group took off, slowly at 1st but gaining appreciable speed as it made its way into the open. The group crossed the main runway at a dead run and, just beyond, sought cover in an open trench about 8 feet deep and 30 yards long. There had been no casualties so far. Jones’s battalion gained visual contact with Marines on Black 2 at 1000 Hours. All C Company, 6th Marines, had to do was link up and begin a passage of the lines. In all, the advance from Beach Green had been a relatively simple affair. Japanese casualties, virtually all killed, were estimated at from 50 to 250. While Jones’s 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, was advancing toward Black 2, McLeod’s 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, was getting its final set of orders for landing on Beach Green. At 0810 Hours, just as Jones started moving, Colonel Edson sent the following message to McLeod: “On landing, reinforce present lines ashore. Do not advance east. First Battalion, Eighth Marines, is advancing west on the north coast to reach you.” The message, while informative, did not actually specify that McLeod was to land. It only told him what to do once his battalion was ashore. At about that time, United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Robert MacPherson (May 29, 1910 – November 18, 1997), USS Maryland (BB-46) senior air spotter, took his Vought OS2U Kingfisher reconnaissance plane over Betio’s southern landing beaches, where he noticed a large number of unidentified troops in the vicinity of Black 2. Uncertain as to their nationality, the aviator was happy to see that they all dropped what they were doing to wave at him. For all practical purposes, the southern beach, Black 2, was taken – 24 hours behind schedule and at a cost far in excess of the direst predictions of the planners. United States Marine Sergeant Norman T. Hatch (March 2, 1921 – April 22, 2017) was part of the 2nd Marine Division’s Photographic Unit. He landed offshore with his Bell and Howell Eyemo and shot much of the footage that was incorporated into the 1944 Best Short Documentary Oscar winner, With the Marines at Tarawa. He was also present at Roosevelt’s speech to Congress, which called for a Declaration of War against Japan on December 8, 1941, and at the flag raising at Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1596.jpg |
| Image Size | 3.85 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 8086 x 6020 |
| Photographer | Norman Hatch |
| Photographer Title | United States Marine Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 22, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Betio |
| State or Province | Tarawa |
| Country | Gilberts |
| Archive | National Museum of the Pacific War |
| Record Number | NMPW_Tarawa-500 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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