[Sidebar (page 51):]Tarawa TodayTarawais one of the few Pacific battlefields that remained essentially unchanged for the half century that followed World War II. Visitors to Betio Island can readily see wrecked American tanks and LVTs along the beaches, as well as the ruins of Japanese gun emplacements and pill boxes. Admiral Shibasaki’s imposing concrete bunker still stands, seemingly as impervious to time as it was to the battleship guns of Task Force 53. The “Singapore Guns” still rest in their turrets overlooking the approaches to the island. A few years ago, natives unearthed a buried LVT containing the skeletons of its Marine Corps crew, one still wearing dog tags.General David M. Shoup was recalled from retirement to active duty for nine days in 1968 to represent the United States at the dedication of a large monument on Betio, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the battle. As Shoup later toldThe National Observer, “My first reaction was that Betio had shrunk a great deal. It seems smaller in peace than in war.” As he toured the ruined fortifications, Shoup recalled the savage, desperate fighting and wondered “why two nations would spend so much for so little.” Nearly 6,000 Japanese and Americans died on the tiny island in 76 hours of fighting.Twenty years after Shoup’s dedication ceremony, the American memorial had fallen into disrepair; indeed, it was in danger of being torn down to make room for a cold-storage plant for Japanese fishermen. A lengthy campaign by the 2d Marine Division Association and Long Beach-journalist Tom Hennessy raised enough funds to obtain a new, more durable monument, a nine-ton block of Georgia granite inscribed “To our fellow Marines who gave their all.” The memorial was dedicated on 20 November 1988.Betio is now part of the new Republic of Kiribati. Tourist facilities are being developed to accommodate the large number of veterans who wish to return. For now, the small island probably resembles the way it appeared on D-Day, 50 years ago. American author James Ramsey Ullman visited Tarawa earlier and wrote a fitting eulogy: “It is a familiar irony that old battlefields are often the quietest and gentlest of places. It is true of Gettysburg. It is true of Cannae, Chalons, Austerlitz, Verdun. And it is true of Tarawa.”
[Sidebar (page 51):]
Tarawais one of the few Pacific battlefields that remained essentially unchanged for the half century that followed World War II. Visitors to Betio Island can readily see wrecked American tanks and LVTs along the beaches, as well as the ruins of Japanese gun emplacements and pill boxes. Admiral Shibasaki’s imposing concrete bunker still stands, seemingly as impervious to time as it was to the battleship guns of Task Force 53. The “Singapore Guns” still rest in their turrets overlooking the approaches to the island. A few years ago, natives unearthed a buried LVT containing the skeletons of its Marine Corps crew, one still wearing dog tags.
General David M. Shoup was recalled from retirement to active duty for nine days in 1968 to represent the United States at the dedication of a large monument on Betio, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the battle. As Shoup later toldThe National Observer, “My first reaction was that Betio had shrunk a great deal. It seems smaller in peace than in war.” As he toured the ruined fortifications, Shoup recalled the savage, desperate fighting and wondered “why two nations would spend so much for so little.” Nearly 6,000 Japanese and Americans died on the tiny island in 76 hours of fighting.
Twenty years after Shoup’s dedication ceremony, the American memorial had fallen into disrepair; indeed, it was in danger of being torn down to make room for a cold-storage plant for Japanese fishermen. A lengthy campaign by the 2d Marine Division Association and Long Beach-journalist Tom Hennessy raised enough funds to obtain a new, more durable monument, a nine-ton block of Georgia granite inscribed “To our fellow Marines who gave their all.” The memorial was dedicated on 20 November 1988.
Betio is now part of the new Republic of Kiribati. Tourist facilities are being developed to accommodate the large number of veterans who wish to return. For now, the small island probably resembles the way it appeared on D-Day, 50 years ago. American author James Ramsey Ullman visited Tarawa earlier and wrote a fitting eulogy: “It is a familiar irony that old battlefields are often the quietest and gentlest of places. It is true of Gettysburg. It is true of Cannae, Chalons, Austerlitz, Verdun. And it is true of Tarawa.”