The site that started my journey...
Tarawa On The Web
Everything one would want to know about this battle in the South Pacific
can be found at that site.
My great uncle was born in the Bunker Hill/Myers area of Howard County, Missouri on his family farm on December 19, 1919. He grew up and attended local schools in that area until the Spring of 1930. It was then the family migrated to California like many families during the Depression. His father and brother, my grandpa, found the small town of Lincoln two years prior...it reminded them of Myers. I made a trip 'back home' to Howard County in September 2004 and can't tell you how many times I had to remind myself I was in Missouri, not California...the countryside...the towns...reminded me over and over of western Placer County. When Mike and the rest of the family arrived in Lincoln, my granny said it resembled the family from the motion picture "Grapes of Wrath". Everything they owned was in that truck.
Mike graduated from Lincoln High School in 1938 and enlisted shortly after in the Marine Corps. He always wanted to attend college but never thought himself smart enough. He thought military service would be the way to start a future for himself. He didn't want to farm...never like being poor...hated it...left him miserable. Mike was bound and determined to make something of himself. Like many Marines, Mike was stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. He would hitchhike home to Lincoln on leaves and hitchhike back. According to JoAnn, Mike and her aunt, Jackie, were engaged sometime after he enlisted. No one is the immediate family knew of this. I suspect Mike's sister, Zula, knew. They were very close and Jackie had a photograph of Mike in uniform. It was given to her by Zula. The family knew of a sweetheart in Los Angeles. Jackie didn't wait for Mike to be discharged from service...she married another. I would like to think the girlfriend in Los Angeles waited for Mike...hoping he would return and they would marry...until news of his death reached her.
Mike was part of 1st Battalion, 10th Marines...C Company...artillary regiment. His first battle was Guadalcanal. His brother, Andy, also fought at Guadalacanal with the 1st Parachute Battalion. Mike and Andy met up at Guadalacanal before Mike was sent to Wellington, New Zealand. It would be the last time they would see each other.
Based on the information I have located, most of this information came from Marine Corps films regarding the battle and the book "Utmost Savagery". The 1st Battalion, 10th Marines (1/10) was commanded by Lt. Col. Rixey. The original plan was for the 1/10 to land on Red Beach 1. This plan was abandoned for a landing on Red Beach 2 because it was felt it would be the "safest" way to get the guns into the battle. The 1/10 consisted of 75mm pach Howitzer, semi portable weapons originally designed for mule borne expeditionary forces, but it was believed that these would be well suited for amphibious assaults. Gun crews could dissemble the weapons unti six major components or pieces. The largest piece weighed 225lbs. but still allowed for some flexibility in landing. The plan was to assemble enough LVTs to land the battalion in column on the extreme left flank of Red Beach 2, the so-called boat channel along the pier. After several hours, Lt. Col. Rixey only had enough LVTs to send two section of A and B Companies and they had to switch the Howitzer components from Higgins boats to LVTs while underfire. Three sections of C Company, in all the confusion, followed the LVTs to the shore in Higgins boats. LVTs allowed the Marines an easier time getting over the reef. Higgins boats would strand on the reef because they did not have the tractor treads to traverse the reef. Because the C Company was stranded, they had to take the Howitzer components off the boats and carry them to shore piece by piece...the shore or beach was 400-500 yards away...all the while under machine gun and mortar fire. It was probably during this transfer of Howitzer components to Red Beach 2 when Mike was killed. His brother, Andy, arrived 2-3 days later after the battle to Betio Atoll...Tarawa...and was told Mike never made it to shore. Mike was killed in the second wave onto Red Beach 2...the afternoon of November 20th. The 1/10 would not be able to reach Red Beach 2 until the morning of November 21st. The Marine Corps considered casualities low because of the duration of the battle...some battalions had 30-60% casualities.
Mike was buried on Betio Atoll with his comrades and would be returned home and buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California on November 5, 1947...almost 4 years after his death. It has been estimated that 1 in 4 Marines killed in the Battle of Tarawa have been returned to be buried at home.
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