"Return To Tarawa: Memories of Battle" - WW2 45th anniversary Veterans Special (1989)

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A touching, emotional documentary about a group of 2nd Marine Division survivors of the fierce World War II battle with the Japanese at the Tarawa Atoll who return to that location after 45 years.
The Battle of Tarawa was fought November 20th - 23rd 1943 between the United States Marines and forces of the Japanese Empire at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands -- part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Tarawa was a strategic location that was centrally located in the Pacific for the Philippine islands. The high casualties are said to be a result of poor planning on the American side. Now known as one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during WWII, the Battle of Tarawa left roughly 1,000 Marines and Sailors dead and more than 2,000 wounded in 76 hours.
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[@JP-el3dw]

My father was a chief on USS La Salle. One of the attack transports that brought these brave men to this and many of the other island invasions. He is gone now but he always honored the memories of the brave Americans he carried on his ship.

[@briancooper2112]

Your dad was a hero!

[@joebombero1]

1995 my brother came to visit me in Texas and I took him deep sea fishing. I thought I had chartered the boat myself but discovered a group of elderly men were going to share the boat with us. I was a little grumpy about it at first. Then I noticed them smoking and popping beers as we headed past the jetty. It was 6am, still dark outside. Those guys were World War II Marines on their annual reunion. I thought they had been on Tarawa, my brother says Saipan. I don't remember much. We caught a large amount of Red Snapper. Those old SOBs drank the whole day, cursed continually and never got sick, even when chopping bait. Unbelievable. Hard as nails. I'll always remember that trip- well parts of it. We drank a helluva lot of beer hahaha.

[@FormerVicePresidentDickVeiny]

Chances are they were on both. The men who survived Tarawa were sent to Saipan the following year

[@seanbreen7556]

As a Marine and having the honor of having served in 2MARDIV the Battle of Tarawa fills my heart with pride. Seeing our colors being affixed with the Presidential Unit Citation and the battle streamers for Tarawa with the veterans there was very special.

[@matrox]

How many days were you in battle?

[@paulloya5]

Alexander Peña, 3rd Battalion 6th marine regiment 2nd marine division, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, He was KIA on July 30th 1944 on Tinian, the Island was declared secured Aug 1st, He almost made it home, R.I.P Uncle Alex, the Greatest Generation of All Time, God Bless America!!

[@patkinder6632]

Among the veterans of the Pacific I ve met 3 of the Marines who walked chest high in water from the reefs after their lcvp s grounded on the reefs . What other men in the world could have done so ? Semper Fi , Marines !

[@rahnlawson9463]

God Bless the men and boys who fought in the Pacific Theater, My father served in the Navy and was at the battle of the Coral Sea, the landing at Guadalcanal, Truck and Tarawa. He held the Marines in the highest regard.

[@jefferyepstein9210]

Been almost 80 years now. Probably only a handful of these brave men left.

[@DanielMulloy-bg6gw]

Yeah, this was thirty two years ago now.... the youngest amongst them are in their mid nineties!

[@jerrysullivan8424]

This was from May 14th, 2021, "There are about 326,000 American World War II veterans alive today, according to federal data from earlier this year, a small fraction of the 16 million Americans who served during the conflict." so it is far less now.

[@pmccoy8924]

PSG Bright died in 2011 buried at Arlington, Cpl. Crumpacker died in 2008. Col. Strider died in 2015, served in Korea and Nam also graduated from MIT and Harvard. Didn't find anything of Cpl. Perry. Ssgt Erikson died in 2018. Cpl. Owen found nothing. Ssgt Lent nothing. Pvt Lewis nothing.

[@pmccoy8924]

Sgt. O'Connor died 2011. Sgt. Major Gamble also in Korea and Nam died in 2009.

[@lucazanut7114]

​@@pmccoy8924Ssgt Jack T Lent died in 2010

[@robertabraham7687]

My dad was there as a radio man & gunner in a PBY 5A plane. One of their roles in the war was search & rescue by land or sea. He seldom talked about the war. My mom told me when he came home on leave in mid 1944 he cried on her shoulder saying, "those poor Marines & nurses".

[@dwhunter8904]

God bless all these courageous men. The greatest generation by far.

[@graff324]

When I was in college, 1970, I worked summers for two brothers. The Truman brothers own an industrial laundry in Garden Grove ca. One of the brothers, Mr Claude one of the Marines who landed and fought on Tarawa.. This man knew no fear, yet he had a peace about him. I had only learned about him being on Tarawa from his wife, Mrs Jerry. She told me how he had been wounded on the second day. I never had the opportunity to ask him about those days, but I had the biggest amount of respect for him. I can only offer my profound wishes of Respect and Honor for all of our brave men who brought the awesome Panche of "Semper Fi" to the Japanese on Tarawa.

[@rollotomassi6374]

My dad was a first day lander, 2nd Marines Red Beach 2……waded in under fire….seriously wounded on day three…would not detail what he saw….but occasionally I’d see him staring at nothing, when I asked if it was war related he would not respond…..very dangerous day, God bless the USMC….Semper Fi.

[@wattage2007]

Absolute treasures, every one of these brave guys.

[@ag358]

Dad,a marine, tarawa, tinian, saipan and Okinawa was on those islands from first day, he passed nov 24 1987. I don't think he would've went back, too many memories. He had a friend that served with him, he was kia towards the end, dad named the first 3 boys after him. Had the invasion of the Japanese mainland happened, i probably wouldn't be writing this.

[@jerrysullivan8424]

A good friend of mine here in Kansas City who served at the tail end of WW2 in the British Airforce in England is still living. He was not a combat veteran. he is in his early 90s now and has heart problems. He married an American woman that he met in Bible college " Moody Bible institute " back in the 1950s in Chicago Ill. If I remember correctly He enters the service a few months before the war was declared over at the age of 17. He is an American now. He is classified as a WW2 Vet, but not qualified for VA services. (my point,) a few of these survivers living today are considered WW2 vets who may have entered into the service in the final days. It would be interesting to know how may of the combat veterans who were on the front lines still liveing. I myself am considered a Vietnam-era veteran but did not make it there because it was almost over by the time I entered in Sept of 1974. Thank you for posting this video. Semper Fi.

[@chadneuendorf9431]

8,600 views and 213 likes for this documentary while a kid does a stupid dance and gets millions of followers is a problem with this country nowadays !! People are forgetting and that's a disgrace !!! R.i.p marines thanks for your ultimate sacrifice for your brothers and our country

[@tommyasprion4394]

My great uncle Myron L Closson fought there with 2 mar div. He came home,so many didn't.

[@willowufgood261]

Incredible what these men went through and what was expected of them.

[@warriorqueen1609]

GOD BLESS Y'ALL FOREVER SIRS!!!!❤❤❤❤❤

[@charlesdunitz2572]

Respect

[@charlesdunitz2572]

My Father was in the 2nd there

[@matrox]

35 Years ago...now all these peeps are dead or 100+ years old. My father was a WW2 vet and I remember when he was still a young man. Time flys.

[@wesharris2559]

Awesome people now have no idea what WW2 was like.

[@jerrysullivan8424]

or why the word Jap was common among the Marines who fought that war.

[@michaelallen1154]

@12:40 the narrator says "on August 7th, 1943..." It was actually 1942.

[@darrelneidiffer6777]

Great!

[@brettcurtis5710]

2nd Marine Division trained for Operation Galvanic in New Zealand with amphibious training at the Mahia Peninsula on NZ's Nth Island East Coast! Still remembered by locals and commemorated since 2013 by Military Vehicle collectors and re-enactors - Semper Fi! PS: Both 1st and 2nd Marine Divs trained in NZ and today US Marines on duty at the US Embassy in Wellington regularly take part in Poppy Day on our ANZAC Day and also US Memorial Day which is commemorated at the NZ National War Memorial in the capital - Still Remembered! Also one of the first of many Japanese atrocities was committed here when 12 New Zealand Post Office radio operators and technicians were summarily executed by the Japanese when Tarawa was occupied!

[@zeta-57]

PFC Warren E. duPlessis, 2nd Mar Div, 2nd Tk Bn, Co "C", tank named COMMANDO, Tarawa, 💜, passed 2005....my dad, may he rest in peace

[@mangelwurzel]

Our family physician was a Navy surgeon on a ship at Tarawa. He was particularly critical of the Marine Corps practice of serving steak and eggs just before the landing. He said it made a greasy mess when trying to patch up the wounded. He went three days without sleep, so I guess had a right to complain.

[@woofbark4475]

A fight for freedom indeed!

[@tiamatxvxianash9202]

The veteran at the end said it best when he wished his fellow citizens could go back and view the day's work these fine young men did. Don't we all wish such Time Portals could be readily shared in order for contemporary society to appreciate the freedom of life and liberties they have?

[@ronaldedson496]

Chief of Staff 2nd Marine Division Major General Merritt Austin Edson 1897-1955 USMC.

[@ronaldedson496]

Sgt Walter Fieguth USMC 2nd Marine Division hero of TARAWA.

[@TheyLuv_Anaya123]

Today 80 years ago as I am writing this.

[@cbrvo8440]

When I was a child two of those tracked 'Buffalo' amphbious landing craft were sitting along the side of a house across from the south fence of Ontario airport.

[@DanielMulloy-bg6gw]

The JAPANESE Forces were made up of mixed combat units one being the Sasebo 6th SNLF which h were a cack unit, made up of about 2200 Special Naval Landing Forcs, not 5300 like the narrator said.

[@ronaldedson496]

Also he was 1st command post. Leading from the front.

[@stevetobin4]

The narrator makes a mistake at 12:40, saying that the landing at Guadalcanal occurred on August 7, 1943. It was 1942.

[@aussiedownunder4186]

Try telling the KIA Marines that they didn’t die in vain. It’s easy for the living to state this. I bet my life none of them would say that, the complete opposite they would have given anything to have survived and had a peaceful happy family life. No one should die this way War is horror to the extreme. God rest there souls. War does not prove a thing except loss of precious life.

[@josecervini8796]

LA GENERACION DE JOVENES Q SE VOLVIO HOMBRES DE VERDAD CON PELOTAS DE ORO, NO COMO LOS DE AHORA MEDIOS AFEMINADOS DEL TODO.

[@theamericanwonder]

They say the sea was red from all the blood shed during the assault. #semperfidelis

[@mattsmelley5569]

I would not make a pimple on these guys arse! USN 87-93

[@TheNextGoogification]

They had a congressional hearing into why there were so many casualties on that

[@DanielMulloy-bg6gw]

No they didn't. The American people were angry but they understood this war wasn't going to be easy and we were gonna lose people.... terrible war!

[@TheNextGoogification]

You should do your research before you comment, you wasted my time seeing what you were talking about

[@troy8485]

It was taught in boot camp (1981), that miscalculation of the tides was a major factor on day one. Goes to show how simple mistakes can kill you and others in combat. Explains why you're trained to act- not think. Also, combat is VERY fast.

[@mitcha1065]

benign parental guidance... lol

[@reynaldolopez8902]

Prácticamente fue una derrota norteamericana, lo mismo que en IWO JIMA.

[@willowufgood261]

Wrong

[@themerrigans2734]

My dad spent time there. He said that every day at 5pm the nips would bomb the island, according to his diary.