Across the Reef: The Marine Assault of Tarawa
Author: first_name: Joseph H.
last_name: Alexander
Language: English
Year: 2015

"Tarawa Atoll is 2085 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor and 540 miles southeast of Kwajalein in the Marshalls. Betio is the principal island in the atoll. The Japanese seized Tarawa from the British within the first three days after Pearl Harbor. In August 1943, to meet in secret with Major General Julian C. Smith and his principal staff officers, Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance flew to New Zealand from Pearl Harbor. Spruance told the Marines to prepare for an amphibious assault against Japanese