Evening star., 1944-11-20
Torowo Anniversary Finds u. S
In Control of All Pacific AtoIIs

lound only 4U0 Japanese defendlng
Maxim and the Apamama force
landed without firing a shot when
the Japanese outpost force of rs
men committed suicide.
But at Betio the picture was
different. The bombing and artil-
lery preparation leveled the islands
buildings and tore its trees out by
the roots, but it failed to kill enough
of the 1000 Japanese who had nc
choice except to defend the atol
until they died.
| The assault boats roared toward
the beach and grounded with sicken-
ing Screeches on uncharted coral
reefs. A Japanese hulk in the la
goon lay dead and silent until the
boats passed it--then spit bullets
from concealed gun positions into
the rear OF the first wave.
Pillboxes Under Debris.
The wrecked shore, which ap-
peared no more than O waste OF
doWned trees and smoking ruins
also blossomed with defensive fire
Japanese coconut log and concrete
pillboxes were under the debris, jap
anese machine guns and even me-
dunn artillery pieces still in work.
ing order and manned despite the
vicious bombardment.
More than 1000 marines died.
Some died in the boats, never hav-
ing had chance to fire a shot from
their rifles. Some died while they
Waded toward shore, and their
bodies floated away, faces down.
More died on the sandy beach, in
front of the deadly enemy pillboxes,
on paths and in the rubble as they
came into the sights of enemy snip
ers who stayed where they were
until grenades tore them apart or
flame throwers cooked them alive
More than $500 marines were
wounded. Sniper fire cut them down
and left them lying in exposed
places. Hidden Nambu Qight) ma
chine guns chopped at their legs
Grenades came from the wrecks OF
native houses, and nerve-shattering
mortar shells dropped on them
coming, apparently, from every
where and nowhere.
Hold Slim Beach Area.
At night, the marines held only
slim section of the beach. Man,
officers were dead, many other,
wounded. Units had little or nj
contact with each other. And every.
thing that moved was an enemy
real or fancied. Water was short
food was short, medicines were
short. Ships standing offshore were
helpless to fire because they did moi
know where the Americans were or
the tiny island. what part of 1t wa
still in japanese hands.
All the marines had left, in effect
was their rifles, a few machine guns
some mortars and a great deal OF
nerve.
With these they won the battle
Of Betio in 96 hours.
In 96 hours. the I'd Division was
cut to pieces, handicapped by ofYicer
losses, its front-line fighters desper-
ately tired, its streams of wounded
clotted on the beaches.
But the Japanese who had thought
it would take Americans 100 years
to oust them from the atolls of the
Pacific, who had thought that be-
cause no modern army ever had
taken an adequately defended atoll
no nation could-the Japanese were
dead.
A few dozen enemy troops and
several hundred Korean laborers
surrendered. But the rest were
|dead-on the beaches, burned in
their holes, torn by artillery, bayo-
neted and knitted and shot to death
in hand-to-hand conflict. Their
bodies, many naked and without
dignity in death, lay where they had
fallen. and the tropic sun quickly
turned them into horrors, the island
into a sinking pesthouse which re-
quired weeks of work to make usable
months before it was not an offense
to nostrils and eyes.
That was Tarawa.
Fare Better at Maxim.
At Maxim the Army Jared better
finished its job of exterminating the
enemy garrison in 100 hours with
comparatively few casualties. Apa.
mama remained the only one Of tn.
three which had any similarity to 6
tropic paradise. The others became
air bases, huge stockpiles of sup
plies for more battles yet to come.
Nob0dv ever had taken sueh ar