Why hasn't a full length feature film about the battle of tarawa been made yet? I don't understand, I wish someone would make one. I heard something about spielberg making a t.v. series called the pacific that may feature it but I'm not sure.
Maybe because movies like "Iwo Jima", if that's what it was called (John Wayne), set the bar so to speak and folks just said, "been there, done that"? Later
I met 2 Marines from "Green" (some called it Red 2)(the short side of the triangular shape of the island)(Betio) beach from the Tarawa invasion. I bought them both a drink, thanked them, and shook their hands. Someone once inquired how to meet WW2 Vets? Visit the local VFW and bring your wallet, thank them, and maybe, they'll tell you a story or ten! The Japanese commander, Rear Admiral Shibasaki, said "Tarawa could not be taken by a million men in a hundred years." (a priviledged glimps into the Phyche of a Maniac) A four foot seawall (coconut logs) with booby-trapped obstacles. Coral reefs inside the lagoon where the Americans attacked. Until the light tanks and "pack" howitzers got ashore the situation was in doubt. The "banzai Charge" of 500 on the last day was the end. Smited by artillery, cannister shot, and destroyer support. Of 2,600 Japanese, 2,000 Korean laborers, 17 Japanese and 146 Koreans were taken prisoner. 1,000 American dead, and 2,000 wounded. The first film of American dead washing on shore and covered with maggots (scrubbed in news photos), horrified civilians. The reality that HOLLYWOOD does not usually show. After Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, the "Bomb" looked better all the time. I can imagine what a Japanese (homeland) invasion would have cost, and how long it would have taken. It (Tarawa) cost 3 times as many casualties as the North African invasion. A wake-up call as to the potential cost of the offensive as we got closer to Japan. Not really movie material, just a meat grinder. Another in a long line.
I agree. Look at Okinawa. Just that little island. My God. Japan would be like ten thousand okinawa's. The japanese were making swords for God's sake. They were diging trenches in the streets of tokyo. They would have fought to the last man and who knows how many people on both sides would've died and how much longer the war would've gone on. sounds like you know your stuff on Tarawa. It is one of the battles I am most interested in. I have four books on it and I am currently reading Bloody Tarawa by Hammel, I'd reccommend it to anyone. "It would take a hundred years and a million men to take betio"-- Shibasaki The 2nd marine division took it in three days. Hoo rah!
Definitely incredible that such horrific battles took place on Tarawa. "...the incredibly violent battle lasted for three days and left 6,000 men dead in an area no bigger than the ground occupied by the Pentagon and its parking lots." YouTube - Battle of Tarawa
There are no Hollywood movies on Tarawa but there was one documentary on it that won an Acadamy award for best documentary. It's called With the Marines at Tarawa As Japan neared the end, the fighting only got more frantic for the Japanese. They where desperate and had nowhere to go. The fighting was only getting worse, not better.
The assault on Tarawa (actually Betio island, in Tarawa atoll) was depicted in Sands of Iwo Jima - John Wayne's "Sgt Stryker" leads his squad in the island battle in a short segment of the film. The movie setting looks a lot like how the island appears in newsfilm of the battle. Although the 2nd Marine Division took Tarawa, it did not serve on Iwo, despite the movie's inference. I also heard that Spielberg-Hanks' "Pacific" might include Tarawa, but also read somewhere that Eugene Sledge's With the Old Breed and Robert Leckie's Helmet for My Pillow are the two primary source materials for the story - both men served in the 1st Marine Division. That's good for including Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Peleliu, and Okinawa, but not so for Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo, or other island battles (I'm looking forward to it in any case !).
Colonel Joseph Alexanders `Utmost Savagery` is the single best source for this battle. Tho to really understand other books and magazine articals should be used to supplement it.
I expect a film about Tarawa will eventually be made but Hollywood will wait a few years before it releases another big budget WWII film. The audience for war movies is not what it was 4--50 years ago so they only trickle out. We just had Clint Eastwood's films last year and HBO will have the War in the Pacific next year.
I'm a new member to this forum looking for information on the Battle of Tarawa. This was prompted by ancestry research and the fact that my Great Uncle was killed on the first day of battle on Betio. His body was never recovered and is listed on the Tablets of the Missing in Punchbowl Cemetary in Honolulu, HI. From what I read about the battle and some knowledge I've learned about my great uncle, I feel I can nearly place myself by his side when he died. I however don't know his exact location on the island and his mission or duties that day. His name was Sgt. Dwight Wade Randall of the 2nd Marine Division. I continue to try to learn more about him and his military life during WWII. Most of his siblings are dead now and learning about him is difficult at best. I've become a bit obsessive about finding out about him since I am a WWII buff.
Do you know what regiment, battalion, company, and platoon he was in? If so, you should be able to have pretty good idea of where he was.
I agree with Carl's assessment of Alexander's book about Tarawa. The author mentions ( I think it was in Utmost Savagery) landing craft preparations for the assault. Contrary to popular views, the commanders were well aware of the "dodging tide" and the reef that could ground the assault craft. To that end, they scoured the Pacific from the West Coast to Australia for LVTs to use as shuttles between the reef and shore, to ferry Marines to land and the wounded back to the reef. They even had the early model of LVTs armor plated in New Zealand metalworking shops, and fitted with machine guns by Marine armorers. (LVTs were logistics craft, not assault boats) As far as the battle, it was essentially a squad leader's fight. That alone should recommend it as movie material. JT It may also be Alexander (introduction?) who says that in the history of American battles, to approximate the savagery of the sustained point-blank fighting on Betio, one would have to turn back to the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Courthouse. But then I could be mis-remembering.
Slipdigit, No, I don't know any of the info you mentioned. All I know is that he died on Betio and was in the 2nd Marines. Ricochet
Ricochet - you might be able to obtain your grand uncle's personnel records here How to Request Military Service Records or Prove Military Service (DD Form 214, DD-214, DD214 I looked in Follow Me ! (the 2nd Mar Div's unit history) but there is no casualty listing. Your uncle's name is included in a list of casualties in Sherrod's Tarawa (under the heading "Sergeants") but no unit information is given. A good book recommendation is One Square Mile of Hell by John Wukovits - it follows two young Marines (both killed on Betio) who were best friends in school, joined up together, shipped overseas (including time in Australia), before heading for Tarawa. It focuses on the personal experiences of both Marines, as well as others, and may give you some perspective on life as a Marine back then. Good luck in your search !
