12-270 Garand Picture of the Day - Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa (US code name Operation Galvanic) was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region.
It was also the first time in the war that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance. The 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The US had suffered similar casualties in other campaigns, for example over the six months in the campaign for Guadalcanal, but in this case the losses were suffered within the space of 76 hours. Nearly 6,000 Japanese and Americans died on the tiny island in the fighting.[2]
Four Medals of Honor — the nation's highest award for combat valor — were earned at Tarawa, one of them posthumously. Thirty-four Navy Crosses, the Navy's second-highest award for valor, were issued along with some 250 Silver Stars.
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Master Sgt. James M. Fawcett got on his knees and gently mixed his father's ashes with sand on the same Pacific beach where the elder Fawcett fought his way ashore 65 years ago.
Maj. James L. Fawcett died in September at the age of 89. He wanted his ashes taken to the spot where half of his 50-man platoon were killed during the first two hours of the Battle of Tarawa, one of World War II's most brutal battles.
"What a great way to end a great life," the younger Fawcett said Thursday after he fulfilled his father's wish. He was "a guy that was just an incredible hero and an incredible father," he said.
