30 Jan 2023 Garand Picture of the Day

[CINDERS]

It's hard to say the 30 looks like it has something silvery attached don't know what the cameraman had behind him brave person standing up in that environment if its the real deal.

On the flip side what a blood bath for such a tiny space of sand a real prelude to other battles that were to follow. Brave men.

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[Sarge1998]

I found a few stills from the The Sands of Iwo Jima (49) and compared the LVT's from the Tarawa assault with the Iwo assault, they appear the same. The same number 111 is definitely in both scenes, and the palm trees are leaning the same way in movie stills compared to this still. "The movie was made on location in California. Scenes were filmed at the Marine Corps Base at Camp Pendleton, Leo Carrillo State Beach, Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Republic Studios and Universal Studios. Actual combat footage from the Pacific War was also used in the film". The movie should be somewhat realistic as far as movies go, Col. David Shoup (MOH) and Tarawa veteran was a technical advisor.

[Bob Womack]

A friend went in to Tarawa. He was a semi-famous radio announcer, joined the Marines, and became a radio specialist. The day before the landing, someone up the chain of command pulled him from his company and had him held until the third day, right after the island was secured. His squad was virtually wiped out on the first day.

After the island was secured he ended up basically marooned on Tarawa, which became a backwater, for the rest of the war. He said they would go swimming in the mornings but always did it in pairs, with one doing armed over-watch, because there were Japanese holdouts who would pop up and try to die taking down an American.

A guy from my hometown, Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., earned the MOH for his actions there. His body was recovered on Tarawa in 2015 and was buried with honors about a mile from my family's home.

Bob

[browningautorifle]

such a tiny space of sand

If you look at Google Earth and study it...and now there isn't an inch not covered by houses.

Alexander Bonnyman, Jr.,

The bomb proof shelters are still present for tour.