November 13, 2007

Battle of Tarawa
Today we learned a lot about the battle for Tarawa, in which the Americans fought the Japanese to take control of the island in November 1943. The loss of life was spectacular, with over 4,600 Japanese killed and over 3.000 Americans. The battle was brutal and lasted for 3 days. There were many mistakes made in the attack, especially in miscalculating the westerly-setting current and the tides. Thousands of landing craft entered the lagoon and then were stranded on the reef leading up to the shore. The soldiers had to wade chest-deep in water for hundreds of yards and many were picked off by the Japanese ashore. The lagoon was a sea of blood for many weeks, with thousands of bodies washing ashore. Molly, our tour guide, tells us that the sand is still brown today because of all that blood. The battle raged on for 3 days, as the Japanese fought ferociously and were well bunkered down. But the Americans kept coming and coming and eventually they took control. They finished the air strip that the Japanese had started and Tarawa became a major re-fueling stop for aircraft for the remainder of the war.
There are rusting tanks and guns littered all around the island. And we've mentioned before that where we are sitting there are hundreds of wrecks on the bottom. We discovered today that we are anchored in the area called Red Beach 2 for the invasion. It feels like hallowed ground. Molly says that sometimes children will still find a live grenade on the beach and get killed. They also find human bones on a regular basis. We saw a pile of them sitting in a corner of the police yard.
Molly showed us a video called "Death Tide at Tarawa", produced by Mort Zimmerman and written by Norman Stahl. It was an AE production called "Our Century". Worth watching if you can find it.
During the battle the locals were moved off the island to other islands, as the Japanese knew the battle was coming. She said most of the people didn't like the Japanese because they weren't treated well. There were a few locals working for the Japanese who didn't mind them, but most were glad when the Americans took over. Molly is a local, and it was interesting to get her perspective.
We saw both the American and Japanese war memorials. There was literally nothing left on this island after the invasion and it is now covered with many palm trees, banana and breadfruit trees, and papaya. There are over 10,000 people now living on this tiny island. It is very crowded, busy with cars and trucks, and extremely dusty, as there are major road works underway everywhere you go. Driving is a nightmare, as there is not much courtesy shown to other drivers or pedestrians. The houses are the usual mix of wood, cement block and tin roof, though we have seen more thatched roofs here than anywhere else. The locals live on rice and fish. Molly says the fishing is very good. The pace of life is very laid-back. As long as they have enough to eat, they are happy to rest in the shade. And in this heat, that's not a bad idea.
There is still more we would like to see. The wind has dropped down today so that the anchorage is now pleasant. If the conditions stay settled we'd like to poke around for another week before we head north. The people are very pleasant and quick with a smile or a wave. Almost everyone speaks good English, though they use their own dialect with each other. But as we've said before, it all comes down to the people you meet, and these are great people. Karen