View of Betio Island of Tarawa Atoll on November 24, 1943 from the aircraft of the aircraft carrier Essex (CV-9).
The Battle of Betio Island, part of the Tarawa Atoll, lasted from November 20 to November 23, 1943. In total, only one officer, 16 soldiers and 129 Korean workers out of 4,836 Japanese and Koreans who were on the island before the American invasion survived in the battles for Tarawa from the Japanese side.
The 2nd US Marine Corps lost 894 people killed (of which 48 officers and 846 soldiers), 84 others (8 officers and 76 soldiers) died from wounds after the battle ended. 2,188 people were wounded: 102 officers and 2,086 soldiers among them.
Location: Tarawa Atoll
Date: 24 November 1943
Author: Francis N. Gilreath