WW2 Tarawa's lost Marines

[whitehall]

In the Pacific there was a need to get the bodies underground as soon as possible. There were few Graves Registration teams in the Pacific for either the army or the navy, (marines) and the burials were always a problem. Another problem in the Pacific was that the battles were often sudden and overwhelming and burials often occurred where the bodies were. Later, some of this was remedied with graves registration teams.
At this moment I believe America still has teams in the Pacific looking for the dead, and the Japanese are also still searching for their dead.

Yeah right, does anyone not know about biological effects on a dead body? Try talking about facts instead of cliches. The Tarawa battle was overwhelming to the Japanese rather the Americans. The US knew where the "temporary" cemetery was but they chose to destroy it because it was in the way. The coverup is always worse than the crime and the Navy apparently chose to lie to the families of dead Heroes rather than fess up to the really bad decision.

no need for any cover up here. this was the first Pacific battle they released photos of the dead. and it back fired creating an outrage nation wide. with many calling for the Navy and Marine top brass to be Court martialed and shot. the pulic was just a little biased. all they wanted was pics of "dead Japs".

Maybe you missed the point. There was no demand for "photos of the dead" and no outrage and surely no call for Marine top brass to be shot. They bulldozed a Marine cemetery and they told families that the heroes were buried at sea.

 

[regent]

In the Pacific there was a need to get the bodies underground as soon as possible. There were few Graves Registration teams in the Pacific for either the army or the navy, (marines) and the burials were always a problem. Another problem in the Pacific was that the battles were often sudden and overwhelming and burials often occurred where the bodies were. Later, some of this was remedied with graves registration teams.
At this moment I believe America still has teams in the Pacific looking for the dead, and the Japanese are also still searching for their dead.

Yeah right, does anyone not know about biological effects on a dead body? Try talking about facts instead of cliches. The Tarawa battle was overwhelming to the Japanese rather the Americans. The US knew where the "temporary" cemetery was but they chose to destroy it because it was in the way. The coverup is always worse than the crime and the Navy apparently chose to lie to the families of dead Heroes rather than fess up to the really bad decision.

no need for any cover up here. this was the first Pacific battle they released photos of the dead. and it back fired creating an outrage nation wide. with many calling for the Navy and Marine top brass to be Court martialed and shot. the pulic was just a little biased. all they wanted was pics of "dead Japs".

FDR had been asked by the press if they could post pictures of American dead and the first picture released were of GI's of the 32nd Division, the place, a beach at Buna, New Guinea. Buna was the first stopping of the Japanese advance and was secured in Jan. 43. Guadalcanal was secured the following month.

 

[namvet]

Yeah right, does anyone not know about biological effects on a dead body? Try talking about facts instead of cliches. The Tarawa battle was overwhelming to the Japanese rather the Americans. The US knew where the "temporary" cemetery was but they chose to destroy it because it was in the way. The coverup is always worse than the crime and the Navy apparently chose to lie to the families of dead Heroes rather than fess up to the really bad decision.

no need for any cover up here. this was the first Pacific battle they released photos of the dead. and it back fired creating an outrage nation wide. with many calling for the Navy and Marine top brass to be Court martialed and shot. the pulic was just a little biased. all they wanted was pics of "dead Japs".

Maybe you missed the point. There was no demand for "photos of the dead" and no outrage and surely no call for Marine top brass to be shot. They bulldozed a Marine cemetery and they told families that the heroes were buried at sea.

you missed the cameramen to. During Word War II, Norman Hatch was a combat cameraman who witnessed — and filmed — some of the most bitter fighting in the Pacific theater. His efforts ended with, of all things, an Academy Award — for footage so brutal that it took special permission from President Franklin Roosevelt to allow his short documentary to be shown as a newsreel.

Hatch was a cinematographer and combat photographer during World War II. He won an Academy Award for his footage of the amphibious assault at the Battle of Tarawa in 1943.

WWII Combat Cameraman: 'The Public Had To Know' : NPR

 

[namvet]

@ whitehall

Numerous books and articles have explored every detail of the World War II assault on Tarawa, a battle that ranks alongside Iwo Jima and Okinawa as one of the most significant in the history of U.S. amphibious warfare. For many Americans, however, Tarawa's most memorable product was the detailed account of the battle recorded from 20 to 23 November 1943 by the 20 journalists and photographers who accompanied U.S. Marines into battle.

Among the astounding photographic products of the battle was a 19-minute Academy Award-winning documentary, With the Marines at Tarawa (1944), which featured some of the most stunning images ever taken of warfare, including the only picture of Japanese naval infantry and U.S. Marines on the ground together in action. Also included were compelling scenes of the severe casualties resulting from the assault on the heavily defended atoll. These sobering images shocked the public, which was still digesting the first published pictures of dead U.S. servicemen, including George Strock's timeless image a month earlier in Life magazine of three GIs sprawled on Buna Beach in New Guinea.

Movie-star-turned-Marine Captain Louis Hayward led the team of photographers who filmed With the Marines at Tarawa . Known mostly for his swashbuckling roles, Hayward was poised to become one of Hollywood's leading men but was determined to join the armed forces of either Britain or the United States on the eve of World War II. The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Shortly thereafter, Hayward was assigned to the 2d Division as a photographic officer.

http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1999-04/marines-tarawa

 

[whitehall]

Military "intelligence" failed to take the quirky Tarawa tidal flow into account and as a result Marines had to land on a reef instead of the shoreline. That having been said the freaking point isn't about FDR's photo restrictions or the bad intelligence or the Japanese resistance or Marine heroism. It's about the Navy bulldozing a Marine Cemetery because it was in the way and then trying to cover it up by claiming the Marines had been "buried at sea".

 

[namvet]

Military "intelligence" failed to take the quirky Tarawa tidal flow into account and as a result Marines had to land on a reef instead of the shoreline. That having been said the freaking point isn't about FDR's photo restrictions or the bad intelligence or the Japanese resistance or Marine heroism. It's about the Navy bulldozing a Marine Cemetery because it was in the way and then trying to cover it up by claiming the Marines had been "buried at sea".

they were picked up by amtracks and taken to the beach. and FDR released the photos and film to the public. THAT was my point

let's see the bulldozer. if you please

 

[Trajan]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1DID7gxWrM]History Flight cadaver dog search on USMC cemetery 27 Tarawa - YouTube[/ame]


and

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5a88bJdwX0&feature=relmfu]Footage of 2 US Marine skeletons found on Tarawa By History Flight April 2010 - YouTube[/ame]

on another note...

I saw a special on a former marine who went back years ago and was trying to get the mayor, provincial official of Tarawa to clean the areas where in they think, graves or burial sites exist, the ares were over run with refuse....

 

[namvet]

History Flight cadaver dog search on USMC cemetery 27 Tarawa - YouTube


and

Footage of 2 US Marine skeletons found on Tarawa By History Flight April 2010 - YouTube

on another note...

I saw a special on a former marine who went back years ago and was trying to get the mayor, provincial official of Tarawa to clean the areas where in they think, graves or burial sites exist, the ares were over run with refuse....

Leon Cooper

 

[Trajan]

Military "intelligence" failed to take the quirky Tarawa tidal flow into account and as a result Marines had to land on a reef instead of the shoreline. That having been said the freaking point isn't about FDR's photo restrictions or the bad intelligence or the Japanese resistance or Marine heroism. It's about the Navy bulldozing a Marine Cemetery because it was in the way and then trying to cover it up by claiming the Marines had been "buried at sea".

they were picked up by amtracks and taken to the beach. and FDR released the photos and film to the public. THAT was my point

let's see the bulldozer. if you please

not all of them, a lot of them used the wharf as protection from enfilade fire and those 77's the japs had looking right down their throats.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Tarawa-Eric-M-Hammel/dp/0935553339]Bloody Tarawa: Eric M. Hammel,John E. Lane: 9780935553338: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

and;

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpZdMu8buNY]PRIVATE: Eddie Albert Winner of Bronze Star for heroism in the Battle Of Tarawa - YouTube[/ame]





oh and the movie The Battle of San Pietro was held back by the DoA due to its graphic nature and its 'apparent' anti war message, which I disagree was anti war really....its worth a view.

 

[Trajan]

History Flight cadaver dog search on USMC cemetery 27 Tarawa - YouTube


and

Footage of 2 US Marine skeletons found on Tarawa By History Flight April 2010 - YouTube

on another note...

I saw a special on a former marine who went back years ago and was trying to get the mayor, provincial official of Tarawa to clean the areas where in they think, graves or burial sites exist, the ares were over run with refuse....

Leon Cooper

roger, thats the marine, thx.

 

[Trajan]

History Flight cadaver dog search on USMC cemetery 27 Tarawa - YouTube


and

Footage of 2 US Marine skeletons found on Tarawa By History Flight April 2010 - YouTube

on another note...

I saw a special on a former marine who went back years ago and was trying to get the mayor, provincial official of Tarawa to clean the areas where in they think, graves or burial sites exist, the ares were over run with refuse....

Leon Cooper

roger, thats the marine, thx. I apologize, I didn't see your post.

 

[namvet]

Military "intelligence" failed to take the quirky Tarawa tidal flow into account and as a result Marines had to land on a reef instead of the shoreline. That having been said the freaking point isn't about FDR's photo restrictions or the bad intelligence or the Japanese resistance or Marine heroism. It's about the Navy bulldozing a Marine Cemetery because it was in the way and then trying to cover it up by claiming the Marines had been "buried at sea".

they were picked up by amtracks and taken to the beach. and FDR released the photos and film to the public. THAT was my point

let's see the bulldozer. if you please

not all of them, a lot of them used the wharf as protection from enfilade fire and those 77's the japs had looking right down their throats.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Tarawa-Eric-M-Hammel/dp/0935553339]Bloody Tarawa: Eric M. Hammel,John E. Lane: 9780935553338: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

and;

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpZdMu8buNY]PRIVATE: Eddie Albert Winner of Bronze Star for heroism in the Battle Of Tarawa - YouTube[/ame]





oh and the movie The Battle of San Pietro was held back by the DoA due to its graphic nature and its 'apparent' anti war message, which I disagree was anti war really....its worth a view.

noted. and true. the Japanese were firing from a supply ship tied to the end of the pier. which went far out into the lagoon. it was a meat grinder