Tarawa Operations, The R2 of 5

The Tarawa Operations R2 of 5 2nd Marine Division troops & 5th Amphibious Corps units boarding freighters or troop ships from Wellington, New Zealand. Convoy ships at sea. 12:09:47 View of Afata (?), New Hebrides seen from ship thru rigging. Practice landings, officers off ship; large convoy w/ defending airplanes overhead. Men exercise on deck; loading ammunition belts; firing guns tracking binoculars. 12:11:56 CU Destroyer USS Frazier, DD 607, arriving & sending orders by line. Officers briefing landing craft coxswains on deck; view relief map w/ island code name Helen. Chaplain & religious services. 12:13:00 Map 12:13:23 Ship firing; air strike overhead. Explosions on island, planes diving, strafing (from water), ships firing. GOOD 12:15:09 Map & assignment. 12:15:53 Smoke & explosions. LVT landing craft thru water to shore from water. Planes strafing & diving, explosions. POV from landing craft. 12:17:11 Map & first landing point. Marines dug in on beach & moving along sand. GOOD. WWII Pacific; Battle Preparations; Diagrams; 1943; Tarawa Invasion; WW2; NOTE: Battle fought 20-23Nov43