[Homer_J_Simpson]

Screening and discussion of “With the Marines at Tarawa” coming up next from the WWII conference.

I learned from that discussion that a reason for releasing the documentary was to rebuild support for the war effort. The speaker, Dr. Allan Millett, explained that reports from Tarawa (he mentioned Hanson Baldwin in particular) gave the impression that the operation was a disaster rather than a hard-won victory. The movie was designed to counter that impression.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Next up on live streaming from the conference: “The Challenges of Total War,” with Dr. Nick Mueller.

http://ww2conference.com/home/

[henkster]

I don’t think of Tarawa as a disaster. It was a “shake down” live fire dress rehearsal for the more important amphibious operations later. There were a lot of lessons to be learned, and Tarawa was a safe low-risk place to learn them.

Next up; the Big Blue Fleet flexes its muscles in the Caroline Islands.

[colorado tanker]

Last week some 2,000 or 3,000 United States Marines, most of them now dead or wounded, gave the nation a name to stand beside those of Concord Bridge, the Bon Homme Richard, the Alamo, Little Big Horn, and Belleau Wood. The name was Tarawa.

Robert Sherrod, Time Magazine War Correspondent, 6 December 1943