November 22,1943,a view along the beach on Tarawa,in the Gilbert Islands,following the landing of US Marines.
Prior to World War II, and before his film career, Albert toured Mexico as a clown and high-wire artist with the Escalante Brothers Circus, but secretly worked for U.S. Army intelligence, photographing German U-boats in Mexican harbors.[3] On September 9, 1942, Albert enlisted in the United States Navy and was discharged in 1943 to accept an appointment as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve. A genuine war hero, he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V" for his actions during the invasion of Tarawa in November, 1943, when, as the pilot of a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft, he rescued 47 Marines who were stranded offshore (and supervised the rescue of 30 others), while under heavy enemy machine-gun fire. (Wikipedia)
RIP to those brave Marines who gave their lives in that operation.
Amen, Trap77. Can you imagine having to wade several hundred yards, under fire, just to get to the beach? They sould never be forgotten.
In the early island assaults, landing craft got stuck on the coral well out from the beach and the marines had a very tough time just getting ashore. Later, LVTs were developed that could negotiate the reefs and carry the landing much closer to the beach. Even so it was still difficult to get armour, artillery and stores ashore so the first few hours must have been hell.