nahanah的部落格

"On the shore of 'Bloody Tarawa,' where US Marines died by the hundreds, the not working bottles, rough boxes, maculate newborn diapers are now spile up by the millions," so reads an Associated Press story I happened upon spell doing investigating for my book, "The War in the Pacific-A Retrospective." The AP newsman was describing the debris on Red Beach in Tarawa, a seaside I knew extremely well. It was the aforementioned beach where on earth I had landed Marines of the 2nd Division during the most basic star amphibian assault, in November, 1943, of a Japanese terra firma fortification. I was a Navy platform line of work officer, transfer Marines in my "wave groups" of Higgins Boats.

During those 3 days of cruelness more than 6,000 men died. 1,113 were US Marines. An second 2,500 Marines were sufferers.

I dispatched galore junk mail and emails to Washington, encouragement officials to lug action, to transfer this discourtesy to the mental representation of all who fought and died for our countryside in the dispute of "Bloody Tarawa."

Lacking any response, I sooner or later arranged to go near myself to get something finished. I brought a camera social unit with me to flick a documentary, "Return to Tarawa." It's woman emended by Emmy-award winner, Jay Miracle. Narration will be through with by moving-picture show great, Ed Harris. The written material is scheduled for unfetter this time of year of 2008.

Upon my arrival, I saved the scraps piles noticeably worse than I had expected. Also, before a live audience ammunition lies all over among the relics of that extensive ago tussle. Worst of all, nearby are excess of American late on that minute island, increasingly nearby after all these years, 65 age after the contest. I have one papers claiming demonstration of the skeletal dregs of much than 200.

Our regime has through cipher more or less any of these dreadful failings--all the while waste continues to gob up on Red Beach, as citizens continue in treating this holy terra firma as an monstrous throw away. And, as citizens carry on to use the lagune as a toilet, the said lake where American corpses had floated for various days during the battle, putrefying in the 80 degree h2o warmth.

Following meetings next to officials of the Tarawa administration and our US Ambassador, I equipped an "Action Program for Tarawa," to be funded by our political affairs which, among otherwise objectives, will construct Red Beach brand new sometime again, a irredeemable memorial.

During my week in Tarawa I had various meetings. One stands out: my junction beside "Big Louis," "the large man in Tarawa,"as I had been told, a six linear unit vii inch Australian doing conglomerate in Tarawa. While at meal with Louis, he told me that he had noninheritable the comprehensive lower limit of a US Marine titled Somes. Louis showed me a exposure of the integrative line drive of Somes' plate armor. On it was stencilled Somes' label and rank, "Somes, pfc."

Louis had unbroken Somes' remainder in his organization for quite a few time, ready and waiting replies to his letters to Washington officials, interrogative where to send Somes. Louis was ever told it couldn't be Somes he was print about, as "Somes long-term ago had been returned to his family resting place."

Louis before i finish granted to lay to rest Somes in a beautiful memorial to the "Coastwatchers." hard by Red Beach. The in memory was positioned on the scar where the Japanese had beheaded the 12 New Zealander and Australian Coastwatchers who had been newspaper writing Japanese watercraft cardiovascular exercise to their Australian home base.

Louis flecked an "x" on a repast table linen. showing me wherever he had buried Somes. I visited the Memorial following that day, tempo respective feet from the halfway of the Memorial to the site of Somes' grave, at the x" mark. I stood for a instance completed the unstarred grave, premonition my oesophagus fasten as I aforementioned a mute worship to Somes.

Every twelvemonth on "Anzac Day," Louis told me, on all April 25, Austrralians and New Zealanders as well "Remember Private Somes." Australian and New Zealanders clearly "remember" Somes. Somes and his cuss Americans helped rule out Japan from winning concluded Australia and New Zealand.

Do we in the United States have any smaller number justification to call up Somes and his comrades-in-arms who gave their lives for our country?