Much of this history is based on first-hand accounts as recorded by the surviving participants. One rich source is contained in the USMC archives maintained by the Washington National Records Group in Suitland, Maryland. Of special value are the 2d Marine Division’s Operations Order 14 (25Oct43) and Special Action Report (6Jan44). Other useful documents in the archives include the combat reports of 2d Tank Battalion and 2d Amphibian Tractor Battalion; the Division D-3 Journal for 20–24Nov43; the D-2 POW Interrogation Reports; “comments on equipment and procedures” by the battalion commanders; and the exhaustive intelligence report, “Study of Japanese Defenses on Betio Island” (20Dec43). The Marine Corps Historical Center’s Personal Papers Collection contains Colonel Shoup’s combat notebook, as well as his after-action report, comments during the Pearl Harbor conference on LVTs, comments on draft histories in 1947 and 1963, and his remarks for the record at various anniversaries of the battle. A lengthy account of the Betio assault is found in the transcript of Colonel Merritt Edson’s briefing to the staff officers of the Marine Corps Schools after the battle (6Jan44). The Personal Papers Collection also includes worthwhile Tarawa accounts by General Julian C. Smith, 2dLt George D. Lillibridge, 1stLt Frank Plant, and LtCol Russell Lloyd, used herein.

Other useful Tarawa information can be gleaned from the MCHC’s Oral History Collection, which contains recollections by such participants as General Smith; Eugene Boardman; Major Henry P. Crowe; Staff Sergeant Norman Hatch; Brigadier General Leo Hermle; Admiral Harry Hill, USN; Captain Carl Hoffman; Major Wood Kyle; Major William K. Jones; and Lieutenant Colonel Raymond L. Murray. Other contemporary accounts include newspaper essays written by war correspondents on the scene, such as Robert Sherrod, Richard Johnston, Keith Wheeler, and Earl Wilson.

The author also benefitted from direct correspondence with four retired Marines who served with valor at Tarawa: Lieutenant General William K. Jones; Major General Michael P. Ryan; Sergeant Major Lewis J. Michelony, Jr.; and Master Sergeant Edward J. Moore. Further, the author gratefully acknowledges the donation of two rare photographs of the Japanese garrison on Betio by the 2d Marine Division Association.

Errata

Please make the following changes in the World War II 50th anniversary commemorative monograph noted:

Opening Moves: Marines Gear Up For War

Page 16, the correct armament for the Grumann F4F Wildcat is two .50-caliber machine guns mounted in each wing instead of four.

First Offensive: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal

Page 43, the correct hull number for the cruiser Atlanta should be CL(AA) 51 instead of CL 104.

Outpost in the Atlantic: Marines in the Defense of Iceland

Photographs accredited to the Col Chester M. Craig Collection should be accredited instead to the Col Clifton M. Craig Collection.

Page 5, sidebar on “Uniforms and Equipment”—the enlisted Marine wore an almost black cow-skin belt called a “fair leather belt” instead of “... a wide cordovan leather ‘Peter Bain’” belt.

Page 8 and passim, the British division based on Iceland was the 49th Division, not the 79th Division.