Remains of 22 Marines Killed at Tarawa During WWII Recovered
 

The US Marine Corps assaulted the island of Tarawa early on in WWII and suffered appalling casualties during the battle.

It was the first major amphibious assault of the War by the Marine Corps.

Twenty-Two sets of unidentified Remains were recently discovered from a mass grave and were returned with full honors to Hawaii where they will be processed by the US Army's Lab in the hope of identifying them.

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/55893...-battle-tarawa


https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...a-return-home/

Yes, a C-17 from Hawaii flew into Tarawa this week and overnighted. Some relatives were onboard. It was the largest repatriation of remains in a single lift todate. Semper Fi...

It's a grim spot - all the landing craft stuck on the edge of the lagoon and all that distance to wade - not a chance...................

At the US Marine Corps Museuem at Quantico, Virginia....you are greeted by an exhibit depicting an Amphibious Tractor at the seawall and Marines exiting the tractor assaulting the defenses at Tarawa.

The Marines have a proud history and a tradition of bringing their dead and wounded home leaving no one behind.

That Museum is a "must see" if you ever get to the Washington DC area.

The other exhibit I find very well done there is the Vietnam display that depicts a helicopter landing on Hill 881 during the The Sanh battle.....it is very...very...well done!

https://www.usmcmuseum.com


http://www.usmcmuseum.com/uploads/6/...02393_orig.jpg

I have had the honour to witness four of these repatriation ceremonies at Bonriki. Each one has been an experience I will always remember. This one was timed for dawn and the timing could not have been better: an exceptional "pink" dawn sky as a backdrop and the light sensitive blue apron lights extinguished individually as the Marines carrying the coffin passed each one. The rays of the sun came through the clouds as the bugler played the Last Post (Taps, as the Marines call it).


The C17 departure was, in its own way, spectacular. The apron is really only suitable for two narrow body single aisle jets so with an A320 overnight on Wednesday the C17 had to reverse almost the full length of the apron and then do a 90 reverse onto the runway before taxiing forward to line up for a 27 departure. Unfortunately the video, even in three parts, is too large a file size to post or email so I'll attach a still shot of one of the earlier departures: July 2017 .
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....c55109c535.jpg
The first operational use of our solar powered WIFI controlled runway lighting.

MJG.