USS Tarawa (LHA 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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d small arms ammunitions landed the beach. 10:50 a.m.: The Third Battalion of ie 2nd Regiment reported it was nned down. They wanted dive- Dmbers, they wanted tanks. Both quests were fulfilled. 12:00 p.m.: The tide was begin- ng to turn, reports indicated nu- erous Japanese soldiers were com- mitting hari-kari. uesday, November 23, 1943 1:00 p.m.: Casualties were again ?avy. Medium tanks had to be dis- itched to replace light tanks in neu- alizing pillboxes. 3:30 p.m.: B Medical land on liriki, establish field hospital as on as possible. A and C Medical nd Beach Red 2 as soon as possible, ing morphine, plasma, dressings id stretchers. Before digging in for the night the tmpanies re-formed and moved to defensive positions. The sky deepened from rich pur- e to blackness. The first stars be- in to shine. Silence settled, dis- irbed only by faint scuffing of tovels as the men went on digging leir foxholes. Then — Banzai! Blood for the Emperor! Two words went through the line: Stand Fast. The first Japanese counter-attacks sted an hour. The Japanese leaped from their holes and charged, run- ning like possessed demons, waving sabers, tossing hand grenades, firing light machine guns from the hip, charging with fixed bayonets. With knives, bayonets, rifle butts, the marines fought them back. They were repulsed, but not before open- ing a gap between A and B compan- ies of the Sixth. Our wounded could not be moved. Men opened their first aid kits, ban- daged their buddies in the darkness and gave them water from their can- teens. Non-commissioned officers moved among the men, shaking them, warning them to stay awake. 11:00 p.m.: The Japanese attempt- ed to create a diversion. A few min- utes later they charged as before, screaming Banzai! The Marines stopped the charge and threw the Japanese back. 4:00 a.m.: The Japanese launched their final and most desperate attack. It was now or never. A few Japanese were naked and armed only with knives. For an hour, hand-to-hand fighting went on. Men gave their lives to save their buddies. 5:00 a.m.: The counter-attack end- ed. The stars fading. It ' s all over, we stopped them. Stretcher bearers were sent to gather the wounded. Navy corpsman bandaged, ap- plied tourniquets, injected morphine, lit cigarettes and stuck them between cracked lips and said, You ' ll be all right, kid. Soon after, the First Bat- talion of the Eighth succeeded in cleaning out the last remnant of re- sistance on Beach Red 1. 1:12 p.m.: General Smith had the announcement carried by field tele- phone to all units on the islet and by radio to the ships of the task force that the battle of Betio was over. Wednesday, November 24, 1943 The assault troops began leaving Betio. It was a slow business. They were leaving many comrades behind, in shallow graves, still lying face down in the waters of the lagoon, lying along the battered beaches, hanging on brutal wire. They did not talk much, these men who had done the impossible. There were no longer any boys among them, only bloody, bandaged heroes. Timeline Page 19

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Battle of Tarawa Timeline. . . Saturday, November 20, 1943 3:45 a.m.: D-Day. The transports, several miles off Tarawa and its coral reefs waited in darkness. There was a quarter moon, the sky emptying it- self of stars. Over the transports sounded the piping of bosun ' s whis- tles and the whines of winches as the landing boats were lowered over the side for their load of men. 4:41 a.m.: Tension was beginning to build up on our side and among the Japanese. It broke with them first. From the long black fringe of the islet came a burst, a red star clus- ter. Our warships loomed through the darkness, moving in closer, their guns trained on Japanese positions. 5:07 a.m.: Daylight was coming. Suddenly the Japanese opened up with their big coastal batteries. The firing was close. Casualties were claimed among the boat crews. 5:12 a.m.: The flagship pointed her bow beachward and, supported by two of her sister ships, let go a salvo from her 16-inch guns. The Japan- ese ' s 8-inchers were silenced. They had been in action 20 minutes. The flagship had been in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Many of her crew had been survivors of that day. 6:13 a.m.: The aerial bombard- ment began. It was not haphazard destruction, for their bombs found home. The first phase was swift and brief. It lasted nine minutes. 6:58 a.m.: The Navy was having its day. The task force ceased sched- uled firing and began to silence in- dividual batteries at their own discre- tion. 8:22 a.m.: The first assault waves left the Line of Departure on their journey to the reef - their journey to hell. The Japanese guns were omi- nously silent. The amphibious trac- tors moved stoically toward the reef. Timeline Page 18 Fire from the Japanese coastal guns were intermittent at first. The deluge of steel from the bombard- ment had shocked and dazed the de- fenders. The amphibious tractors in the first three assault waves therefore managed to lumber over the reef and reach the beach with relatively few casualties. 9:10 a.m.: Second Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment landed. Half an hour later the commanding officer messaged: Heavy opposition. 9:12 a.m.: Second Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment landed. Shortly the commanding officer messaged: Meeting heavy resistance. 9:17 a.m.: Third Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment landed. The com- manding officer messaged, Troops receiving heavy fire in water. Later, after the action opened, the wounded began to move back to the transports. Men risked their lives to swim to their wounded buddies and drag them back to the boats. Many of these became casualties themselves. The first of the landing craft took off for their return to the transports loaded down with the wounded. On this tragic journey, they carried boys who 30 minutes earlier had been among the finest physical specimens in the country. 10:45 a.m.: The commanding offi- cer of the 8th Marine Regiment re- ported: Stiff resistance. Need half tracks. Tanks no good. 11:05 a.m.: The Third Battalion operations reported: Heavy casuali- tie«. 12:03 p.m.: The carrier-based planes roared in. 1:00 p.m.: The bodies of two ma- rines and a Navy doctor were found in a gashed tractor. The shell that killed them also wounded 10 other men. In the blazing sun, Marines and bluejackets removed their steel hel- mets. We are in the presence of the last great enemy, Death. Almost ar echo, strident through the loud- speaker on the bridge, came the re port: The issue is in doubt. 1:45 p.m.: Colonel Shoup receivec this message: Reserve teams unabl to land. Heavy enemy fire. Is then another beach where we can land? 4:11 p.m.: All planes in the ail were ordered to expend every rounc of ammunition before leaving thi area. 4:45 p.m.: The Sixth Marine Regi ment was released. This was all tha was left of the available manpower 5:20 p.m.: General Smith receivec the first fragmentary casualty re ports; they were bad. 10:00 p.m.: Colonel Shouj summed up D-Day in this report tc General Smith Have dug in to hole limited beachhead. Sunday, November 21, 1943 All through the night and into the early morning hours of Novembe 21st, boats held back from the Line ol Departure tried to run the gauntlet tc the beach. Transports were bein converted into hospital ships due tj the mounting casualties. Marines on top of the pier weathered heavy en emy shelling as they struggled tc bring ammunition ashore. The infer no lighting up the shore preventec any chance of secrecy. 2:00 a.m.: Firing from behind was discovered coming from the wreckec hull of a Japanese tramp steamer on the reefs off Beach Red 2. The Task Force promised: Will bomb at day- light. 8:23 a.m.: Colonel Shoup to Gen- eral Smith: Urgently request ration

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Colonel Frank Libutti Leader of 2,400 combat-ready marines! Colonel Frank Libutti is a native of Huntington, Long Island and is a graduate of the Citadel, Class of 1966. He entered the Marine Corps Officer Candidate Program in August 1966 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in October of that year. Following graduation from the Basic School in March 1967, Lieuten- ant Libutti was assigned to duty with 1st. Battalion, 9th Marines in Viet- nam, where he served as an Infantry Platoon Commander. In 1968, Lieutenant Libutti re- turned to Quantico, Virginia for duty at Officer Candidate School (OCS). During his tour at OCS, he served consecutively as the Chief Instructor, Tactics Section; Commanding Offi- cer, Candidate Company; and the Head of the Academic Section. Lieu- tenant Libutti was promoted to Cap- tain in November 1969. Upon com- pletion of his duties at OCS, Captain Libutti attended the Amphibious Warfare School (AWS). In 1972, upon completion of AWS, Captain Libutti was transferred to Amphibious f uyT 1 4 jfM . ■fi Hr ' i: J£s % ' t; m H1 :|k ' , JrHk flrir ■ M.E.U. Page 20 Squadron Three in San Diego, Cali- fornia for duty as the Squadron Com- bat Cargo Officer. Upon completion of a two year tour in San Diego, Cap- tain Libutti was transferred to 1st. Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He served there as an In- fantry Company Commander for 14 months, followed by staff positions at the Battalion Headquarters serving as the Logistics Officer and later as the Operations Officer. Captain Libutti was promoted to the rank of Major in May 1977, and was reassigned as the Executive Offi- cer, Marine Barracks, Naples, Italy through June 1980. In August 1980, Major Libutti at- tended Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia, and upon gradu- ation was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps for duty as the Head of the Career Management Section, Manpower Department. In May 1982, Major Libutti was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and reassigned as the Assis- tant Secretary of the General Staff for the Office of the Assistant Comman- dant Chief of Staff, where he served through May 1983. In June 1983,