U.S. MARINES SCORE VICTORY AT TARAWA
Tarawa, Gilbert Islands • November 23, 1943 On this date in 1943 the first U.S. offensive in the Central Pacific region was declared won after 76 hours of fierce fighting. The 4,800 Japanese defenders (soldiers, marines, and Japanese and Korean construction workers) on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they…