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Graves of U.S. Marines who died taking Tarawa, before headstones were prepared. In background are the first tents put up after occupation of the island. (NARA)

Strategically, the victory at Tarawa opened the way to the Marshall Islands. Tactically, it established the amphibious assault as the method used thereafter to defeat Japan in the Pacific campaign.

Tarawa was the first major amphibious assault in the Pacific in which U.S. troops faced sustained opposition on the beach. The American people were deeply disturbed by reports of high casualties suffered by the 2nd Marine Division (1,027 dead, 88 missing and 2,292 wounded). The high casualties were the cost of making a direct assault against a determined, well-armed and deeply fortified enemy. Inadequate preliminary bombardment, communications problems and inexperienced boat handlers who missed their landing destinations played a part.

The Navy-Marine Corps team learned much from Tarawa and quickly applied this experience in seizing and defending atolls throughout the Central Pacific. Among the lessons learned at Tarawa were the need for naval gunfire of greater duration and accuracy, coordinated close air support, more LVTs and improved battle communications.

Pearl Harbor hero lost at TarawaMessman 2nd Class Doris Miller, a black mess attend-ant serving on board the battleship West Virginia at the outbreak of the war with Japan, was one of the Navys first World War II heroes.

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, West Virginia was moored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. The ship was bombed and torpedoed, and finally sunk. Miller came up from the mess deck to take his battle station on the signal bridge. Helping to move the injured, he found and carried his mortally wounded captain, Mervyn S. Bennion, to relative safety. Seeing an unmanned .50-caliber machine gun, Dorie, who had had no training in the guns operation, shot down at least two enemy planes.

For his courageous actions at Pearl Harbor, Miller received the Navy Cross, the Navys second highest award, from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet. He also was meritoriously promoted one grade, to messman 1st class.

Miller, still a mess steward, was assigned to the escort carrier Liscome Bay during the U.S. campaign to take the Gilbert Islands. During the Battle of Tarawa, Nov. 20-23, 1943, the Liscome Bay was sunk by enemy torpedoes, with a loss of 646 lives. Miller was among those lost.

As a mess attendant, Miller served in the only Navy rate open to blacks at the beginning of World War II--that of steward. (A steward served food and cleared tables.) This was in contrast to World War I, when blacks were eligible for all ratings.

Research for this fact sheet was provided by Alexander Molnar, U.S. Marine Corps/U.S. Army (Ret.).

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