The Battle of Tarawa was fought for 76 hours between Nov. 20 and 23, 1943. What follows is a selection of photographs from the fighting, as captured by American photographers.

They knew that the most concentrated bombing and shelling in history would precede their landing: almost 1,000 tons of aerial bombs, plus 1.500 tons of shellfire, on Betio’s crowded, scant ...

PFC LeBert served with valor in some of the most harrowing battles of the Pacific Campaign during WWII. His journey as a U.S.

The lessons of Tarawa were written into bills authorizing more landing craft, which were rushed through Congress last week. The Navy's landing-craft program now totals 80,000, from the huge (450 ...

The Tarawa landing on Nov. 20, 1943, turned into a fiasco because of a lower-than-expected tide, heavy enemy fire and sparse U.S. naval gun support. Norm Hatch/U.S. Marine Corps ...

Siwash the Duck during the Battle of Tarawa. (USMC) On Nov. 20, 1943, 18,000 Marines were met with withering fire, poured out by elite troops of the Imperial Navy’s Special Naval Landing Force.