Washing-Machine Charlie
The day had ended with a suddenness as the sun seemed to quickly fade into night. No guard perimeters had been set, at least not in his area. Each man attended to his own comfort and safety. Taking advantage of an already prepared foxhole, the Kid laid his gear well within reach. He removed neither his helmet nor shoes, knowing it might be necessary to make a hasty exit, which did not happen. What did happen was the arrival of their ol' adversary, Washing-Machine Charlie, who'd followed the Marines from Guadalcanal to make his appearance over Tarawa (Nov. 1943) , much to their chagrin.
He came in low, daring Marines to open fire. He made one pass down the center of the island, strafing the ground. The Kid was apprehensive, yet glad to have the foxhole for protection; hugging its insides was what he did best. The plane's tracers lit up the area close by, but no one was hurt on that run.
The next morning, (D + 3) after a K-ration breakfast, and having no immediate assignment, he continued snooping around Tarawa. The airstrip at its center was the required land to take and so they did, but with awful consequences. The dead still lay on the field of battle where they'd fallen in their do-or-die effort to take Tarawa's airstrip. One of the Kid's friends was found out in the sun where he'd fallen. The tropical sun is not gentle on a live body; what it does to a corpse is not to be witnessed. His pal's corpse was hardly recognizable.
The atoll's immediate landing zones were secured in the first two days of fighting. The third day found the Marines still engaged with the enemy on Tarawa's southwestern end as well as the east-central area. The block houses on the southwestern end were formidable and required heavy attacks by tanks and demolition Marines. They brought heavy fire from naval guns on the destroyers, which came in as close as possible to the beach to pour fire into the huge bunkers. The Marines marched up the beach, destroying each fortification as they came to it. Walking behind the tanks as they forged ahead, the troops did an admirable job of cleaning out the resisting Japs, but not without losses.
The Kid was not part of this contingency as he remained with his company, which was being used for ongoing mop-up sweeps. Half-tracks were still in demand, blasting gun emplacements still active with enemy fire. Most of Regimental Weapons' gun crews were acting as infantry now as their .37-mm guns were no match for the heavy pillbox fortifications. The war from that time on was a matter of digging out the enemy from his forts and killing them if they did not surrender, which few did. Japanese troops were more inclined to commit suicide, which they did in significant numbers.
After Tarawa
Needless to say, the battle of Tarawa was more far-reaching than can be told in one small recounting of a lone Marine's experiences in the conflict. There are reams of copy written by numerous corespondents, which were eventually committed to books. Tales told of individual Marine heroism are in themselves astounding. The officers and men who fought the battle will go down in history for fighting one of the fiercest campaigns in the history of the South Pacific, perhaps of the entire war.
The Kid was ordered back to the ship on the afternoon of the fourth day. The major part of the battle for Tarawa was over and mopping up of small pockets of resistance was going as planned. Some of the company were left ashore as part of security forces and such. They helped with the cleaning up of the casualties and the squaring away of company gear that was to be removed from Tarawa. The Crescent City and other vessels loaded their contingents back aboard and set sail for Hawaii.
The scene aboard ship was one to remember. Marines came aboard after four days ashore amid the grime of a bloody battlefield. They were stained and grimy, starved for food and drink, and very tired. They stood at the mess tables, scarfing down all they could hold of everything the Navy put forth. Coffee and milk by the gallons! Marines ate the place empty, and the after-battle scenes were printed in one of the magazines.
The company had stood the test and came away with few losses. The men and officers performed well under combat conditions, holding their own. The half-tracks did a fine job of blasting the enemy out of his strongholds of well- constructed positions. The experience toughened the Marines, making them more combat-ready for the next campaign. Tarawa was behind them!
