Chronology of World War II
Saturday, November 20
Bodies of American Soldiers on Tarawa
Sprawled bodies of American soldiers on the beach of Tarawa atoll testify to the ferocity of the battle for this stretch of sand during the US invasion of the Gilbert Islands, in late November 1943. During the 3-day Battle of Tarawa, some 1,000 US Marines died, and another 687 US Navy sailors lost their lives when the USS
Liscome Bay
was sunk by a Japanese torpedo