When Americans think of iconic Marine Corps battles, names like Iwo Jima, Belleau Wood, and Fallujah often come to mind. But one of the most consequential fights in Marine Corps history — one that permanently shaped amphibious doctrine, battlefield strategy, and public perception of the Marines — unfolded over just 76 brutal hours on a small Pacific island called Betio in the Tarawa Atoll.

On November 20–23, 1943, the United States Marine Corps proved in blood and fire that the U.S. could take the offensive across the Pacific — no matter how fortified the enemy, how unforgiving the terrain, or how costly the assault.

Tarawa was not the largest battle of the war, nor the longest. But few engagements carry such lasting significance.

“A Million Men in a Hundred Years”

Before the first Mar

See Full Page