JOIN TODAY
JOIN TODAY

Team Searches for Americans Lost in the Battle Of Tarawa

News January 13, 2014

(Courtesy Garth Baldwin)
SHARE:

Tarawa World WarII
(Courtesy Garth Baldwin)
TARAWA, REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI—Archaeologist Garth Baldwin and History Flight, a nonprofit organization, have found human remains, ammunition, ID bracelets, a canteen, a pocket knife, and dog tags from the American Marines and sailors that were killed during World War II in the Gilbert Islands, at the time a strategically important British protectorate that had been captured by Japanese forces. In 1943, some 35,000 American troops and 100 warships were sent to attack the heavily fortified coral atoll surrounded by shallow water. After 76 hours of fighting, some 6,000 people were buried in shallow graves, many of which were identified by American excavation teams after the war. Baldwin and his team are looking for the nearly 500 Americans who remain missing. The remains of Japanese soldiers are handed over to the Japanese government.

Recommended Articles

Off the Grid September/October 2012

Aquincum, Hungary

Read Article
(Courtesy Aquincum Museum)

Off the Grid July/August 2012

Pucará de Tilcara, Argentina

Read Article
(Niels Elgaard Larsen/Wikimedia Commons)

Ancient DNA Revolution September/October 2024

Ancestors of the Blackfoot

North American High Plains

Read Article
Members of the Siksika First Nation, 1913
Library of Congress

Ancient DNA Revolution September/October 2024

A Stranger in a Strange Land

Cambridgeshire, England

Read Article
Relief depicting Roman and Sarmatian battle
PA Media Pte Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo

More to Discover

Features November/December 2013

Ancient Tattoos

Read Article

  • Features November/December 2013

    Life on the Inside

    Open for only six weeks toward the end of the Civil War, Camp Lawton preserves a record of wartime prison life

    Read Article
    (Virginia Historical Society, Mss5.1.Sn237.1v.6p.139)

  • Features November/December 2013

    Vengeance on the Vikings

    Mass burials in England attest to a turbulent time, and perhaps a notorious medieval massacre

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Thames Valley Archaeological Services)

  • Letter from Bangladesh November/December 2013

    A Family's Passion

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Reema Islam)

  • Artifacts November/December 2013

    Moche Ceremonial Shield

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Lisa Trever, University of California, Berkeley)