"The fire from a burning pile of rubble reached 6 Jap bodies. They sizzled and popped as the flames consumed the flesh and gases. After 76 hours of brutal combat, nearly each of the Japanese had been killed in action and most of those who were not, committed suicide. The island of Tarawa, which was less than one square mile, was littered with 6000 bodies. They were blown to a hundred pieces, a hand here, a head there, a foot further away.
When footage of the battle reached Washington with the purpose of turning it into a documentary, the pictures were deemed far too graphic to meet the standards set by Hollywood producers and distributors. It was up to the President to make a decision.
When he asked for my counsel, I told him the truth. Our soldiers on the front wanted people back home to know that they don't knock the hell out of them every day of every battle. They wanted people to understand the war is a horrible nasty business and to say otherwise, was to do a disservice to those who died." - TIME Magazine War correspondent Robert Sherrod, Nov. 1943
The footage was eventually released, winning the award for best documentary of the year and it only motivated the American people more to fight even harder and win. #ww2 #reality #tarawa #marines #zerofoxtrot #stayzero