(above) 2nd Plt, Co M 3/8, New Zealand prior to shoving off for Tarawa— 1943. In the back row 3rd from right is Francis O'Brien from New York City. He served with the 8th Marines at Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and on Okinawa.
Courtesy Mr. O'Brien's son, James

I received the following information from Jim O'Brien in an e-mail message:

Yes, [dad] was at Tarawa. 3/8 went into Red Beach 3 at 1100 hours. They took a beating going in.  Basically, they had to swim or wade the reef, about 800 yards under enemy fire. Some Marines were able to wade, but were cut down by enemy fire, or stepped into shell holes in the coral reef.  Some were dropped off short of the reef, into deep water.  There is a painting that illustrates that very location in the battle.  It is also in the 2nd MARDIV history "Follow Me!" 

I never heard about the war, when I was growing up. Like most combat vets, he never spoke about it. I found out about Tarawa from an older cousin. Then I did some reading. Only in recent years, has my dad spoken a bit about it.  The only thing he told me was that he went in deep water, had to ditch his gear, and another Marine pulled him up and said we'd better head toward that pier. When they made it to the beach, there was plenty of gear available.  Then, they got back in the machine gun business.
 
I remember seeing a citation for the Navy Commendation Medal that he was awarded. I recall from that the following: he was a machine gunner at Tarawa, a [squad] leader at Saipan and Tinian, and a [section] leader at Okinawa. A line in the citation read about "coolness under fire".    When I think about it, that sums it up about the guy. He always was quiet, capable and able to deal with any situation at hand.
 
By war's end, he was doing a platoon sergeant's job as a buck Sergeant. After the war, he married, raised six children and was a New York City Policeman for 32 years.
 

Cpl James Gallagher, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Originally from New Jersey, he was an Old China Hand who enlisted in 1936. He served with the 6th Marines during its 1937-1938 deployment to China with the 2nd Marine Brigade. Cpl Gallagher was honorably discharged in 1939 and later volunteered for service in the Marine Corps during World War II.

After the war, Cpl Gallagher spent many years in the aerospace industry and retired in 1981. He was an avid golfer and was active in the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the China Marines Association. Survived by several generations of family members, Cpl Gallagher passed away in Janaury, 2006. Photos and information courtesy of Marine veteran Thomas Cullen

I received the following information from Sgt Vaughan's son, Mike, in an e-mail message:

The vacant lots in our Chicago neighborhood were the scene of many WW ll re-enactments from Tarawa to Normandy. So as not to be outdone by my pals' fathers' heroics, I would badger dad to reveal how he won the war in the Pacific. He had a terrific sense of humor and he generally steered the stories to self-deprecating tales of life in the Corps. He had some especially funny stories of rehab in Oregon. I remember him struggling to explain the multiple concepts of rehab: mental and physical health. He finally said something like, "We weren't quite ready to be around regular folks,"and, " We sort of needed to calm down ". He would then tell how the Corps would schedule horseback riding: " Stick us on horses, half of us had never seen a horse, fire a pistol, the horses would bolt and run like hell. They would keep repeating this for a couple of hours and later in the showers, guys that didn't fall off their horses would be shielding their now raw thighs from the hot water". He had a similar story about snow skiing. Use your imagination. He would laugh and say,"We were safer on the "canal".

When I first saw dads uniform, and saw that he was a sergeant, I figured on a great "Audie Murphy" type tale. What I got was, " It was just a field promotion and I happened to be standing there...think about what has to happen that we need a new Sergeant." He was a bit short with me, not angry, just dismissive. I was in high school before we ever really talked about the war. Even then he never got too specific. My mother told me that during their first five years of marriage he had frequent nightmares and even a relapse of malaria.

We used to watch the Gillette Friday night fights together. After the bouts one night, a movie came on called the D.I. with Jack Webb as the drill instructor. He let me stay up to watch it because, "Except for the swearing, this is pretty close." As you know, the Marines did not draft until late in the war. At least that is what dad said. I mention this because dad said, "If we heard this once we heard it 1000 times: WE DIDN'T ASK YOU TO BECOME A MARINE....YOU ASKED US."
Speaking of movies, as much as I enjoyed The Pacific, and the overdue attention the Pacific Theatre received, I don't think my father could have watched it. That goes for Saving Private Ryan also. Even with the passage of time, I think it would be too graphic.