AFTER 60 YEARS

In World War II the First Armored Amphibian Battalion made their initial entrance into the war on January 31st, 1944 with the conquest of Roi-Namur islands of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. For the majority of Marines in the First Armored this was their first battle but there were some in the battalion who were battle veterans.The complete history of the First Armored Amphibian Battalion in this conquest is recorded in their book, Hitting The Beaches, where many Marines make a contribution of their varied experiences.

The attack on the Marshall Islands has many different aspects of interest. This was the first American attack on prewar held lands of the Japanese in World War II as the Marshall Islands were entrusted to Japan by the League of Nations after World War I. This was the first usage of the armored amphibian tanks in battle. The Marshall Islands is the largest group of atolls in the world, which made spontaneous attacks in the Kwajalein Atoll on several different islands necessary. The First Armored was attached to the Fourth Marine Division but divided into different units under command of the Fourth Division infantry units to which they were attached. This separation of the First Armored companies to different infantry units made for many different personal experiences as noted in the First Armored's book.

Today the Marshal Islands after almost four decades under US administration attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. They are a free and independent people - population 56,429. The Marshall Islands have been home to the US Army Base Kwajalein (USAKA) since 1964. The US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy having compensated the islands in the Nuclear Claims Tribunal 100 million dollars for nuclear testing during the 1950s with other claims pending. In 1987 The Fourth Marine Division Association placed a plaque to commemorate the sacrifice of lives of the Fourth Marine Division and supportive units during the invasion of the Kwajalein Atoll. Evidence of the invasion is still present in appearance of old Japanese bunkers and there is a plaque noting the names of those that gave their lives.

The Marshall Islands sixty years after the 1944 invasion of Kawajalein Atoll consist of two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands with 33 municipalities. This group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean are about one-half the way from Hawaii to Australia.

Recently we received an email from Neil Schwanitz who lives and works on the island of Roi-Namur with recent photos he took of what seems to be an LVTA-1 resting in 115 feet of water south of Roi-Namur near Mellu Pass. He writes: "The exact history is not known of this tank. It is stripped down and logically it was dumped in the lagoon as were many other pieces of WWII hardware, including planes, vehicles and parts which were no longer needed." (click to view larger image)