We planned to stop at Kiribati to break up our long passage from the Marshall Islands to Fiji. Imagine our surprise when we learned the the most catastrophic loss of life and the bloodiest battle of WWII took place at Tarawa, Kiribati.
WWII Relics and Remnants
We first discovered heaps of WWII remnants in Maloelap and Wotje in the Marshall Islands. It was fascinating, frightening, and intriguing all at the same time.
As we arrived Kiribati, we learned that the most deadliest WWII battle took place in this very atoll.
A Little History on Kiribati
The Gilbert group of islands host a number of World War II historical sites. Tarawa, Butaritari, Abemama (also the ocean island of Banaba) were invaded by the Japanese in 1941, just after they bombed Pearl Harbour. Afterward, the Japanese fortified the atolls,
In 1942 and 1943 US Marines conducted a number of large scale raids to remove the Japanese presence. The Battle of Tarawa is reputedly one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. During the 76 hour fight, casualties on the invading side rose up to over one thousand (of 18,000 men). The Japanese had only 17 survivors and lost over 4,500 soldiers.
The island was heavily fortified by the Japanese and secured by 4,500 soldiers besides machine guns, pillboxes dug in heavy concrete (100 of them), a long trench system, airstrip, seawalls, antiaircraft guns, light tanks, heavy machine guns, a natural coral reef, barbed wire and mines. According to Admiral Keiji Shibasaki, USA couldn´t take the atoll even with a million men in one hundred years.
Some of the kids we met on our WWII tour along with our tour guide Molly Brown (+686.7300.1016).
The Battle
By November 19th, 1943, US troops had arrived nearby the atoll. The plan was ready, and the ships carried 18,000 marines to take on the tiny island with only 4,500 Japanese soldiers. US plan was to bombard the island heavily and then move on with special vehicles that could go on into the water and come out to the sand moving through tight reefs with no effort. These cutting-edge vehicles for the time were called amphtracks and carried 20 soldiers behind machine guns.
The morning of the 20th was the first battle day of the invasion. The tide was lower than expected and the result was disastrous for US troops because they were stuck with the water to the chest and had to leave their vehicles far from the beach advancing on foot under heavy enemy fire. The attack suffered a number of problems and finally, securing the island was one of the most complicated missions US troops had during the entire war.
Photos courtesy of Visit Kiribati’s Blog
Today, relics of the battles and forts can be visited as a living museum of this part of history. This is what was left behind:
- Coastal Defense Guns (48″)
- Solid concrete bungers and pillboxes
- Tanks, amtracs, ship wrecks and plane wrecks
Walking through WWII history
Today, relics of the battles and forts can be visited as a living museum of this part of history.
We only had 2 days in Kiribati so we were not able to unearth all of the relics. However, we did take a tour with a local, Molly Brown. Her grandfather and uncle were alive during the war.
On the northern end of Tarawa and we found (4) bunkers amongst the locals yards and cemeteries. There are bunkers all over the little island.
These bunkers were on the beach. You could creep inside but it was full of bugs, spider webs, and trash.
I love this shot. It has a bunker in the foreground and two coastal defense guns in the background.
We came across several structures that were either ammunition depots or some other massive storage facilities.
This is the Commander’s bunk. As you can see, it was heavily attacked. Yet, it is still standing.
This pillbox (top) was dug up from the sand. The bottom right is a storage unit from WWI (1905). Bottom left is an ammunition storage area.
War Memorials
We found several memorials dedicated to the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives during this battle. British memorial below.
This U.S. memorial dedicated to the marines and navy troops.
The Japanese and Korean Monument.
Weapons, Tanks, and Guns
Our tour guide, Molly Brown took us to the Police station because they have two live shells stored.
Strangely enough they had lots of tanks on Kiribati. Children play on these dilapidated tanks.
At a playground we found two guns and a war memorial from New Zealand.
More weapons.
Pieces of turrets, coastal defense guns, and other weaponry.
Interesting sites on Kiribati:
- WWII Tours: www.kiribatitourism.gov.ki/kiribati-experiences/world-war-ii/
- WWII Relics: www.visit-kiribati.com/exploring-kiribati/historical-relics-every-vacationer-need-to-see/
Sugar Shack’s WWII Findings in the Marshall Islands
We had the opportunity to discover and explore many WWII relics while in the Marshall Islands.
- Maloelap WWII Relics Part I: https://www.svsugarshack.com/2025/01/maloelap-wwii-remnants-part-i/
- Maloelap WWII Relics Part II: https://www.svsugarshack.com/2025/01/maloelaps-wwii-remnants-part-ii/
- WWII Remnants of Wotje Part I: https://www.svsugarshack.com/2025/01/wwii-remnants-on-wotje-part-i/
- WWII Remnants of Wotje Part II: https://www.svsugarshack.com/2025/01/wwii-remnants-on-wotje-part-ii/
Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.
We visited Kiribati around 4/11-4/13 2025. Be sure to read about our passage to Kiribati.
