"Bloody, Bloody Tarawa"-- Part 5: U.S. Public Shocked By Motion Picture

According to Annette Amerman, the Battle of Tarawa gets its notorious reputation because it was the first Marine Corps battle to be captured on motion picture -- something that was frequently seen in later battles and wars.

"Americans saw dead Marines in the beach of Tarawa, and it was very shocking to them," Amerman said.    "Everyone had already heard the term 'war is hell,' but they saw it first hand thanks to that film.

Indeed, the Navy and Marine Corps suffered very many casualties during this short battle.  Some 1,085 men were killed and 2,292 wounded in action.  Even more shocking is that those numbers are our of only 5,600 Americans in the battle.

--GreGen