Pvt. Joe D. Woolum, #477082
Gunner, 3rd Platoon, C Company, 1st Corps Medium Tank Battalion.
Joe D. Woolum on Okinawa, 1945, with an unknown friend. Photo provided by Mr. Woolum.
I (Phil) spoke at length with Joe on two separate dates. He is now the only living veteran of the crew of Condor. What follows then is his personal account of the actions of he and his tank during the invasion.
While still aboard the Ashland (the ship that transported them to Tarawa) the tank crews were shown reconnaissance photos of Tarawa both before and after the bombardment which was done before the actual invasion began. Because of the intensity of the bombardment on such a small island, it was believed that any possible Japanese resistance to an invasion must surely have been neutralized and that only light resistance should be expected.
The tank crews, at least those who were to land on Red Beach 3, were ordered to drive across the island, take out any small pockets of resistance, and then return to the beach. This proved to be impossible.
As Condor progressed across the island she was taking hits from enemy guns and Joe said those hits would shake the tank and fill it with sparks. Joe said he got off maybe 15 rounds from his 75mm gun but that he was forced to guess where to shoot because he was unable to positively identify any defined target. He said that he shot where he believed the enemy rounds were coming from. The tank kept on running though until the driver, Cpl. Barker, reported his instruments said they were on fire. It was a false alarm but that was not known at the time. When tank commander, Sgt. Shook, heard this he ordered everyone out of the tank.
While still aboard the Ashland (the ship that transported them to Tarawa) the tank crews were shown reconnaissance photos of Tarawa both before and after the bombardment which was done before the actual invasion began. Because of the intensity of the bombardment on such a small island, it was believed that any possible Japanese resistance to an invasion must surely have been neutralized and that only light resistance should be expected.
The tank crews, at least those who were to land on Red Beach 3, were ordered to drive across the island, take out any small pockets of resistance, and then return to the beach. This proved to be impossible.
As Condor progressed across the island she was taking hits from enemy guns and Joe said those hits would shake the tank and fill it with sparks. Joe said he got off maybe 15 rounds from his 75mm gun but that he was forced to guess where to shoot because he was unable to positively identify any defined target. He said that he shot where he believed the enemy rounds were coming from. The tank kept on running though until the driver, Cpl. Barker, reported his instruments said they were on fire. It was a false alarm but that was not known at the time. When tank commander, Sgt. Shook, heard this he ordered everyone out of the tank.
Excerpt from a video interview by Ed Gilbert and Romain Cansière. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
Joe Woolum and Romain Cansière, July 2013. Photo: Oscar Gilbert
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Joe telling Romain about his Tarawa's experience using a large scale map of Betio. July 2013. Photo: Oscar Gilbert
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After the war, veterans organized reunion. L to R: Joe Woolum, Holliday (post Tarawa replacement), Marn and McNorton. Courtesy of Joe Woolum.
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