Who we are
We are two individuals who happened to come together because we have a mutual interest in this particular Unit of the U. S. Marines
One of us, Romain, is a French citizen and the other, Philip, is a U. S. citizen.
Clearly we have different backgrounds and even different first languages. We also have different skill sets and specific areas of interest which we will bring to bear in this effort.
Legal Notice
We are not a 'legal entity' in any sense of the word. We are not tax exempt and we are not funded by any outside persons or organizations. We have not solicited any monetary contributions and we have no plans to do so. Should this change in the future, we will give full notice on this site.
One of us, Romain, is a French citizen and the other, Philip, is a U. S. citizen.
Clearly we have different backgrounds and even different first languages. We also have different skill sets and specific areas of interest which we will bring to bear in this effort.
Legal Notice
We are not a 'legal entity' in any sense of the word. We are not tax exempt and we are not funded by any outside persons or organizations. We have not solicited any monetary contributions and we have no plans to do so. Should this change in the future, we will give full notice on this site.
Romain
I graduated from the Université des Pays de la Loire with a Bachelor’s
degree in agriculture and work in a medicinal and aromatic plantfacility 250 km West from Paris, France.
The Pacific war is not very well known in my country; that’s why I decided to learn about it. It’s a wide subject, like all the smaller histories that make up the greater History of Humanity.
So, I concentrated my interest on USMC tanks of WWII.
For almost a year, I have concentrated my efforts on learning more about the first engagement of medium tanks in the Pacific war: the battle for Tarawa.
The few tanks used during this battle and the few days it lasted led me to this choice, thinking that it would be easier to learn about the subject.
But things were not so simple, because much erroneous information has been published in books or on the Internet.
I believe that facts have to be exact, and the true story of this battle documented in a way to honor what these veterans sacrificed for the freedom of the world.
This website has been created in a way to remember and honor the memory of the men and women who fought in this worldwide conflict.
The Pacific war is not very well known in my country; that’s why I decided to learn about it. It’s a wide subject, like all the smaller histories that make up the greater History of Humanity.
So, I concentrated my interest on USMC tanks of WWII.
For almost a year, I have concentrated my efforts on learning more about the first engagement of medium tanks in the Pacific war: the battle for Tarawa.
The few tanks used during this battle and the few days it lasted led me to this choice, thinking that it would be easier to learn about the subject.
But things were not so simple, because much erroneous information has been published in books or on the Internet.
I believe that facts have to be exact, and the true story of this battle documented in a way to honor what these veterans sacrificed for the freedom of the world.
This website has been created in a way to remember and honor the memory of the men and women who fought in this worldwide conflict.
Philip
I am a retired man living in East Tennessee. I became interested in this project because I lost an Uncle, Cpl. Raymond A. Barker, USMCR, in the invasion of Tarawa. That loss heavily impacted my family, and thousands of other families suffered similarly.
Before continuing I must state that I have been remiss in keeping track of this site and in responding to emails etc. Much of this page is outdated and is in serious need of revision. I will correct this situation as soon as possible.
For many years it has been my habit, on Memorial Day, to spend some time contemplating my Uncle's service and to honor him. In 2009, on Memorial Day, I went to the internet to gain some information on the invasion and was stunned to see a picture of his tank, Condor, on the web site Tarawa on the Web with Raymond Barker listed as its driver. No one in my family ever dreamed that such a photo and the included information existed.
Therefore I send great thanks to Tarawa on the Web for being there, as they have been the genesis of my involvement here in this current project.
Romain and I jointly decided to erect this website to honor those who fought there and we are sharing the work involved here. We anticipate that this will be a long term project as we will be adding new materials as our research continues to uncover new information.
Before continuing I must state that I have been remiss in keeping track of this site and in responding to emails etc. Much of this page is outdated and is in serious need of revision. I will correct this situation as soon as possible.
For many years it has been my habit, on Memorial Day, to spend some time contemplating my Uncle's service and to honor him. In 2009, on Memorial Day, I went to the internet to gain some information on the invasion and was stunned to see a picture of his tank, Condor, on the web site Tarawa on the Web with Raymond Barker listed as its driver. No one in my family ever dreamed that such a photo and the included information existed.
Therefore I send great thanks to Tarawa on the Web for being there, as they have been the genesis of my involvement here in this current project.
Romain and I jointly decided to erect this website to honor those who fought there and we are sharing the work involved here. We anticipate that this will be a long term project as we will be adding new materials as our research continues to uncover new information.
Some personal
comments on Tarawa - Philip
Because I lost an Uncle on Tarawa it was occasionally a matter of conversation in my family. Moreover, because I lived with my Uncle’s parents for four years, from 1948 to 1952, I was privy to what they knew of Uncle Ray’s demise. Much of what they ‘knew’ was wrong.
Until I discovered Tarawa on the Web and saw a picture of the tank Condor, With my uncle listed as the driver of that tank, it had been thought that his tank had sunk offshore of Tarawa, and that he had drowned in that tank.
Another account, told to me by his mother, indicated that she had received a letter from one of his unit who said that he was going ashore in a landing boat of some sort and that he had seen an enemy shell hit that boat and blow it to hell. Both of those accounts may be wrong. (Depending on the veracity of various sources; many undocumented)
From this personal experience, I must say that many other families of veterans are basically in the same condition as my Grandparents were. They really did not know how their loved ones were lost, or what sort of actions they accomplished in the service of their Country.
True, Cpl. Raymond A. Barker is listed as the driver of the tank Condor on Tarawa on the Web, but the source of that information is unknown so it might or might not be accurate. There is a discrepancy, in that one of our family contributors (Dan) shows another of his crew members, Pvt. Joe D. Woolum, associated with the crew of another tank.
Many questions remain unanswered and the whole truth will probably never be uncovered, but we hope to be able to answer some of them. If more families of the veterans can be contacted, it might assist in sorting out some of the details.
Also, unbelievable as it may sound, we have still not been able to locate a 100% accurate (indisputable) roster of the members of Company C who actually landed at Tarawa! There was certainly an accurate roster of men at the time, but is it still in existence?
Romain has located a roster (which is published here) but according to Col. Bale it is not accurate and it contains too many names. Col. Bale recalls 138 as the number of men in his company vs. the 158 names on our roster. We look forward to getting a copy of the roster which Col. Bale has.
I would like to put forward another question that I have not seen addressed, especially and specifically as it applies to Company C on Tarawa. The question is this:
“Exactly when, (time of day) and how was a daily roll call accomplished?”
I am asking this question because my Uncle, Cpl. Raymond Barker is officially listed as Missing in Action on 20 November, 1943, the first day of the invasion. We know that the conditions on that day were hideous, and that there was a lot of confusion because of that. We also believe (not know) that Cpl. Barker was the driver of the tank Condor.
OK, now, what do we know about the fate of the tank Condor? We have two photographs of it, taken (shortly?) after the action had largely ceased. Evidence of the time frame exists because one of the photos clearly shows a dead Marine alongside the tank; in other words, before there was a chance for the Marines to collect and bury their dead (which they did). We also see, in one photo, that the machine gun had been removed from the tank and that the crews had been trained to remove that gun if the tank was disabled. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that one of the tanks crew members had removed the machine gun when it (the tank) became disabled.
The above information is about all we currently have. So the question now becomes: “How and why was my Uncle MIA instead of KIA?” Clearly there are several possible answers to that question.
Perhaps he was not in the tank when it landed.
Perhaps he left the tank when it became disabled and his remains were not identifiable.
Perhaps he was driving another tank (when it sank, as some did) and he was lost at sea.
Perhaps he missed the roll call and actually perished sometime later.
There are other possibilities of course and I would like to know exactly what happened to him on that fateful day. I am not alone in this as many other families of veterans would also like to know more about their loved ones.
Each and every bit of information we receive will assist in answering the questions above and might possibly help to fill in the complete history of that unit in that conflict.
Because I lost an Uncle on Tarawa it was occasionally a matter of conversation in my family. Moreover, because I lived with my Uncle’s parents for four years, from 1948 to 1952, I was privy to what they knew of Uncle Ray’s demise. Much of what they ‘knew’ was wrong.
Until I discovered Tarawa on the Web and saw a picture of the tank Condor, With my uncle listed as the driver of that tank, it had been thought that his tank had sunk offshore of Tarawa, and that he had drowned in that tank.
Another account, told to me by his mother, indicated that she had received a letter from one of his unit who said that he was going ashore in a landing boat of some sort and that he had seen an enemy shell hit that boat and blow it to hell. Both of those accounts may be wrong. (Depending on the veracity of various sources; many undocumented)
From this personal experience, I must say that many other families of veterans are basically in the same condition as my Grandparents were. They really did not know how their loved ones were lost, or what sort of actions they accomplished in the service of their Country.
True, Cpl. Raymond A. Barker is listed as the driver of the tank Condor on Tarawa on the Web, but the source of that information is unknown so it might or might not be accurate. There is a discrepancy, in that one of our family contributors (Dan) shows another of his crew members, Pvt. Joe D. Woolum, associated with the crew of another tank.
Many questions remain unanswered and the whole truth will probably never be uncovered, but we hope to be able to answer some of them. If more families of the veterans can be contacted, it might assist in sorting out some of the details.
Also, unbelievable as it may sound, we have still not been able to locate a 100% accurate (indisputable) roster of the members of Company C who actually landed at Tarawa! There was certainly an accurate roster of men at the time, but is it still in existence?
Romain has located a roster (which is published here) but according to Col. Bale it is not accurate and it contains too many names. Col. Bale recalls 138 as the number of men in his company vs. the 158 names on our roster. We look forward to getting a copy of the roster which Col. Bale has.
I would like to put forward another question that I have not seen addressed, especially and specifically as it applies to Company C on Tarawa. The question is this:
“Exactly when, (time of day) and how was a daily roll call accomplished?”
I am asking this question because my Uncle, Cpl. Raymond Barker is officially listed as Missing in Action on 20 November, 1943, the first day of the invasion. We know that the conditions on that day were hideous, and that there was a lot of confusion because of that. We also believe (not know) that Cpl. Barker was the driver of the tank Condor.
OK, now, what do we know about the fate of the tank Condor? We have two photographs of it, taken (shortly?) after the action had largely ceased. Evidence of the time frame exists because one of the photos clearly shows a dead Marine alongside the tank; in other words, before there was a chance for the Marines to collect and bury their dead (which they did). We also see, in one photo, that the machine gun had been removed from the tank and that the crews had been trained to remove that gun if the tank was disabled. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that one of the tanks crew members had removed the machine gun when it (the tank) became disabled.
The above information is about all we currently have. So the question now becomes: “How and why was my Uncle MIA instead of KIA?” Clearly there are several possible answers to that question.
Perhaps he was not in the tank when it landed.
Perhaps he left the tank when it became disabled and his remains were not identifiable.
Perhaps he was driving another tank (when it sank, as some did) and he was lost at sea.
Perhaps he missed the roll call and actually perished sometime later.
There are other possibilities of course and I would like to know exactly what happened to him on that fateful day. I am not alone in this as many other families of veterans would also like to know more about their loved ones.
Each and every bit of information we receive will assist in answering the questions above and might possibly help to fill in the complete history of that unit in that conflict.
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