The Prairie Pooch Hole
On February 1, 1944, Kwajalein was the target of the most concentrated bombardment of the Pacific War. Thirty-six thousand shells from naval ships and ground artillery on a nearby islet struck Kwajalein. American B-24 Liberator bombers aerially bombarded the island, adding to the destruction.
Of the 8,782 Japanese personnel deployed to the atoll (including Korean laborers), it has been argued that only 2,200 were combat trained. Despite this likelihood, Japanese resistance was strong and resilient, even given the fact that Japanese troops were outnumbered by tens of thousands of American troops. By the end of the battle, 373 Americans were killed, 7,870 Japanese and Koreans were killed, and an estimated 200 Marshallese were killed.
Kwajalein was one of the few locations in the Pacific war where Islanders were killed while actually fighting for the Japanese. On February 6, 1944, Kwajalein was claimed by the United States and was liberated from Japanese rule. Although some Americans mistakenly claim that Kwajalein was "taken back" by the United States, the Marshall Islands had never been a United States territory prior to the initiation of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands that followed World War II.
http://history.sandiego.edu/cdr2/PATCH/NA/ww2143.jpg
Of the 8,782 Japanese personnel deployed to the atoll (including Korean laborers), it has been argued that only 2,200 were combat trained. Despite this likelihood, Japanese resistance was strong and resilient, even given the fact that Japanese troops were outnumbered by tens of thousands of American troops. By the end of the battle, 373 Americans were killed, 7,870 Japanese and Koreans were killed, and an estimated 200 Marshallese were killed.
Kwajalein was one of the few locations in the Pacific war where Islanders were killed while actually fighting for the Japanese. On February 6, 1944, Kwajalein was claimed by the United States and was liberated from Japanese rule. Although some Americans mistakenly claim that Kwajalein was "taken back" by the United States, the Marshall Islands had never been a United States territory prior to the initiation of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands that followed World War II.
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