Three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, James enlisted in the Marine Corps, for he wanted to get right into the fight to defend his country. This 20-year old, Texan graduated from boot camp in San Diego and became a Combat Engineer with the 2nd Engineer Battalion (now based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina), the unit with which I served during my last year of military service in 1968. He was promoted very quickly, and in less that 2 years he was a Marine staff sergeant. As is often the case with Marine Engineers, James and his Engineer Platoon were assigned to specifically support the operation of a Marine infantry unit, the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment (1/8), which was to take part in Operation Galvanic, an amphibious assault on and around the tiny, island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Betio was occupied by over 4,500 Japanese soldiers, who had been preparing for the American attack, were willing to die for their emperor to the last man and had been well-supplied with food, water and firepower to do just that. During the early hours of this day in late November 1943, the first part of the battle began, with a 3-hour naval bombardment and an aircraft bombing, which had been prophesized to "obliterate" the island but actually did no such thing, although it did succeed in disrupting enemy communications. The Marine Corps assault force sat patiently in their landing crafts in a lagoon, waiting for the tides to rise enough to allow them to easily sail over the coral reefs and up to the beaches to secure the island. However, the tide did not rise enough for the Higgins boats to get over the reefs, which kept many of the Marines far from their objective and forced them to either swim or wade in the open to the beach. Only the Marine Amtraks (amphibian tractors), which were being used for the first time to transport troops in an amphibious operation, allowed the leading waves of Marines to get past the reefs and onto the beaches, and James was one of those. The citation that later related what he did when he arrived on the beach, reads as follows: "For valorous and gallant conduct above and beyond the call of duty as a member of an Assault Engineer Platoon, of the First Battalion, Eighteenth Marines, tactically attached to the Second Marines, Second Marine Division, in action against the Japanese-held Atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, on November 20, 1943. Landing in the assault waves under withering enemy fire, which killed all but four of the men in his tractor, (James) hurriedly made demolition charges and personally put two pill boxes out of action. Hit by enemy machine-gun fire just as a charge exploded in his hand while assaulting a third position, he courageously remained in action and, although out of demolition, provided himself with a rifle and furnished fire coverage for a group of men scaling the seawall. Disregarding his own serious condition, he unhesitatingly went to the aid of one of his demolition men, wounded and calling for help in the water, rescuing this man and another who had been hit by enemy fire while attempting to make the rescue. Still refusing first aid for himself, he again made up demolition charges and single-handedly assaulted a fourth Japanese machine-gun position but was instantly killed when caught in a final burst of fire from the enemy. (His) great personal valor during a critical phase of securing the limited beachhead was a contributing factor in the ultimate occupation of the island, and his heroic determination reflects the highest credit upon the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country." This Marine Combat Engineer was Staff Sergeant William James Bordelon, and he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He and 946 other Marines died during the 72-hour battle now known as Tarawa, and 2,186 Marines were wounded. The Japanese defenders almost fought to the last man and lost the battle. The December issue of Time magazine reported that "Last week some 2,000 or 3,000 United States Marines, most of them dead or wounded, gave the nation a name to stand beside those of Concord Bridge...the Alamo, Little Big Horn and Belleau Wood. The name was Tarawa."
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 00:20:46 +0000
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