_MajGen Julian C. Smith, USMC, right, commanding general, 2d Marine
Division, escorts MajGen Holland M. Smith, USMC, commander, V
Amphibious Corps, on Betio._]
The epic battle of Tarawa was the pinnacle of Julian Smith’s life and
career. Smith was 58 and had been a Marine Corps officer for 34 years
at the time of Operation Galvanic. He was born in Elkton, Maryland, and
graduated from the University of Delaware. Overseas service included
expeditionary tours in Panama, Mexico, Haiti, Santo Domingo, Cuba, and
Nicaragua. He graduated from the Naval War College in 1917 and, as did
many other frustrated Marine officers, spent the duration of World War
I in Quantico. As were shipmates Colonel Merritt A. Edson and Major
Henry P. Crowe, Smith was a distinguished marksman and former rifle
team coach. Command experience in the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) was
limited. He commanded the 5th Marines in 1938, and he was commanding
officer of the FMF Training School at New River until being ordered to
the 2d Marine Division in May 1943.
Smith’s contemporaries had a high respect for him. Although unassuming
and self-effacing, “there was nothing wrong with his fighting heart.”
Lieutenant Colonel Ray Murray, one of his battalion commanders,
described him as “a fine old gentleman of high moral fiber; you’d fight
for him.” Smith’s troops perceived that their commanding general had a
genuine love for them.
Julian Smith knew what to expect from the neap tides at Betio. “I’m
an old railbird shooter up on the marshes of the Chesapeake Bay,” he
said, “You push over the marshes at high tide, and when you have a neap
tide, you can’t get over the marshes.” His landing boats were similarly
restricted as they went in toward Tarawa.
Smith was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for Tarawa to go
with the Navy Cross he received for heroic acts in Nicaragua a decade
earlier. The balance of his career was unremarkable. He retired as a
lieutenant general in 1946, and he died in 1975, age 90. To the end of
his life he valued his experience at Betio. As he communicated to the
officers and men of the division after the battle: “It will always be a
source of supreme satisfaction and pride to be able to say, ‘I was with
the 2d Marine Division at Tarawa.’”
]
[Sidebar (page 7): The Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces
Tarawa was the first large-scale encounter between U.S. Marines and
the Japanese _Special Naval Landing Forces_. The division intelligence
staff had forewarned that “naval units of this type are usually more
highly trained and have a greater tenacity and fighting spirit than
the average Japanese Army unit,” but the Marines were surprised at the
ferocity of the defenders on Betio.
[Illustration: _Japanese on Betio conduct field firing exercises before
the battle. The film from which this picture was developed came from a
Japanese camera captured during the assault._
Photo courtesy of 2d Marine Division Association
]
The Japanese “Imperial Marines” earned the grudging respect of their
American counterparts for their esprit, discipline, marksmanship,
proficiency with heavy weapons, small-unit leadership, manifest
bravery, and a stoic willingness to die to the last man. Major
William K. Jones, whose 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, engaged more of
the enemy in hand-to-hand combat on Betio than any other unit, said
“these [defenders] were pretty tough, and they were big, six-foot, the
biggest Japs that I ever saw.” Major Lawrence C. Hays reported that
“their equipment was excellent and there was plenty of surplus found,
including large amounts of ammo.”
The Japanese used _Special Naval Landing Forces_ frequently in the
early years of the war. In December 1941, a force of 5,000 landed
on Guam, and another unit of 450 assaulted Wake Island. A small
detachment of 113 men was the first Japanese reinforcing unit to land
on Guadalcanal, 10 days after the American landing. A 350-man SNLF
detachment provided fierce resistance to the 1st Marine Division
landings on Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo early in the Guadalcanal
campaign. A typical SNLF unit in a defensive role was commanded by
a navy captain and consisted of three rifle companies augmented by
antiaircraft, coast defense, antiboat, and field artillery units of
several batteries each, plus service and labor troops.
[Illustration: