#OTD in 1943, the Battle of Tarawa began. This scene from the Academy Award winning documentary "With the Marines at Tarawa" of @Marines firing on Japanese soldiers in the open is believed to be the only combat footage that captures American and Japanese individuals in the same frame | U.S. Naval Institute

On Nov. 20, 1943, U.S. Marines and sailors with the 2nd Marine Division commenced the Battle of Tarawa, a major offensive during #WWII. The ensuing 76-hour fight saw unprecedented bloodshed for both U.S. and Japanese forces. The U.S. emerged victorious, however, and would eventually defeat the Japanese in the Pacific in August 1945. | U.S. Department of War

And the Oscar goes to...the Marine Corps! See the film that won the U.S. Marine Corps their own Oscar at the 1945 Academy Awards. “With the Marines at Tarawa” won in the category of best short film documentary. It depicts the battle between the Marines and the Japanese for control of the island of Tarawa during World War II. The "With the Marines at Tarawa" Oscar is on display in our WWII Gallery. Stop by soon to see it! | National Museum of the Marine Corps