IN the morning of Aug. 1, 1944, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 2nd U.S. Marine Division’s 8th Regiment engaged the Japanese Imperial Army’s 50th Infantry Regiment on Tinian’s Kastiyu plateau, killing the enemy commander, Col. Keshei Ogata, and repulsing the Japanese banzai attack.
At the end of that day, Tinian was declared secure, but 389 U.S. Marine Corps officers and men were killed and 1,816 were wounded.
Next week, on May 31, 2021, the U.S. Marine Corps and Tinian leadership will pay tribute to the Marines who fought on the island almost 77 years ago by installing a memorial plaque on the Kastiyu plateau.
At the VFW Post 3457 in Garapan on Tuesday, 1st Lt. Zachary Adler of the 7th Engineer Support Battalion based in Camp Pendleton, California thanked the officers and members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3457 for the purchase of the historical plaque, which is made of granite.
“It is phenomenal — thank you very much for your generous donation,” he told the members of VFW Post 3457.
Post Commander Joe McDoulett, for his part, said: “We are happy and proud to support the Marines who are remembering their fallen comrades who perished on Tinian in 1944 during the Battle for Tinian. The Marines came up with this idea for the monument. They asked VFW Post 3457 for financial support. We were more than happy to help. Part of VFW’s mission is to remember our fallen comrades. We thank the Marines for letting us help.”
1st Lt. Zachary Adler of the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, center, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3457 Post Commander Joe McDoulette, third right, hold the memorial plaque in honor of the U.S. Marines who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Tinian. Also in photo are VFW Post Senior Vice Commander Randy Johnson, second left, Quartermaster Mariano Fajardo, second right, Past Post Commander Ed Tudor, right, VFW Post 3457 members Dan Chase, left, and Rob Hazaklett at the VFW Post 3457 HQ in Garapan on Tuesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
