THE GREEN BEACH LVT MYSTERY THOUGHTS and CONCLUSIONS The Battle of Tarawa began on November 20, 1943. The military code name “Green Beach” designates the beach that runs north and south along the entire west end of Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll. Between November 21st and 22nd two LVT(1)s and one LVT(2) attempted to land on the southern half of Green Beach. One of the LVT(1)s landed safely on the beach, but the other two hit Japanese boat-mines before landing and while still in the water. (Click here to see maps and photographs.) The LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) is able to travel on both land and water. At Tarawa there were two types: the LVT(1) “Alligator” and the LVT(2) “Water Buffalo.” All 75 of the LVT(1)s arrived at Tarawa aboard ships from New Zealand. All 50 of the newer LVT(2)s arrived aboard three LSTs which sailed directly from Samoa. A total of 125 LVTs were used. LST 34, LST 242 and LST 243 from Samoa also contained the only marines who had been trained in the operation and maintenance of the new LVT(2)s. The ships arriving from New Zealand contained marines who had only been trained in LVT(1)s. We know that about 13 or more men (identified and unidentified) were killed aboard the two LVTs that struck mines. What we don’t know is which LVT some of the men were aboard when killed. There are conflicting accounts, both military and civilian. These conflicts seem to center around two marines: Captain Thomas B. Royster and Corporal Lambert Lane. Both men were from Company B, 2nd Amphibious Tractor Battalion (2nd Amtrac). Captain Royster was the commander of Company B. After studying this incident on-and-off for over 15 years, it is my belief that Captain Thomas B. Royster and Corporal Lambert Lane both lost their lives while aboard the first LVT(1) that was launched from the USS Feland. This LVT(1) struck a Japanese boat mine during the early evening of 21 NOV 1943 as it was attempting to land on the southern half of Green Beach. This contradicts the only published account of the incident that I have been able to find. It is described on pages 203 and 204 of Colonel Joseph H. Alexander’s book Utmost Savagery - The Three Days of Tarawa: "Betio remained a deadly island for both sides until the bitter end. Captain Thomas B. Royster, USMC commanding Baker Company, 2d Amphibian Tractor Battalion, had one of the few remaining operational LVTs. Learning that both 1/6 and 3/6 were short of ammunition along the south coast, Royster offered to make the delivery. Corporal Lambert Lane, a radio operator from Forest, Mississippi, volunteered to drive. Other volunteers manned the machine guns. For some reason, Royster decided not to cross the island and follow the trace of the two landing teams. Presumably, all Amtrackers by then knew of the mines along Green Beach from the explosion that destroyed one of 1/6s two LVTs the evening of D+1. Royster took the water route, regardless, and traversed the shallows off Green Beach without incident." "As the LVT rounded the southwest point and proceeded along Black Beach, however, it struck one of the horned anti-boat mines. The tremendous explosion killed both Lane and Royster and wounded the others severely. Lieutenant Ward, who had already witnessed the violent deaths of fellow Amtrak officers Major Drews, Captain Little, and Warrant Officer Bernard Shealy, saw the fireball that killed Royster and Lane. Ward and his men buried Royster in a solitary grave near the junction of Black and Green beaches. 52” Footnote 52: “Information on the death of Captain Royster and Corporal Lane provided from research conducted by the Honorable J. T. Rutherford, a veteran of the 2d Amtrac Battalion at Tarawa, 17 July 1993. The Marines were extremely lucky to lose only two LVT’s to Betio’s many mines.” (Note - J. T. “Slick” Rutherford’s research was reportedly done in 1993. His nickname “Slick” was in common use during WWII and continued thereafter during his political career.) ____________________________________________________ PFC J. T. Rutherford Company B 2nd Amtrac Battalion Arrived at Tarawa aboard the USS Harris Mr. Rutherford served as an enlisted man in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. He was elected to the U. S. Congress to represent the Texas 16th Congressional District from 1955 to 1963. He was formerly a president of the post-war 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion Association. I made a number of attempts to contact Mr. Rutherford by telephone and mail during October 2003. I was finally informed that he was ill and would not be available for a telephone interview, but would contact me by mail as his health permitted. During November 2003 I received a letter from him that contained (without comment) a four-page copy of a post-battle 2nd Amtrac accounting of all their LVTs. This report was originally submitted by Captain Henry G. Lawrence Jr., Commanding Officer, 2nd Amtrac Battalion, on December 23, 1943. There were handwritten notes in the margins indicating errors in the report concerning the two LVTs that were destroyed by mines on Green Beach. (These notes were part of the original photocopies. They had not been written on them after the photocopies were made.) The report states on page 3: “One (1) LVT(2) - Out of action - Demolished by mine in wire barricade on GREEN Beach. This tractor hit the mine the night of D plus one.” The adjacent handwritten note has an arrow pointing to this entry and states, “Should be LVT-1 Alligator with LT 1/6”. (Click here to see document.) The report states on page 5: “One (1) LVT(1) - Out of action - Demolished by mine in wire barricade on GREEN Beach. This tractor hit the mine the night of D-day.” (Click here to see document.) The adjacent handwritten note is a question mark. The dates in the original report are obviously wrong for both LVTs: The LVT(1) hit the mine on the evening of D plus 1 (21 NOV 1943). The LVT(2) hit the mine on the evening of D plus 2 (22 NOV 1943). ____________________________________________________ 2nd Lieutenant Norman E. Ward 2nd Amtrac Battalion Awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart at Tarawa (For his actions during combat.) My first telephone conversation with Mr. Norman E. Ward was on 27 MAR 2004. He is the “Lieutenant Ward” mentioned in Colonel Alexander’s book Utmost Savagery - The Three Days of Tarawa. I asked Ward where Captain Royster was coming from, and he said that he was coming from some rendezvous area (at sea), but he’s not sure what ship he was on. I asked him if it was his understanding, then, that Captain Royster was killed before he landed at Tarawa. He said yes, that Captain Royster “never lived to reach shore.” He said that Lambert Lane was a radio operator, but he thinks he was driving the LVT(1). My second telephone conversation with Norman E. Ward was on 22 DEC 2003. During this conversation he told me that he was ordered by “Hank” Lawrence to “get some guys” and go looking for bodies of 2nd Amtrac Battalion people. “Hank Lawrence” was Captain Henry G. Lawrence Jr., Executive Officer, 2nd Amtrac Battalion, who had just become the 2nd Amtrac’s acting Battalion Commander following the death of Major Henry C. Drewes during the Tarawa landing. Ward said that he gathered a few men (“Thurston” is the only name he could partially recall) and proceeded south on Green Beach from the “bird’s beak.” Note: “Thurston” was probably Corporal Harold E. Thurston, B Company, 2nd Amtrac Battalion. He arrived at Tarawa aboard the USS Ormsby. The “bird’s beak” is the northwestern tip of the island and the north end of Green Beach. Ward said they found some bodies in the water before they came upon the LVT(1), but they were not 2nd Amtrac Battalion people, so they passed them by. He said there were others coming along behind them, who were collecting bodies. Ward said they were not looking for a specific tractor, person or group. They came upon a LVT(1) wreck off Green Beach. It was “blown in half” but he thinks it was right side up. One of the tracks had been blown off and had landed about 50 feet away from the main wreckage. Note: Contemporary photos of the LVT(2) wreck on Green Beach show that both of its tracks are still in place. In the water, near the wreckage, they recovered four (4) bodies: Captain Royster, Corporal Lane, and a “small Mexican guy” who he thinks was possibly named “Garcia.” He doesn’t remember who the fourth body was. There were no other 2nd Amtrac bodies in the area. Note: I have been unable to identify the third and fourth marines. No one with the surname “Garcia” was killed on Tarawa. Mr. Ward said that Captain Royster’s body was intact. They buried all four bodies nearby, in a shallow grave. Their dog tags were removed and later given to a Marine Lieutenant from Graves Registration. Ward believes that the bodies were later exhumed and moved to a cemetery elsewhere on Betio. Ward said that this single LVT(1) was the only LVT wreck they found along Green Beach. From the LVT(1) wreckage they could look south to the end of Green Beach and they saw no other LVT wrecks. Note: Contemporary aerial photographs, and even ground level photographs taken decades later, show that the LVT(2) can easily be seen from the LVT(1). I asked Mr. Ward what he had heard about the circumstances of Captain Royster’s death, and he said that there were some guys landing in rubber boats “during the night” and that Captain Royster was “backing them up.” Mr. Ward said that the LVT(1) had hit one of the “horned mines” that the Japanese had placed along Green Beach. He said that after the battle he watched demolition men disarm these mines and pile them up on the beach. He said that each mine had two horns and contained 44 pounds of explosive. The demolition men found that the Japanese had improperly installed many of the horns and they had been damaged by seawater, rendering them inert. My third telephone conversation with Norman E. Ward was on 22 DEC 2003. During this conversation Ward told me that he thinks his search along green beach was on the morning of 22 NOV 1943, and that Captain Royster had been killed the night before. He confirmed that they had searched all along Green Beach and found only one LVT wreck, and that was definitely an LVT(1) “Alligator.” That was where they found the bodies of Captain Royster, Corporal Lane, and the other two unidentified 2nd Amtrac bodies. The wreck was in the water down near the south end of Green Beach, near the Vickers guns. He said that the Japanese had erected a primitive-looking radar antenna in that area. It looked like a “wire billboard.” This radar antenna is easily located on contemporary aerial photos. It is mounted on a large concrete structure and is located along Green Beach, about 250 yards north of the 8-inch naval guns at the intersection of Green Beach and Black Beach (the southern end of Green Beach). (Click here to see photographs.) On February 28, 2004, I received a letter from Mr. Ward. In that letter he returned a map that I had previously mailed to him. He had indicated on the map where he found the LVT(1). It was significantly north of the southwestern tip of the island and just south of the midpoint on Green Beach. (Click here to see document.) Mr. Wards description of the events was very compelling and I believe it to be accurate. Note: This is another problem with Colonel Alexander’s book-version of the events. He states that Captain Royster and Corporal Lane were killed in the same LVT on 22 November. However, Royster and Lane arrived on different ships. Royster on the USS Harris and Lane on the USS Feland. They should not have been together. ____________________________________________________ Sgt. Joseph P. Kubik B Company, 2nd Amtrac Battalion He arrived at Tarawa aboard the USS Ormsby I had a telephone conversation with Joseph P. Kubik on 01 Jun 2007 and later that month exchanged letters with him. Regarding Dornie Byrd Reynolds: During our telephone conversation, Kubic told me that just before the Tarawa landing, Platoon Sgt. Dornie Byrd Reynolds told him that he knew he was not going to make it back. He said that Dornie was married and had just received a “Dear John” letter. He thought that was why “Dornie” was “talking like that.” He did not know the circumstances of Dornie's death. Regarding Captain Thomas B. Royster: Kubic told me that he was a Sergeant in B Company and knew Captain Royster quite well and said they were "very close." Kubic was the Company Armorer and had taught Captain Royster how to use all the various weapons used by B Company. Captain Royster was instrumental in a decision to send Kubic to a special ordinance school at Camp Elliott, San Diego, CA. Kubic says that Royster was very "laid back" and never went out anywhere. He just stayed in his quarters and wrote letters to his wife. Kubic said that he once talked Royster into going to a dance, but after a short while he left and returned to his quarters. Kubic told me that at about 10:30 am on 22 NOV 1943, he was on Red Beach Two in the area west of the main pier. A "Graves Registration Officer" came along asking if anyone could identify any of the dead bodies he had in a rubber boat. Kubic guesses that their were 12 to 14 bodies. Kubic walked over and saw Captain Royster on the top, with his face turned towards him. He is absolutely sure, without a doubt, that it was Captain Royster's body. He told the officer, "That's my Skipper, Captain Thomas B. Royster." The officer said, “O.K." and wrote it down, then moved eastward along the beach. ____________________________________________________ The USS Feland The USS Feland had two LVT(1)s aboard, loaded in New Zealand before departure. (There were no LVT(2)s in New Zealand, they all came from Samoa directly to Tarawa in either LST 34, LST 242 or LST 243.) The USS Feland was transporting the 1st Battalion 6th Marines (1/6) who began landing during the evening of November 21, 1943. The USS Feland’s two LVT(1)s were launched in support of that landing. Each of the two LVT(1)s aboard the USS Feland would normally require a minimum crew of three men, and they had onboard exactly the six 2nd Amtrac marines needed. They have been identified as: 1) Sgt. Smiley, William R. -- Survived - crew chief of second LVT(1) from Feland. 2) Cpl. Gaviglio, Howard -- Survived - crew member, second LVT(1) from Feland. 3) Cpl. Goulart, Luis E. N. -- Survived - remained aboard Feland during landing. 4) Cpl. Miers, Frank -- Survived - remained aboard Feland during landing. 5) Cpl. Bryant, Howard L. -- Reported as KIA - driver of first LVT(1) from Feland. 6) Cpl. Lane, Lambert -- Reported as MIA - later changed to KIA. But there was another man aboard the second LVT(1) from the USS Feland. He was: Sgt. Frederick F. Curzan, A Company, 2nd Amtrac Battalion who arrived on LST 34. ____________________________________________________ Sgt. William R. Smiley B Company, 2nd Amtrac Battalion Arrived aboard the USS Feland My first telephone conversation with Mr. William R. Smiley was on 20 Oct 2003. Mr. Smiley told me that he was the crew chief onboard one of the two LVT(1)s that were loaded with medical supplies and ammunition. He remembers that Howard Gaviglio was driving the LVT(1) that he was in. There were only three men in his LVT(1): himself, Gaviglio and “Curzan”. (Curzan is not listed as being aboard the USS Feland, but was found as Sgt. Frederick F. Curzan arriving on LST 34.) Smiley said that Curzan is now dead. Smiley said that Gaviglio was a very good Cribbage player and that they had played Cribbage often in New Zealand. (I had contact with Gaviglio’s son, prior to his father’s death. But I was never able to obtain answers to my written questions, due to Mr. Gaviglio’s advanced age and fading memory.) Smiley said that Cpl. Howard L. Bryant was driving the other LVT(1), which was similarly loaded. He is certain that Bryant’s LVT(1) left the USS FELAND on 21 NOV 1943, at the same time that he left. He doesn’t know how many others were in Bryant’s LVT(1), but normally there would have been at least a crew of three. Smiley knew Bryant well; they were from the same home state – Indiana. He remembers watching Bryant play Blackjack. He had a peculiar habit of “rifting” his cards with his left hand. Smiley said that as the two LVT(1)s proceded toward Green Beach they entered an area where there were boat-mines. The mines were marked with red flags (like surveyor’s stakes) and were not too difficult to avoid. However, Bryant’s LVT-1 hit a mine and Bryant (along with others) was killed. Without my asking or prompting he said the LVT-1 was “flipped over on its back.” Smiley said that he did not hear the explosion due to the background noise, but something drew his attention in that direction. (To his left side, looking toward the beach). He saw then that the other LVT-1 was upside down. He said that both of the LVT(1)s were still towing rubber boats at that time. He said that a wounded man “was loaded on the back of my tractor, in a stretcher.” He says that this man had to be from the other LVT(1) because they were not under enemy fire coming in to the beach and there were no other wounded. (This man was PhM3c Clinton Lyle Hoatson.) Smiley said that the water was very shallow and some of the Marines had gotten out of the rubber boats and were wading in to shore, pushing the boats. A group of these Marines brought the wounded man to Smiley’s LVT-1, and he was loaded on the LVT-1’s rear deck. Smiley doesn’t remember what type of injuries the man had. Smiley said that his LVT-1 continued towing the rubber boats all the way to the beach, and that they landed near a very large naval gun emplacement and that one of the guns was laying in the water. I described the two large coastal guns at the southern end of Green Beach, where one had been blown into the water and the other left standing. He said that was it – that they had landed very near to that gun. (Click here to read PhM2c Schaff's account of these same events.)   Note: The two remaining men assigned to the USS Feland were not contacted. Goulart, Louis E. N. passed away on 03 Jul 1964 and Miers, Frank E. passed away on 31 Mar 1977.   INTERVIEWS WITH OTHER 2nd AMTRAC MARINES   Pvt. Harold B. Patch Company A 2nd Amtrac Battalion My first telephone interview with Mr. Patch was on 09 Dec 2003. Patch said that Corporal Milton M. Beck was killed by a mine on Green Beach. He was the crew chief and driver of an LVT. A shoe with the foot still in it was found on Green Beach near an LVT(1) wreck. The shoe was marked with Corporal Milton M. Beck’s name. He said that shoes were difficult to replace and that it was common for marines in New Zealand to mark them with their names. Patch said that he didn’t find the shoe, but someone else did and told him about it. That person knew that Patch had formerly been on Beck’s crew and thought he would want to know. Patch said that he had already heard that it was Beck’s LVT(1) that hit the mine on Green Beach. Patch said that back in New Zealand he was in B Company and on Beck’s crew, but just before Tarawa he was pulled off and sent to Samoa where he was assigned to Company A-1. Without prompting, he said that a man named “Lane” was on BECK’s crew, but he didn’t remember if LANE was a first or last name. He is certain that BECK was in an LVT(1). My second telephone interview with Mr. Patch was on 20 Dec 2003. I called Patch again on 20 Dec 03 to verify the previous information. Yes he was the one who went to Samoa, Milton Beck stayed in NZ. Patch said that he came to Tarawa on an LST, but can’t remember the name. Note: Harlod B. Patch is listed listed as arriving on LST-243 in the 2nd Amtrac Bn Muster Roll for November 1943. Milton M. Beck is also listed as arriving on LST-243 in the 2nd Amtrac Bn OCT and NOV Muster Rolls. (I believe that Patch is mistaken about Beck staying in New Zealand, but I doubt that he is mistaken about the shoe with the foot inside it.) ____________________________________________________ Corporal Richard D. (Buck) Sommerville Company A 2nd Amtrac Battalion Arrived at Tarawa aboard USS Zeilen I received an email from Mr. Sommerville on 31 Jul 2004: Mr. Hildebrand, I have been, for several hours, attacking the puzzle that you present about what really happened that day so long ago. Cpl. Milton M.Beck is shown in the Battalion Muster Roll of Oct 1943 as on “16, sailed fr Wellington, N.Z. for Pago Pago, Samoa." If this is correct, Cpl. Beck would have been with A-1 Co. and not with LVT(1)s but with LVT(2)s. Another thing, the Muster Rolls do not differentiate between "A" Co. and "A-1 Co.” You probably know about this but in case you don't, then the only way to determine the difference is to look at Footnotes and match up the letter along with the persons name, with the corresponding one in the Footnotes. All of A-1 Co. members in November were aboard one or the other of the three L.S.T.s #34—X, #242—W, and #243—V. and that has been the only way I have been able to determine which unit people were in during the short time of Co. A-1’s existence. Richard D. (Buck) Sommerville I spoke to Mr. Sommerville on the telephone - 21 Dec 2003. Sommerville said that Carlos “Snake” Reddoch (now dead) had told him that he had warned Royster and Lambert about the mines on Green Beach. Reddoch said they wanted to look for souvenirs. “Snake” was his nickname - earned as a high school football star. They said he was “as hard to catch as a snake.” Platoon Sgt. Carlos L. Reddoch Company A, 2nd Amtrac Battalion Arrived at Tarawa aboard LST 242 ____________________________________________________ 1st Lt. Wallace E. Nygren Company A, 2nd Amtrac Battalion Arrived at Tarawa on LST 243. I received a letter from him, dated July 5, 2004. This was in response to his reading my letter in the July-August 2004 issue of Follow-Me magazine. I called him about noon on Wednesday, 28 Jul 2004. Mr. Nygren said that he does not have any direct personal knowledge about Captain Royster’s death. He said that Captain Royster was “not too popular.” He went on to say “Well, let’s just say he was not well liked. He was a sad man, and didn’t want to be where he was.” He said that Captain Royster had a brother who “made a stink about him being killed needlessly.” He does not give much weight to what J.T. “Slick” Rutherford had to say about the matter. He doesn’t think Rutherford really knows. He said that Royster was his commanding officer until he (Nygren) was pulled off to be part of the new unit that picked up the new LVT(2)s in Samoa. He said that what he remembers about Captain Royster’s death is what he was told by Norman Ward. ____________________________________________________ 1st Lt. Sidney C. Key Company A, (A-1) 2nd Amtrac Battalion My telephone interview with “Sid” Key was on 30 Apr 2013. Mr. Key said he was in “A-1” Company. He is positive that Captain Royster was in an “LVT One” an “Alligator.” He said that there was much discussion among the 2nd Amtrac officers about Captain Royster’s death and they were all “mystified” as to why he had taken the tractor and hit a mine. He said that “Joe Alexander” had talked to a number of men at the 2nd Amtrac Association meetings and his account is “probably as accurate as anyone’s.” Note: Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, is the author of Utmost Savagery - The Three Days of Tarawa, that is mentioned earlier. ____________________________________________________ OTHER FACTS Captain Royster’s Posthumous Medal A Review of the Documents Silver Star Medal (recommended) 03 January 1944 (44 days after Royster’s death.) On 03 January 1944, Major Henry G. Lawrence Jr. submitted a recommendation that Captain Royster be posthumously awarded a Silver Star Medal for the actions that resulted in his death. It describes his death as occurring in an amphibious tractor when it struck a mine on “November 21, 1943.” (Click here to see document.) Bronze Star Medal (awarded) 16 June 1944 (208 days after Royster’s death.) On 16 June 1944, James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, signed authorization form MCPB I21146 3-21-44 50M on behalf of the President, authorizing the posthumous awarding of a Bronze Star Medal to Captain Royster. The CITATION in the document reads EXACTLY the same as that in Major Lawrence’s Silver Star Citation, EXCEPT the date of occurrence has been changed. The CITATION now reads “November 22, 1943.” (Click here to see document.) It is very obvious that the date has been altered on this document. There is a strike-over changing the number 21 to the number 22. The added number 2 struck slightly higher than the original number 1 and does not completely obscure it. It seems unlikely to me that Major Lawrence would get the date wrong on such an important document. It also occurred to me that Captain Lawrence may have later realized that on November 21 Captain Royster should have been onboard the USS Harris with Lt Colonel Kenneth F. McLeod, or with his 3rd Battalion 6th Marines from the USS Harris who were boated and in the water awaiting orders to land. They were sent to the control vessel in the lagoon and would remain in the water, bobbing up and down, the entire night of November 21-22. Lt Colonel Kenneth F. McLeod Commander 3rd Battalion 6th Marines Lt Colonel McLeod reports that, “My battalion was boated about 1600 on D-1 Day.” (D-1 day was November 21, 1943.) “Upon arriving at the control vessel, both of my AmphTracs were missing.” ____________________________________________________   RECOVERY AND BURIAL OF THE LVT(2) CREW USS Ormsby Operational Report Tarawa, Gilbert Islands 9 December 1943 Page 10, Paragraph 8 “On 23 November…At 0630 while manning rubber boats to evacuate the casualties resulting from the bombing and from an amphibious tractor that exploded when it hit a mine at the S.W. point,…Three marines who lost their lives in the explosion of the amphib blast were taken from the water nearby the accident at daylight and given burial during the morning as were some of the others nearby.” Note: The LVT(2) Water Buffalo wreck is located at the “S.W. point” of the island, the LVT(1) Alligator is located farther north. I believe that the three men who were buried by the shore party were the crew of the LVT(2) Water Buffalo. One of the men buried by the shore party was likely to have been Corporal Milton Maynard Beck and the other two may have been PFC Clarence Bernard Belter and PVT Angelo Michael Vellucci. My reasoning is this: 1) Beck is known to have been killed in an LVT off Green Beach. A shoe with his name on it and a foot still inside was found near one of the LVTs. 2) Beck arrived at Tarawa aboard LST 243. 3) Of all the 2nd Amtrac people who arrived aboard LST 243 (about 75 men) only three were listed as Missing in Action (MIA) and later changed to Killed in Action (KIA). 4) Those three men are Beck, Belter and Vellucci. 5) Three men are usually needed for an LVT crew. 6) If the LVT(2) was carrying much needed ammunition, as previously suggested, then it probably only had a crew of three men. Note: The bodies of Beck, Belter and Vellucci have still not been recovered. ____________________________________________________ WHO WERE THE CREW MEMBERS ON THE USS FELAND'S TWO LVTs? There were two LVT(1) Alligators aboard the USS Feland. Each required a minimum crew of three men. Therefore a total of six men would have been needed. There were exactly six 2nd Amtrac men aboard the USS Feland. They were: 1) Sgt. Smiley, William R. Survived - crew chief of second LVT(1) from Feland. 2) Cpl. Gaviglio, Howard Survived - crew member, second LVT(1) from Feland. 3) Cpl. Goulart, Luis E. N. Survived - remained aboard Feland during landing. 4) Cpl. Miers, Frank Survived - remained aboard Feland during landing. 5) Cpl. Bryant, Howard L. KIA - in first Feland LVT(1) as reported by Sgt. Smiley. 6) Cpl. Lane, Lambert MIA - later changed to KIA But there was another man aboard the second LVT(1) from the USS Feland. He was: Cpl. Frederick F. Curzan, A-1 Company 2nd Amtrac Battalion Arrived at Tarawa on LST-34. LST-34 was also transporting LVT(2) Water Buffaloes and 2nd Amtrac marines who had just been in Samoa training in the operation and maintenance of the new LVT(2). So how did Cpl. Curzan end up on the crew of the second LVT(1) coming from the USS Feland? Points to Consider 1) We know that Cpl. Bryant was killed in the first LVT(1) from the Feland. Sgt. Smiley, the crew chief of the second LVT(1), knew him well and said he was driving the first LVT(1). 2) The second crew member was (or should have been) Cpl. Lane since he was already on the USS Feland. He was found near an LVT(1) wreck by Lt. Ward during the day on 22 NOV and buried nearby. 3) The third crew member should have been either Cpl. Goulart or Cpl. Miers, but both of them apparently remained aboard the USS Feland, since they both survived. 4) Obviously some additional 2nd Amtrac marines had to have arrived at the USS Feland. One of them had to be Cpl. Curzan. Why would a LVT(2) trained marine be on the crew of an LVT(1)? Did an LVT(2) come to the USS Feland? If so, was Capt. Royster aboard? 5) Colonel Alexander describes in his book how Capt. Royster and Cpl. Lane died together during the evening of 22 NOV when their LVT struck a mine as the LVT was turning east from Green Beach onto Black Beach. This would have had to be the LVT(2) wreck. But during the day on 22 NOV, Lt. Ward’s group found the bodies of both Capt. Royster and Cpl. Lane near the LVT(1) on Green Beach and buried them nearby. So they could not have been in the LVT(2) that struck a mine during the evening of 22 NOV. 6) Both Capt. Royster and Cpl. Lane must have died during the evening of 21 NOV in the first LVT(1) launched from the USS Feland. 7) On NOV 23, a Beach Party from the USS Ormsby found three dead marines in the water near the LVT(2). The report states: “On 23 November…At 0630 while manning rubber boats to evacuate the casualties resulting from the bombing and from an amphibious tractor that exploded when it hit a mine at the S.W. point of the island, COOKS, J.B., S1c, ORMSBY and a marine 50 yards away were struck by shrapnel from an exploding mortar projectile. All injured wore (sic) taken immediately via rubber boats to LCV’s in deeper water and transferred to FELAND and ORMSBY. Three marines who lost their lives in the explosion of the amphib blast were taken from the water nearby the accident at daylight and given burial during the morning as were some of the others nearby.” The three names were not given, but if one of them had been a Captain and a company commander, I believe at least his name would have been listed. 8) During my telephone interview with Cpl. Richard D. “Buck” Sommerville he told me that Platoon Sgt. Carlos L. Reddoch had told him that he warned Capt. Royster and Cpl. Lane that there were mines on Green Beach, but they wanted to go hunting for souvenirs. 9) Platoon Sgt. Reddoch was a member of Company A, 2nd Amtrac Battalion and had arrived at Tarawa aboard LST 242. He had just been trained in LVT(2) operation and maintenance. If he warned both Capt. Royster and Cpl. Lane about the mines, then it would have had to be aboard (or near) the USS Feland since that was where Cpl. Lane was assigned. How and why would he have been there? Did he arrive at the USS Feland in an LVT(2) along with Capt. Royster? ____________________________________________________ MY CONCLUSIONS I believe that both Capt. Royster and Cpl. Lane were killed in the first LVT(1) that was launched from the USS Feland, along with the others shown below. Capt. Thomas B. ROYSTER 2nd Amtrac Passenger arrived on USS Harris (21 NOV KIA buried by Lt. Ward) Cpl. Lambert LANE 2nd Amtrac Crew Member arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA buried by Lt. Ward)   I believe that this man was killed in the first LVT(1) because Sgt. Smiley (driver of the second LVT(1) knew him well and told me he was driving it Cpl. Howard L. BRYANT 2nd Amtrac Crew Member arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Not Recovered - probably buried by Lt. Ward.)   These men are reported to have died aboard the first LVT(1) in the November muster roll for the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. 2nd Lt. Marius W. CHRISTENSON 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Recovered) Supply Sgt. Page WARREN 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Recovered) PhM1c Henry C. COBURN 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Not Recovered) PhM1c Fred E. KATHAN 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Not Recovered) PhM2c John K. HILDEBRAND 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Not Recovered) PhM2c William W. McGUFFIN 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV KIA - Body Not Recovered) _____________________________________________ WOUNDED PhM3c Clinton L. HOATSON Jr. 1st Bn 6th Mar arrived on USS Feland (21 NOV - The only survivor in the first LVT(1). Badly wounded and later evacuated. Note: After a long illness Clinton Lyle Hoatson passed away on Saturday, August 2, 2003. I was never able to interview him. _____________________________________________ THESE MEN MAY HAVE BEEN ABOARD EITHER THE LVT(1) OR THE LVT(2 P Sgt. Dornie Byrd REYNOLDS 2nd Amtrac B Company Came to Tarawa on USS Monrovia (20 NOV MIA then KIA) His remains have not been recovered. Private family records say he died in an LVT that struck a mine while traveling next to Captain Royster's LVT when it also struck a mine.) (Click here to see document.) Corporal Milton M. BECK 2nd Amtrac A Company Came to Tarawa on LST 243 (His shoe with a foot still inside it was reportedly found near an LVT(1) on Green Beach.) _____________________________________________ WHAT I SUSPECT I suspect that these three marines were killed in the LVT(2) “Water Buffalo" on 22 November. If so, then they were probably the three marines buried by the USS Ormsby's shore party on 23 November. Corporal Milton M. BECK 2nd Amtrac A Company Came to Tarawa on LST 243 (His shoe with a foot still inside it was reportedly found near an LVT(1) on Green Beach.) He is 1 of only 3 men on LST 243 who were first listed as MIA and then later changed to KIA. His remains have not been recovered. PFC Clarence B. BELTER 2nd Amtrac A Came to Tarawa on LST 243 He is 1 of only 3 men on LST 243 who were first listed as MIA and then later changed to KIA. His remains have not been recovered. PVT Angelo M. VELLUCCI 2nd Amtrac A Came to Tarawa on LST 243 He is 1 of only 3 men on LST 243 who were first listed as MIA and then later changed to KIA. His remains have not been recovered. Note: LST 243 carried about 75 men from the 2nd Amtrac Battalion and out of all that were killed only 3 were reported as MIA after the battle. When they had failed to turn up they were reclassified as KIA and all their deaths were reported to have occurred on 20 NOV, the first day of the battle. This was a common “bookkeeping” error that I’ve found in other battalions who had not even begun to land on that date. J. Hildebrand August 09, 2020 ____________________________________________________ POSTSCRIPT ____________________________________________________ Over the years I have amassed a great deal of information about this topic, some of which contradicts a published account and some military records. Sometimes the bits and pieces of information that I received also seem to contradict each other. This has been my attempt to consolidate this information into one coherent document. All that I can say about this is that I have no wish offend anyone and that in my search for the truth I always try to respect the feelings of others. It is not my intention to change the beliefs of anyone else, but to only seek the truth for myself. I have tried to make a distinction between what I know, what I think I know, and what is only theory on my part. I am always grateful to receive information about any of these events, whether it be from personal knowledge or something heard from others. Sometimes one small and seemingly insignificant detail will add meaning and importance to another. COPYRIGHT © 09 AUGUST 2020 J. HILDEBRAND ALL RIGHTS RESERVED United States of America