ROD PYLE MEDIA

In November of 1943, the US Marine 2nd. Division engaged the Empire of Japan at the Tarawa Atoll, a 300-acre flyspeck in the Central Pacific. At that moment, Tarawa went from the best-defended place in the world to the most violent and deadly. In less than 72 hours, the US lost almost 1300 young souls, and the defending force of 5000 Japanese was reduced to a mere 17 exhausted survivors. "Tarawa: War Without Mercy" is the story of the young men of both countries, sent into a battle they could not understand and to face savagery they would never comprehend. It is an homage to the brave youths of both sides, sent to war by governments who had been staring down each other for decades. The outcome for Japan was a decisive defeat and the beginning of the end for their dreams of a lasting empire. The outcome for the United States was a shocked nation (the newsreel film of the battle caused a sensation in theaters due to the horrifyingly violent nature of the footage, and was only released by presidential order) and the first step in a long and bloody crawl across the largest battlefield in history, the Pacific Ocean.