Location
Lat 1° 28' 60S Long 175° 4' 0E Buariki Island is located at the northern tip
of Tarawa Atoll.
Wartime History
The final battle of the Tarawa campaign occured
here on November 26, 1943, when the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines fought
the Battle of Buariki, where the entire surviving Japanese force of
156, who had escaped Bieto and were
trapped at Buariki, fought to the death. The Marines lost 34 killed,
and 56 wounded.
Japanese
Mass Grave
A mass grave containing a large number
of Japanese human remains was discovered in May 1991. The location of
this site was about 1.5 km east of the village of Buariki and near the
northern ocean shore of the atoll.
References
Thanks to Stan Gajda for this information.
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Last Updated
November 25, 2022
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