Some Will Be Killed

Last week Marine Major General Holland M. ("Howlin' Mad") Smith, who commanded amphibious operations in the assault on the Gilbert Islands, spoke to home folks who had quailed at the losses on Tarawa (TIME, Dec. 13).

Said he: "Those who say that the casualties on Tarawa were too high and that such a thing must not happen again should realize that the Marines on Tarawa killed four Japs for each Marine that died. We lost approximately 1,000 Marines but the Japs lost everybody they had. ... In an offensive operation you should expect to lose more than the enemy. ... So we got Tarawa cheaper than we had any right to expect. . . .

"It took Europe 19 years to learn how to fight Napoleon. ... It took the Marines just three days to learn how to storm an atoll fortress and dig the Japs out. . . . We've got the toughest and smartest fighting men in this world. But as long as the war lasts some of them somewhere will be getting killed. We have got to acknowledge that or else we might as well stay home."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.