Tarawa Battle Site Focus of Cleanup

The site of one of the bloodiest Pacific campaigns during World War II is the focus of one U.S. man’s effort to make the atoll suitable for memorial.

Leon Cooper, who at 23 ferried U.S. Marines from the USS Harry Lee to the Pacific atoll of Tarawa in 1943, is seeking to restore the trash-laden beaches to more suitable conditions to memorialize the combat deaths during the battle of Bloody Tarawa, The Washington Times reported Sunday.

More than 1,000 Marines lost their lives and nearly 2,200 were wounded in the battle, which began on Nov. 20, 1943.

Now, the hallowed ground is strewn with trash as the atolls’ Republic of Kiribati faces limited space to dispose of its refuse.

Where there were once hundreds of Marines, there are now millions of plastic bags, crushed paper boxes and crumpled cans. This is sacred ground, not a dumping ground, Cooper, 87, told the Times.

The New Zealand branch of Greenpeace, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Harry A. Waxman, D-Calif., expressed support for Cooper’s efforts.

Waxman suggested the 2nd Marine Division deploy to the Tarawa beach on cleanup detail.