Battle Re-enactment - National Museum of the Pacific War
3,524 views · Published 10 December 2012 · 6:10 · Indexed 30 October 2026
Channel: Today We Move Forward · 2012 · Travel & Events
Jacob and Ben Beck attend the re-enactment of the Battle of Tarawa, as presented by the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas, on 09 December 2012. The Japanese military is represented by a group including 3 special visitors, retired Japanese military from Japan who flew to Texas to play those roles. The US Marines are represented by a group including over a dozen active duty military, a few soon-to-be Marines, and others who donate time, materials, and money to the re-enactment. It is an amazing show. For about 75 minutes they give a thorough overview of each Marine role, each weapon (including firing of each weapon), and implications on health and morale of the men fighting. The show ends with the reenactment as seen in the video, with flamethrowers, firearms of all types, explosions, and motorized armor--you can feel the heat and the blasts. Highly recommended. The museum provides hearing protection, although the infant (maybe 8 mos old) sitting next to me had her own pink cans on her ears. (The mother said they had the baby wear ears at home to get used to them so she wouldn't pull them off during today's show. Apparently it worked, as she was smiley and happy throughout the show.) The saddest part of the show (for me) was that the front rows reserved for WW2 veterans were empty. Those veterans used to flock to the museum's reenactments, but there are so few veterans left alive today. Find one and say thank you.
