Military Snapshots - Invasion of Namur Island

The invasion of the islands of Roi and Namur, part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Japanese-mandated Marshall Islands, was a smash and grab operation very much like the November 1943 assault on Tarawa. U.S. forces invaded Namur, and its sister island Roi, in early 1944, with the goal of establishing mutually supporting airfields across the central Pacific. Here, riflemen take cover as five carrier bombers pass right over the Namur beachhead on their way to bomb Japanese positions in the northern part of the island. Official USMC Photo, from Tarawa and the Marshalls: U.S. Marines in World War II by Eric Hammel.