World War II David M. Shoup

1 world war ii

1.1 staff officer
1.2 tarawa
1.3 subsequent wartime service

world war ii
staff officer

officers of 1st provisional marine brigade pose photograph in iceland in 1941.

shoup assigned 1st provisional marine brigade, moved iceland in may 1941, supporting occupation there prevent nazi german forces threatening it. replacing outgoing british 49th (west riding) infantry division, brigade continued garrison country several months, , there headquarters company @ time of japanese attack on pearl harbor in december 1941. service in iceland, awarded letter of commendation commendation ribbon. in february 1942 given command of 2nd battalion, 6th marines. united states @ war, 1st provisional marine brigade moved new york city, new york, in march, , disbanded. shoup moved battalion camp elliott in san diego.

in july 1942, shoup named operations , training officer (g3) of 2nd marine division, , promoted lieutenant colonel in august 1942. following month accompanied division wellington, new zealand, aboard ss matsonia , oversaw of training there. briefly attached 1st marine division in october 1942 observer during guadalcanal campaign, 43rd infantry division on rendova island during new georgia campaign in june 1943. during latter assignment, shoup wounded in action , evacuated. still, these experiences observed amphibious warfare techniques useful later in war.

tarawa


shoup colonel

in mid-1943, shoup transferred staff of major general julian c. smith, commander of 2nd marine division, , tasked plan invasion of betio on tarawa atoll. shoup s aggressive leadership style complement offensive strategy superiors seeking in taking atoll. tasked drawing initial plans, designating landing beaches on betio 2nd marines, , overseeing rehearsals @ efate. however, after colonel william w. marshall, commander of 2nd marines, suffered nervous breakdown before invasion, smith promoted shoup colonel , gave him command of regiment in spite of shoup s lack of combat experience.

the invasion commenced on 20 november 1943, shoup disembarking maryland, flagship invasion. force met heavy resistance on beaches. lvt destroyed shore fire, , had proceed without transportation. wading ashore @ around 11:00, struck shrapnel in legs , received grazing wound bullet in neck. in spite of these wounds, rallied marines , led them ashore. able coordinate troops on beaches , organize them began push inland against anticipated japanese counterattack. continuously organized aggressive attacks on defenders, , noted bravery , vigour during conflict. on second day of attack, organized advance inland, despite heavy casualties among american troops. afternoon, winning battle, , reinforcements began arrive in force. night, shoup relieved colonel merritt a. edson, division s chief of staff, commanded 2nd marines remainder of campaign. 6 years later, shoup made cameo appearance in movie sands of iwo jima reprising actions first night on tarawa, although had been brought onto movie technical advisor.

for leadership during assault , push inland shoup awarded medal of honor , british distinguished service order. role in planning invasion awarded legion of merit v device. awarded purple heart combat wounds suffered during course of campaign. ten years after assault, shoup remarked of operation, there never doubt in minds of ashore final outcome of battle tarawa be. there seventy-six hours, however, considerable haggling enemy on exact price have pay. in 1968, returned tarawa dedicate memorial battle , american , japanese troops had died there.

subsequent wartime service

in december 1943, shoup became chief of staff of 2nd marine division, refitting , training in hawaii upcoming invasion of marianas in june. shoup performed staff officer, assisting in planning battles saipan , tinian. though divisional staff officer, still managed find occasion forward in fighting. in 1 instance on saipan became trapped in forward observer post fellow officer wallace m. greene. greene later recalled in midst of japanese attack shoup remained impressively calm. shoup awarded second legion of merit v device work in campaign. @ end of operations on mariana islands, shoup returned united states in october 1944. served logistics officer in division of plans , policies @ marine headquarters in washington, d.c. remained @ post rest of war.