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Across the Reef: The Marine Assault of Tarawa

Chapter 20: About the Author
By Joseph H. Alexander
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About This Book

A detailed operational history recounts the planning, rehearsal, and execution of a major amphibious assault on a heavily fortified Pacific atoll, tracing strategic intent, intelligence on enemy defenses, and interservice debates over landing craft and logistics. It describes commanders’ decisions and unit preparations, the improvisation and deployment of amphibious tractors to negotiate coral reefs, the intense combat ashore with heavy casualties, and the immediate tactical adaptations. The narrative concludes with the lessons learned and the influence of the operation on subsequent amphibious doctrine and practice.

About the Author

Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret), served 29 years on active duty as an assault amphibian officer, including two tours in Vietnam. He earned an undergraduate degree in history from the University of North Carolina and masters’ degrees in history and government from Georgetown and Jacksonville. He is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, a member of the Society for Military History, and a life member of the Marine Corps Historical Foundation.

Colonel Alexander, an independent historian, is the author of military essays published in Marine Corps Gazette, Naval Institute Proceedings, Naval History, Leatherneck, Amphibious Warfare Review, and Florida Historical Quarterly. He is co-author (with Lieutenant Colonel Merrill L. Bartlett) of “Sea Soldiers in the Cold War” (Naval Institute Press, accepted).