ABOARD SHIP PREPARING FOR TARAWA, OCTOBER 1943
US Marine officers board landing boats. US warships gather off Wellington’s coast while crew work to load vehicles and supplies onto Higgins Boats in preparation to ready warships for leaving. American aircraft fly overhead and radio operators communicate with them from the warships. Convoys of Higgins Boats bring Marines to the gathering warships. With all their training behind them, the US Marine Expeditionary Forces now make final preparations before leaving for combat at Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.