WWII US Marine MG Assistant - Tarawa 1943

The Battle of Tarawa (November 20–23, 1943) was a brutal World War II clash in which the U.S. 2nd Marine Division assaulted the heavily fortified Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Confident in their defenses, the Japanese commander boasted that 'a million men could not take the island in a hundred years'. This initially appeared to be the case as unexpectedly low tides stranded many U.S. landing craft on reefs, forcing Marines to wade ashore under devastating fire. However, after three days of fierce, often hand-to-hand combat, U.S. forces secured the tiny island. Almost 2000 Marines and sailors would lose their lives taking the island, just 2 miles long and 800 yards deep at the widest point. These extreme losses for such a small island were documented by Marine combat cameramen for the documentary film "With the Marines at Tarawa". Due to the unprecedented violence showing actual, real time combat and the bodies of Americans killed, Hollywood refused to produce the film, and a presidential order was required to release the film. Following notable war correspondent Robert Sherrod's advice that "our soldiers on the front want people back home to know that they don't knock the hell out of them every day of every battle. They want people to understand that war is a horrible, nasty business, and to say otherwise is to do a disservice to those who died" the film was released for public screening in 1944. It went on to receive an Oscar in 1944, and is known for shaping the public's understanding of modern warfare, as well as what viewers expect from war films to this day. 

This figure is my offering for all those who have requested I revisit my older attempts at printing ammo belts. Photos of this actually being done are quite scarce, given how uncomfortable it was to run with 10 pounds of pointy bullets wrapped around your neck. I did however, find a great image of a Marine landing with a machinegun section on Tarawa doing so. While in most situations, several rifleman would help with carrying belts in ammo boxes, this Marine most likely decided to throw the belt over his neck to aid in moving quickly off the landing craft. He comes complete with all equipment represented such as the standard rifle cartridge belt, 1941 field pack, and canteen. I've included new, unique art for the pick mattock on his pack instead of a shovel, as well as the grenade hanging out of an empty canteen cover. The pick axes were generally issued out one per fireteam in WWII, and do not commonly appear in photos due to their narrow usefulness on most islands in the Pacific. The grenade hanging from the canteen cover is an additional little historical easter egg. Despite most Marines recounting they always carried 3 or 4 grenades on them in combat, the Marine Corps never adopted a standard way to carry them. In many instances, the spare canteen was tossed aside and the empty cover used to carry a couple grenades. 

This is a great figure for someone who wants to build a Tarawa beach landing MOC to match the reference image, or pickup my prior MG team to build a complete fire team! 

Editions: 

Original Proof Copy - 1 of 1, first complete minifigure out of the printer. Signature by Landon Reimer, plastic protective sleeve with 1x6 display brick. 

Collectors Edition - Signature by Landon Reimer, hand numbered, plastic protective sleeve with 1x6 display brick. 

Base Model - Complete figure in hand-stamped numbered case inspired by WWII era packaging. This packaging again, is hand-stamped and is not intended to look perfect. 

Figure artwork includes:

• Custom printed BrickArms M1 Steel Pot helmet with beach/tan frogskin artwork 
• Custom printed wrap around M1 helmet straps minifigure head 
• P1941 Dungaree uniforms  
• Marine N1 'boondocker' field shoes 
• P1941 haversack 
• Marine contract M1923 cartridge belt 
• Marine P2 canteen cover 
• Empty canteen cover with grenade 
• 200 round MG ammo belt - cloth WWII type 
• Army issue M1924 first aid pouch 
• Army issue pick-mattock cover with pickaxe 
• Frogskin poncho rolled on pack 
• Inside leg Marine gaiters printing 

Information: Art and printing by Lando (that’s me!) on genuine factory direct Lego minifigure elements & BrickArms headgear.

Legal Disclaimer: This is not a LEGO® Product. LEGO and the LEGO minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this product. The LEGO Group is not liable for any loss, injury or damage arising from the use or misuse of this product.