A Gilbertese native taken on Tawara Atoll.  Prior to the war, Tarawa had been a British colony.  Upon the arrival of the Japanese, British Subjects, including missionaries, were rounded-up and summarily beheaded.  The Gilbertese natives were driven from the main island of Betio and remained under the harsh and brutal Japanese rule until liberated by U.S. Marines in November of 1943.

Photograph: Marine Bombing Squadron Six-Thirteen (via William A. Kehr)