The battle of Betio

Ishmael Chambers lost his arm during the battle at Betio, a tiny island in the Tarawa Atoll in the South Pacific.
The Battle was fought from November 20 - 23, 1943. 35.000 American troups fought against about 4500 Japanese. The Americans thought it was critically important to get a hold of this island in the central pacific. Up to this point, landing with amphibious vehicles hadn't met with a lot of resistance. But this time, the Japanese were very well equipped and prepared for battle. They fought almost to the last men. The US Marines (always more of an elite unit, I think Ishmael was a part of them) lost 1000 men, the US Navy about 700, and more than 3000 were wounded. In the end, the U.S. prevailed because of their overwhelming advantage in manpower and equipment.

The U.S.