Norman Thomas Hatch (March 2, 1921 – April 22, 2017) was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who filmed much of the combat footage used in the documentary film ''

With the Marines at Tarawa ''With the Marines at Tarawa'' is a 1944 short documentary film directed by Louis Hayward. It uses authentic footage taken at the Battle of Tarawa to tell the story of the American servicemen from the time they get the news that they are to partic ...

''.

Early life

Hatch was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in nearby Gloucester.

Military service

In 1939, Hatch joined the Marine Corps. In November 1943, he was part of the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, an ...

, and waded ashore with other Marines. Hatch used a Bell & Howell Eyemo to film the invasion and the ensuing combat.

Civilian career

After the war, Hatch worked for the U.S. Department of Defense as a civilian.

References

External links

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Norman Hatch oral history

Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center (commonly known as the Veterans History Project) was created by the United States Congress in 2000 to collect and preserve the firsthand remembrances of U.S. wartime ...

Norman Hatch oral history
The National WWII Museum 1921 births 2017 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Battle of Tarawa War photographers People from Gloucester, Massachusetts People from Alexandria, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Marines {{US-photographer-stub