My maternal grandfather, Lt.(jg) Walter Wohlfarth (USNR) was involved with landing craft on the USS Harris (APA2). I know the Harris was at Betio but I believe it suffered a damaged paravane at some point. I have all of his books at home. I don't know if he participated in the actual invasion or not. He passed in 1996. As a kid, I'd ask him about the war and he could talk about it for a while and then the anger would kick in. I know he saw a lot of action in the Phillipines (Linguayan) and Okinawa. One point he always made was the respect he had for the Marine's bravery.
Paul Geiss
pgeiss@goughinc.com