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You are here: Home / Article topics / Battles and operations / WWII operations / Letter: The Big Guns of Tarawa

Letter: The Big Guns of Tarawa

Letter Writer · Jun 30, 2023 · Print This Page

Author
Letter Writer
Subjects
WWII operations, History - WW2
Tags
Pacific War
RAN Ships
None noted.
Publication
June 2023 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

I’m reading the latest NHR after having read the latest CTH and Buzz, and the Occasional Papers/articles, and they’re all excellent – of a high standard and an enjoyable read, and a good mix too. Please pass my thanks on to everyone involved, and I’m looking forward to future issues

Two very, very minor things (and I’m only mentioning because the articles go up on the internet, so they have a future life ahead of them):

On page 31 of the NHR, Gerhard Heinrich Heyen’s years with us are given as 1866–1959. As Gill’s books had him born in 1900, and an 1866 birthdate would have made Heyen one of the oldest (if not the oldest) people to serve in a landing craft in WWII, I thought I’d have a look and see if I could reconcile the two sources. It looks like his service record has him being born in Port Adelaide, SA, in 1900 and passing in 1980, and being married to a Hilda rather than a Laura (see p. 2 of the service record on the NAA below, as per https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/ SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5225366).

Is there any chance there was a Gerhard Heyen senior as well?

Both of the Japanese officer references in the same article (The Big Guns of Tarawa) are written in the Japanese style of last name then first name. This isn’t a bad thing (I prefer it that way myself) but up until now the NHR has generally written them first name then last name. What’s right or wrong is very hard to say, as up until very recently, the Japanese advice was to write Japanese names in English using the western style of first name, last name, but in the last couple of years the Japanese position on this has changed (https://www.reuters. com/article/us-japan-names-idUSKCN1VR1LE for an article at the time). I’m not suggesting what the right way is, and other publications also haven’t made up their mind – the US Naval Institute’s Naval History is consistently inconsistent, even rarely within the same article!

Please note these are both tiny, tiny things – many thanks for all of the work that’s gone into March’s publications – they’ve been the highlight of my week.

All the best,

Dave Long

Dave

Thank you for your comments on The Big Guns of Tarawa and you are correct regarding the date of birth and marriage details of LCDR Gerhard Heinrich Heyen mentioned in Note 1. Using a rather obscure but nonetheless interesting reference to this officer found in ‘The Numismatic Association of Victoria – Issue 129 Winter 2013 pp 12–15’ some details of father and son have been transposed.

https://www.navic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AN-Newsletter-129-v2.pdf

A correction will now be made and your helpful comments on Japanese names are also noted.

Regards

Walter

Naval Historical Review, WWII operations, History - WW2 Pacific War

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