Of the original 125 LVT1 and LVT2 deployed, only 35 were operational at the end of the first day. ABout 35 were sunk in the water with a further 26 knocked out on shore. The attack on Betio on the 20th Nov 1943 was one of the bloodest and most difficult in the history of the USMC. 

Lvt and troops at Betio.

A sherman transport a little japanese tankette, possibly on Tarawa.

Sherman and japanese tankette

A Marine patrol with tank support stops to examine the bodies of Japanese soldiers. On Cape Gloucester. (scanned by HOS Bandit)