Next to his rifle, the infantryman cherished the tanks, which like a lumbering elephant, could either strike terror into a foe or be a gentle servant to a friend.  On the open field, hospital corpsmen, moving behind a tank, could get to the wounded and safely bring them off.  In attack, the Marine tank-infantry team felt itself unbeatable, and the Saipan experience added confidence.  The medium tank would precede the riflemen, who, in return, protected the tank from Japanese antitank grenades.  Each half of the team needed the other.”

-          Henry I. Shaw Jr., Bernard C. Nalty, and Edwin T. Turnbladh, in Central Pacific Drive,  Volume III of the official history of Marine Corps Operations in World War II  

"The Marine"

Corperal Robert William Koehler Sr. Company "B" 6TH Marine Tank Battalion 6TH Marine Division.

A special Ohh-Rah to B.J. Koehler Moore for providing the material to honor the men of the 6th USMC Tank Battalion.

Marine Tanker Robert William Koehler Sr.  "B" Co 6th Tank BN

Selected Pictures of Comrades, Tanks, & China Occupation

  Photographs from Corporal Koehler's album contain images of the following Marine tankers:

Richard Cernota from Minnesota

W.C. Swigart

L.C. Sell

Earl Hansen

Sidel from Iowa

Cpl. Robert Koehler's Parris Island Boot Camp Photograph

   A platoon sergeant's tank from 1st Platoon, "B" Company, 6th Tank Battalion, moves across the front of Sugar Loaf.  A few seconds later the tank struck a buried aircraft bomb.

  The explosion blew the 30 ton tank into the air.  One crewman was thrown clear, but four others were trapped inside.  The man beside the tank is trying to fight the fire with a hand held extinguisher.

  - Marine Tank Battles in the Pacific - Oscar E. Gilbert

Back of Boot Camp Photograph