Sixty years ago, thousands of U.S. Marines, nurses and a handful of sailors began landing on the Pacific equatorial island chain of Tarawa. Tarawa was a chain of islands with a heavily defended southwest tip, the isle of Betio. Known to Marines as "Bloody Betio," the island was bristling with naval guns, mortars, machine guns, and 5,000 crack Japanese marines -- as well as nurses to attend to the wounded.

The first wave of U.S. landings, loaded onto amphibious tractors, began moving toward a cove on Betio. Striking coral, they ground forward toward the beach. Once in the cove, the Marines found themselves under fire from three sides. Many of the amtracs erupted into balls of fire when their fuel tanks were hit. Others spun wildly out of control after their drivers were killed.

The second waves struck adjacent beaches in landing craft. The craft ran aground on the reefs and the leathernecks scrambled down the ramps and over the sides. Wading hundreds of yards across razor-sharp coral toward the burning shoreline, the Marine ranks were shot to pieces. Some of the young men, weighed down with equipment, stepped into deep holes and drowned.

Of the first wave, only 30 percent got ashore. The second wave moved beneath a 500-foot-long pier, where their losses mounted. The third wave was nearly annihilated. Fourth and fifth waves were badly mauled. Those who survived the trek to the beach were often wounded, exhausted, weaponless and separated from their units.

The Marines inched forward. Losses soared. By nightfall some 3,000 U.S.s had a tenuous foothold on the beach. A few had reached the edge of the airstrip. Another 1,500 were either dead or wounded. The following day, the Marines broke out of their beachheads and moved inland and brought nurses with them to tend to the many wounded. Initial objectives were seized, landing parties linked up with one another, and counterattacks were beaten back.

Officers leading the way were specifically targeted by the enemy and killed. Some lived and became the stuff of legends. But they weren't the only legends to be created during that battle. And not all of the legends were made up of male soldiers.

On the night of the 22nd, the Japanese launched two charges. Screaming "Marines You Die!," the enemy penetrated the U.S. lines and the fighting went hand-to-hand.

The fighting was vicious and close quarter. The Japanese threw their entire force into the fray -- including nurses that accompanied them onto the island. Since U.S. nurses were also on the island, the most rare of all occurrences in war took place -- females locked in hand-to-hand combat, weaponless, with each other -- to the death as they were forced to do just the opposite of they were trained to do, take lives with their bare hands rather than save them!

Both sides were normally careful to keep their women out of harm's way, but this pitched battle forced everyone into combat. This meant Mayumi , a young Japanese college student who was on the island as a nurse, ended up assaulting the U.S. lines with the rest of her countrymen -- and ran into Michelle, a college student herself who was on the island as an U.S. nurse. Neither Mayumi nor Michelle had much hand-to-hand combat training. But in the do-or-die winds of war, both women knew what they had to do. So when the two spied and went at each other during this close-quarters life and death struggle, it became a rare display of female strength vs. female strength in war time where the stronger woman would survive and the weaker woman would perish at the hands of her adversary! And indeed -- only the stronger woman would survive!

The two tackled each other and began to roll around on the ground in the midst of the pitch battle. Mayumi was a beautiful woman with medium-length black hair and was in her early 20s while Michelle was just 18 and had short blonde hair. Michelle was 5-3 and weighed 110 pounds while Mayumi was 5-6 and weighed just over 120. Thus, Mayumi had a small size advantage and used it to sit atop Michelle!

Michelle frantically fought and kicked from the bottom in fear as an equally frightened Mayumi grabbed Michelle's thin, soft throat with her left hand and came down with two hard karate chops to where Michelle's collarbone intersected with her neck! Michelle shrieked in pain and fear and kicked her legs straight out as the blows, which were meant to break her neck and incapacitate her, met their mark but not without enough force to end her life or knock her out!

Michelle quickly pushed Mayumi over and got atop her! Both girls had never expected that they would end up in a fight with another woman for their very lives and thus both women were horrified at what might happen to them if they came out on the wrong end of the fight. If their opponent got the advantage over them for a split second, they could end up dying for their coutry -- something neither one of them wanted to do! Michelle, being left handed, desperately slapped at Mayumi 's face with her left hand! The slap caught the pretty brunette girl flush in the face and caused her to shriek in pain and fear! Mayumi then grabbed for Michelle's wrists just as the blonde grabbed for hers in an attempt to pin her to the ground and choke her!

Both women ended up grabbing each other by the hands, and thus the primitive battle for position pitting strength against strength was enjoined! Mayumi was able to slowly roll the smaller Michelle over to her back! Before Michelle knew it, Mayumi was sitting atop her and quickly put her knees on Michelle's arms to pin her to the ground! Without hesitation, Mayumi grabbed Michelle's head with both hands and began to smash the back of the pretty U.S. nurse's skull against the ground! Michelle squealed in pain and fear as she desperately tried to pull her arms out from beneath Mayumi's knees!

Mayumi hit Michelle's head against the ground three times before Michelle could free her arms from under Mayumi 's legs! She then grabbed Mayumi by the wrists to keep Mayumi from bashing her head against the ground! At the same time, Michelle instinctively brought her legs up and managed to pull Mayumi off her with them! The two girls then desperately grovelled on the ground with each other, rolling around and around -- grunting and crying and squealing and squeaking in fear, horror and pain as they struggled in this unarmed fight to the death!

Both girls suddenly grabbed each other by the throat with both hands as they got into a kneeling position! Mayumi closed her eyes and winced, slowly moving her tongue out of her mouth as fear was all over her face as she felt the strength of the little U.S. nurse's grasp choke her with her bare hands! Meanwhile, Michelle's eyes narrowed as she had a look of alarm and fear while she felt the death-dealing grip of Mayumi crush her windpipe!

Both women fell on their sides, each refusing to give up their deadly choke holds on each other! Suddenly, Michelle quickly rolled atop Mayumi and pulled out of Mayumi 's deadly grasp while maintaining her own around Mayumi's throat! Mayumi desperately grabbed Michelle by the wrists in an attempt to pull her small little choking fingers from around her throat while she brought up her right leg in an attempt to pull her off! But Michelle leaned down on Mayumi and avoided Mayumi 's attempt to pull her off while putting her weight into the strangle hold around Mayumi 's throat!

Mayumi frantically kicked out her legs as her mouth opened in fear as Michelle leaned into her and choked her, sternly looking into her opponent's eyes as she squeezed Mayumi 's soft throat!

The brunette continued to kick her legs straight out in sheer desperation and horror as the blonde strangled her! Mayumi 's mouth was wide open now due to lack of air and she had a look of terror in her face as she realized the smaller U.S. girl was bound and determined to take her life on the field of battle!

Mayumi continued to try to pull Michelle's strong hands from her soft throat as she desperately yanked at Michelle's wrists, but she couldn't pry them loose! Michelle then began to beat the back of the pretty student's head against the ground in hopes of knocking her out while she choked the life out of her! Mayumi began to sob as Michelle slowly choked the life out of her and began to dominate her! Suddenly, Michelle went for the kill! She had dazed Mayumi by knocking her head on the back of the ground several times. Now she leaned into Mayumi 's throat with all her weight and squeezed Mayumi 's soft throat with all her might, literally wringing her neck!

Mayumi 's pretty legs suddenly froze two inches off of the ground and began to tremble as a loud gasp came out of her mouth! A look of sheer horror crossed the attractive brunette girl's face as she looked into the face of an almost maniacal Michelle, bound and determined to end the life of her enemy! Mayumi feebly pushed at the chin of Michelle, desperately trying to push her off! But Michelle maintained her position atop Mayumi and pushed into her throat even harder and more firmly with her bare hands!

Mayumi froze in position and trembled for several seconds -- then finally completely collapsed! Michelle looked into Mayumi 's eyes, which now had an eery faraway look in them. She continued to choke Mayumi , even though she had gone limp and was offering no resistance!

Finally, Michelle realized she had indeed killed Mayumi with her bare hands! Mayumi had died with her eyes open and a horrified death gaze was frozen on her face!

A crazed, frightened Michelle continued to squeeze the throat of her slightly larger foe until she was certain the coed was indeed dead, strangled to death by her hand!

The Law of the Jungle had played out: The strongest woman had survived!

The tiny blonde finally relaxed her grasp around the dead brunette's throat. By that time, the tide had turned in favor of the U.S.s. Michelle had won the most important fight she had ever been in and would ever be in. She needed a little time to regain her composure before she returned to why she was on the island in the first place -- her activities as a nurse.