The 4th Tank Battalion in the Pacific: A Case Study in Field-Inspired Ingenuity

Abstract

Using the 4th Tank Battalion as a case study, this article argues that U.S. Marine tankers in World War II possessed a uniquely American mechanical aptitude that allowed them to make necessary modifications to their tanks that were crucial to combat effectiveness in the Pacific. Having grown up during the Great Depression and possessing a “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without,” mentality, these tankers recognized what could be done to improve their tanks, and applying American ingenuity, fabricated armor and tank-to-infantry communications systems, among other innovations to enhance their abilities as warfighters. While this trait was not necessarily unique to the 4th Tank Battalion, their leaders, Captain Robert M. Neiman and Lieutenant Henry L. Bellmon in particular, encouraged such activity, and the battalion was certainly among the most mechanically creative among the Marine tank battalions in the Pacific.