Career
On February 19, 1945 he was among the first wave of Marines to land on the Japanese island stronghold of Iwo Jima. Tatum"s war memoir, Red Blood, Black Sand, was one of five books used as source material for the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced Home Box Office miniseries The Pacific. Tatum is portrayed in the series by actor Ben Esler.
Military service
Tatum enlisted in the United States. Marine Corps when he was seventeen.
He became a machine gunner. He was sent for further training with the 5th division at Camp Tarawa near Hilo, Hawaii which was preparing for the assault and capture of Iwo Jima.
On February 19, 1945 (Doctorate-Day), his battalion (Landing Team 1-27) disembarked and landed on "Red Beach 2" on the southeast side of Iwo Jima off of landing boats from the attack transport, United States Ship Hansford (APA-106 ) with orders to, "land, seize, and occupy Iwo Jima" ("Island X"). Tatum landed with the 1st wave of white faced (anti-flash cream) Marine infantry and their attached Navy medical corpsmen off of LVTs (amtracs.
Amphibian tractors) from LST #10 that they had boarded February 11 when the United States Ship Hansford stopped at Saipan.
"Red Beach 2", a 550-yard landing zone, was about 800 yards across from Motoyama Airfield #1 which was 1,500 yards north of Mount Suribachi on the south end of Iwo Jima. "Red Beach 2" was one of the seven color named and numbered landing zones that together was two miles long on the east side of Iwo Jima. Tatum was subsequently wounded in action and evacuated from the island.
Tatum became a successful race car driver and builder after the war.
He was active in Marine affairs and was twice the president of the Stockton Marine Corps Club in California. In 1995, he arranged a memorial service in Washington District of Columbia in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Tatum"s book, Red Blood, Black Sand, first printed in 1995, is one of the five books used as a basis for the television mini-series The Pacific. Tatum is portrayed by actor Ben Esler.