Throughout the fall of 1943, the Coast Guard actively participated in the Allied drives through the Southwest and Central Pacific. In February 1944, during the Marshall Island Campaign, the Coast Guard once again played an important role.
For Operation Flintlock the Allies focused their attention on Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Majuro atolls within the Marshall Archipelago. The plan called for Majuro Atoll to be taken first to provide an anchorage for the fleet. Kwajalein would be assaulted from both ends the following day, and for Eniwetok Atoll to be attacked about three months later to allow the Allies to consolidate their positions.
Assembled to capture these atolls was the Joint Expeditionary Force comprising nearly 300 vessels and more than 84,000 men. This force split into three groups: a northern group for an attack on Roi and Namur islands in the Kwajalein Atoll, a southern group for an assault on Kwajalein Island 45 miles to the south, and a third group for landings on Majuro Atoll, about 250 miles southeast of Kwajalein Atoll.
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