On August 17, 1942, men of the US Marine Corps 2nd Raider Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, land on Makin Island (also known as Butaritari), beginning their raid against the Japanese forces occupying the island. The objectives of the operation were to destroy the Japanese installations and garrison on the island as well as capture prisoners, gather intelligence, and to distract Japanese forces from other American operations in the Pacific. Departing from submarines early in the morning of August 17 and landing on the island a few hours later, the Carlson's Raiders soon encountered heavy resistance from the Japanese troops on the island. Over the course of August 17-18, the Marines successfully defeated the Japanese defenses and repelled an attempt by the Japanese to deploy reinforcements via seaplane. However, rough weather and the failure of the outboard motors on many of the American landing craft nearly resulted in disaster for the Raiders during their evacuation. Despite such challenges, the American troops successfully escaped from the island late in the night of August 18.

Out of a force of 211 Marine Raiders, 19 were killed in action and 2 remain missing in action. Nine of the Raiders were also captured by the Japanese and sent to Kwajalein were they executed under the orders of Japanese Vice Admiral Kōsō Abe. Abe would be tried and convicted of war crimes after the war and executed by hanging in 1947. Of the 73 Japanese personnel stationed on Makin, 46 were killed in action.

While the raid succeeded in annihilating the Japanese garrison and equipment on Makin Island and provided a major morale boost for the American people, it failed to capture any prisoners or gather intelligence on Japanese operations in the region. It also may have persuaded the Japanese to fortify their positions on Tarawa, leading to heavy losses for the US Marine Corps the following year.