question: Which battle took place first, Battle of Tarawa or Battle of Iwo Jima?
answer: Battle of Tarawa
context: Title: Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship
  Passage: The "Iwo Jima"-class amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy were the first amphibious assault ships designed and built as dedicated helicopter carriers, capable of operating up to 20 helicopters to carry up to 1,800 marines ashore.  They were named for battles featuring the United States Marine Corps, starting with the Battle of Iwo Jima.  The first ship of the class was commissioned in 1961, and the last was decommissioned in 2002.  Because these ships bore the hull classification of LPH they have often been referred to as "Landing Platform, Helicopter".
  Title: USS Tennessee (BB-43)
  Passage: USS "Tennessee" (BB-43), the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 16th US state.  During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she was damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 but was repaired and modernized.  She participated in shore bombardments at the Aleutian Islands, Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa among others.  She was also involved in the Battle of Surigao Strait, the final battleship vs. battleship conflict in world naval history.
  Title: USS Dewey (DD-349)
  Passage: The first USS "Dewey" (DD-349) was a "Farragut"-class destroyer of the United States Navy, launched in 1934 and named for Admiral George Dewey.  "Dewey" served in the Pacific through World War II.  After escaping damage during the attack on Pearl Harbor, "Dewey" screened the aircraft carrier USS "Lexington" until the carrier was lost in the battle of the Coral Sea; then screened USS "Saratoga" through the invasion of Guadalcanal and the battle of the Eastern Solomons.  Following overhaul in San Francisco, "Dewey" spent 1943 in Alaskan waters supporting the invasions of Attu and Kiska.  "Dewey" spent 1944 supporting raids in the Marshalls, Carolines, and Marianas, including screening carriers during the battle of the Philippine Sea.  After being damaged by Typhoon Cobra during the recapture of the Philippines, "Dewey" supported the invasion of Iwo Jima and spent the remainder of the war screening replenishment oilers.
  Title: Battle of Tarawa
  Passage: The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that was fought on 20–23 November 1943.  It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts.  Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll.
  Title: 5th Marine Division (United States)
  Passage: The 5th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps infantry division which was activated on 11 November 1943 (officially activated on 21 January 1944) at Camp Pendleton, California during World War II.  The 5th Division saw its first combat action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 where it sustained the highest number of casualties of the three Marine divisions of the V Amphibious Corps (invasion force).  The 5th Division was to be part of the planned invasion of the Japan homeland before Japan surrendered.  Assault troops of the 5th Division were included in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the V Amphibious Corps for extraordinary heroism on Iwo Jima from 19 to 28 February 1945.  The 5th Division was deactivated on 5 February 1946.
  Title: To the Shores of Iwo Jima
  Passage: To the Shores of Iwo Jima is a 1945 Kodachrome color short war film produced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps.  It documents the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was the first time that American audiences saw in color the footage of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima.
  Title: Camp Tarawa
  Passage: Camp Tarawa was a training camp located on the big island of Hawaii constructed and used by the 2nd Marine Division during World War II.  The grounds of the camp were situated between the volcanic peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.  Marines were sent straight from the bloodly Battle of Tarawa to the campsite, which they had to build themselves.  It was well known for its harsh and dusty conditions by Marines who trained there.  After the 2d Marine Division left for Saipan, the 5th Marine Division moved into the base and trained for the Battle of Iwo Jima.  The base was closed for good in November 1945.
  Title: Battle of Iwo Jima
  Passage: The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.  The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields (including the South Field and the Central Field), to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands.  This five-week battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War of World War II.
  Title: USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
  Passage: USS "Iwo Jima" (LPH-2) was the lead ship of her class and type—the first ship to be designed and built from the keel up as an amphibious assault ship.  She carried helicopters and a detachment of embarked Marines for use in the Navy's "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious operations.  "Iwo Jima" was the second of three ships of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Iwo Jima, although the first to be completed and see service (the first was cancelled during construction).
  Title: Robert Sherrod
  Passage: Robert Lee Sherrod (February 8, 1909 – February 13, 1994) was an American journalist, editor and author.  He was a war correspondent for "Time" and "Life" magazines, covering combat from World War II to the Vietnam War.  During World War II, embedded with the United States Marine Corps, he covered the battles at Attu (with the U.S. Army), Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.  He also authored five books on World War II, including "Tarawa: The Story of a Battle" (1944) and the definitive "History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II" (1952).  He was an editor of "Time" during World War II and later editor of "The Saturday Evening Post", then vice-president of Curtis Publishing Company.
citations: Battle of Iwo Jima Battle of Tarawa