On March 26, 1945, the island of Iwo Jima was declared secure, after more than a month of heavy fighting. Carl had been there throughout, one perspective of many, to one of the most well-known battles in U.S. history. He was on the beach when "all hell broke loose" at the first volley of Japanese fire. He was there, offloading supplies and loading the wounded under direct fire. He witnessed the first of many B-29 landings on the airstrip, and shared a front-line foxhole with three other Marines during the last mop-up of resistance on the island.
In no doubt, the capture of Iwo Jima was a strategic success. The three airstrips on the island would serve as an emergency stop for the B-29s conducting air raids on mainland Japan. Now under American control, Iwo no longer would serve as a haven for kamikaze fighters, or as an early warning system. Simply, the United States had been losing too many expensive bombers and crew.
Despite the obvious necessity of taking the island, Iwo Jima came at an incredible cost. According to Richard Newcomb's 1982 "Iwo Jima," there were 23,573 Marine casualties, including 6,821 U.S. personnel killed during the campaign. Incredibly, more than one-third of the total Marines who participated in the invasion either were killed, wounded or suffered from battle fatigue.
Of the more than 20,000 Japanese believed to be on the island, only 1,083 were taken alive. No one knows how many casualties the Japanese suffered - many simply were entombed in their underground bunkers, buried alive when they refused to surrender.
From the battle of Iwo Jima came many hard lessons for the American war effort. Again, from Richard Newcomb's "Iwo Jima," the Americans had underestimated the Japanese strength by as much as 70 percent. A change in Japanese strategy proved incredibly costly for the Marines: As was commonplace during previous battles like Saipan, Tarawa and Peleliu, the Japanese would mount a last-ditch suicidal Banzai charge. The incoming, screaming soldiers were easily machine-gunned, thereby turning the tide of battle in favor of the Allies. On Iwo Jima, the Japanese traded suicide charges for well-dug, entrenched defensive positions. The Marines had to individually attack each pillbox, at great peril.
Incredibly, the signature black volcanic sand of Iwo Jima never was examined prior to the battle. Incoming tanks and American vehicles quickly bogged down and got stuck in the melee. In total, U.S. casualties prior to the battle were underestimated by 80 percent! On Iwo Jima, there were 23,000 casualties out of 70,000 Marines. Chillingly, Richard Newcomb writes, "This would be a strong warning of what was to come with the invasion of Okinawa." And later, Japan.
Carl was on the island for the entire campaign. He laughs at certain memories, like how he woke up one morning nine miles offshore after catching some sleep on a docked ship. He laughed at the thought of their mess tent being targeted and destroyed, and how a fellow Marine used his rifle to shoot a branch blocking his field of view. However, Carl also was witness to some of the worst horrors a human can behold. Toward the end of the battle came the grisly job of moving the dead. Bodies literally would fall apart, many unrecognizable as a human figure.
Then, one afternoon it was over. Carl loaded up, boarded a ship and headed back to Hilo, Hawaii, on March 26, 1945. It was aboard ship that Carl, and the remnants of the 5th Marine Division, learned that President Roosevelt had died. Says Carl, "I thought he was a great guy - I voted for him in the service; we could send our votes in. I think he helped, but of course the war is what really brought us out of The Depression. He had a lot of things to put guys to work, like the CCC and the WPA."
At Hilo, the Marines refitted. Out of the 800 men in Carl's 5th Marine Division Pioneer Battalion, 41 had been killed, with many more wounded, on Iwo Jima. New supplies replaced those which had been lost or destroyed, including, Carl laughed, a new mess tent! In retrospect, humor can be found, but at the time, the Marines were getting ready for the deadly serious upcoming invasion of mainland Japan.
Carl was in Hawaii, getting ready to invade Japan. At this, he stopped laughing: "We were supposed to hit Japan on the first of November (1945), I think it was. We just figured, boy this isn't going to be good, cause of all the trouble we had on Iwo. If we were going to survive Japan, we'd have to be damn lucky. But, that was our mission!"
The American invasion of Japan would have happened. Troops and supplies already were being diverted in anticipation. Not only would the Americans participate in this campaign; the Russians already were staging their assault. For the invasion of Japan, the American military was anticipating no less than 1 million U.S. battle casualties.
Of course, the invasion never happened. In early August, a new weapon obliterated two Japanese cities. On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered. Carl describes his reaction upon hearing the news:
"Oh, God - ANYBODY that tells you that we should've never dropped the atomic bomb, why, I'd like to take and put them on the front lines for a while."
- Dan Wegmueller is a columnist for The Monroe Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
In no doubt, the capture of Iwo Jima was a strategic success. The three airstrips on the island would serve as an emergency stop for the B-29s conducting air raids on mainland Japan. Now under American control, Iwo no longer would serve as a haven for kamikaze fighters, or as an early warning system. Simply, the United States had been losing too many expensive bombers and crew.
Despite the obvious necessity of taking the island, Iwo Jima came at an incredible cost. According to Richard Newcomb's 1982 "Iwo Jima," there were 23,573 Marine casualties, including 6,821 U.S. personnel killed during the campaign. Incredibly, more than one-third of the total Marines who participated in the invasion either were killed, wounded or suffered from battle fatigue.
Of the more than 20,000 Japanese believed to be on the island, only 1,083 were taken alive. No one knows how many casualties the Japanese suffered - many simply were entombed in their underground bunkers, buried alive when they refused to surrender.
From the battle of Iwo Jima came many hard lessons for the American war effort. Again, from Richard Newcomb's "Iwo Jima," the Americans had underestimated the Japanese strength by as much as 70 percent. A change in Japanese strategy proved incredibly costly for the Marines: As was commonplace during previous battles like Saipan, Tarawa and Peleliu, the Japanese would mount a last-ditch suicidal Banzai charge. The incoming, screaming soldiers were easily machine-gunned, thereby turning the tide of battle in favor of the Allies. On Iwo Jima, the Japanese traded suicide charges for well-dug, entrenched defensive positions. The Marines had to individually attack each pillbox, at great peril.
Incredibly, the signature black volcanic sand of Iwo Jima never was examined prior to the battle. Incoming tanks and American vehicles quickly bogged down and got stuck in the melee. In total, U.S. casualties prior to the battle were underestimated by 80 percent! On Iwo Jima, there were 23,000 casualties out of 70,000 Marines. Chillingly, Richard Newcomb writes, "This would be a strong warning of what was to come with the invasion of Okinawa." And later, Japan.
Carl was on the island for the entire campaign. He laughs at certain memories, like how he woke up one morning nine miles offshore after catching some sleep on a docked ship. He laughed at the thought of their mess tent being targeted and destroyed, and how a fellow Marine used his rifle to shoot a branch blocking his field of view. However, Carl also was witness to some of the worst horrors a human can behold. Toward the end of the battle came the grisly job of moving the dead. Bodies literally would fall apart, many unrecognizable as a human figure.
Then, one afternoon it was over. Carl loaded up, boarded a ship and headed back to Hilo, Hawaii, on March 26, 1945. It was aboard ship that Carl, and the remnants of the 5th Marine Division, learned that President Roosevelt had died. Says Carl, "I thought he was a great guy - I voted for him in the service; we could send our votes in. I think he helped, but of course the war is what really brought us out of The Depression. He had a lot of things to put guys to work, like the CCC and the WPA."
At Hilo, the Marines refitted. Out of the 800 men in Carl's 5th Marine Division Pioneer Battalion, 41 had been killed, with many more wounded, on Iwo Jima. New supplies replaced those which had been lost or destroyed, including, Carl laughed, a new mess tent! In retrospect, humor can be found, but at the time, the Marines were getting ready for the deadly serious upcoming invasion of mainland Japan.
Carl was in Hawaii, getting ready to invade Japan. At this, he stopped laughing: "We were supposed to hit Japan on the first of November (1945), I think it was. We just figured, boy this isn't going to be good, cause of all the trouble we had on Iwo. If we were going to survive Japan, we'd have to be damn lucky. But, that was our mission!"
The American invasion of Japan would have happened. Troops and supplies already were being diverted in anticipation. Not only would the Americans participate in this campaign; the Russians already were staging their assault. For the invasion of Japan, the American military was anticipating no less than 1 million U.S. battle casualties.
Of course, the invasion never happened. In early August, a new weapon obliterated two Japanese cities. On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered. Carl describes his reaction upon hearing the news:
"Oh, God - ANYBODY that tells you that we should've never dropped the atomic bomb, why, I'd like to take and put them on the front lines for a while."
- Dan Wegmueller is a columnist for The Monroe Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
