: Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima by Alexander Joseph H - United States. Marine Corps History World War 1939-1945; Iwo Jima Battle of Japan 1945 World War II

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Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima Assault Preparations Sidebar: The Japanese Commander D-Day Sidebar: The Assault Commanders at Iwo Jima Suribachi Sidebar: Rosenthal's Photograph of Iwo Jima Flag-Raising Quickly Became One of the War's Most Famous The Drive North Sidebar: The Japanese 320mm Spigot Mortar Sidebar: Marine Corps Air Support During Iwo Jima The Bitter End Sidebar: The Marines' Zippo Tanks Sidebar: Iwo's Fire Brigades: The Rocket Detachments Sidebar: Amphibious Logistical Support at Iwo Jima Iwo Jima's Costs, Gains, and Legacies Sidebar: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Sidebar: Assault Divisions' Command Structures Sources About the Author About the Series Transcriber's Notes

CLOSING IN:

MARINES IN THE SEIZURE OF IWO JIMA

MARINES IN WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES

BY COLONEL JOSEPH H. ALEXANDER U.S. MARINE CORPS

Closing In:

Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima

In the center of the island, the 3d Marine Division units had been up most of the night repelling a small but determined Japanese counterattack which had found the seam between the 21st and 9th Marines. Vicious close combat had cost both sides heavy casualties. The counterattack spoiled the division's preparations for a morning advance. Both regiments made marginal gains against very stiff opposition.

To the east the 4th Marine Division had finally captured Hill 382, ending its long exposure in "The Amphitheater," but combat efficiency had fallen to 50 percent. It would drop another five points by nightfall. On this day the 24th Marines, supported by flame tanks, advanced a total of 100 yards, pausing to detonate more than a ton of explosives against enemy cave positions in that sector. The 23d and 25th Marines entered the most difficult terrain yet encountered, broken ground that limited visibility to only a few feet.

Along the western flank, the 5th Marine Division had just seized Nishi Ridge and Hill 362-B the previous day, suffering more than 500 casualties. It too had been up most of the night engaging a sizeable force of infiltrators. The Sunday morning attacks lacked coordination, reflecting the division's collective exhaustion. Most rifle companies were at half-strength. The net gain for the day, the division reported, was "practically nil."

That afternoon the fighting men of both sides witnessed a harbinger of Iwo Jima's fate. Through the overcast skies appeared a gigantic silver bomber, the largest aircraft anyone had ever seen. It was the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress "Dinah Might," crippled in a raid over Tokyo, seeking an emergency landing on the island's scruffy main airstrip. As the Americans in the vicinity held their breaths, the big bomber swooped in from the south, landed heavily, clipped a field telephone pole with a wing, and shuddered to a stop less than 50 feet from the bitter end of the strip. Pilot Lieutenant Fred Malo and his 10-man crew were extremely glad to be alive, but they didn't stay long. Every Japanese gunner within range wanted to bag this prize. Mechanics made field repairs within a half hour. Then the 65-ton Superfort lumbered aloft through a hail of enemy fire and headed back to its base in Tinian. The Marines cheered.

The battle of Iwo Jima would rage on for another 22 days, claiming eleven thousand more American casualties and the lives of virtually the entire Japanese garrison. This was a colossal fight between two well-armed, veteran forces--the biggest and bloodiest battle in the history of the United States Marine Corps. From the 4th of March on, however, the leaders of both sides entertained no doubts as to the ultimate outcome.

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