POST #22-37 

 Day Twenty-Seven...Leaving Iwo Jima, 18 March, 1945.. 

Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...

 This will be the last post following Dad and the 24th Marines, Baker company in the battle of IWO JIMA...

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Day Twenty-Seven...Departure 

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On 2-22-2022 Mikey's Dad, Willard W. Wemple would have been 100 years old.  We have followed Dad's time in the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company, from February 19th to his departure on March 18th, 1945.  We will be finishing this series with this post...

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On this day, 18 March 1945...Dad and the 1-24 Marines moved down from their last overnight post at Hill 382, down to the beach to prepare for departure from Iwo Jima.  This group of Marines, a mix of men from the companies of the 1-24 gathered for one last photo before they boarded the ships for departure....

18 March, 1945...Dad Circled

Inset of Dad from the photo...

Dad and the rest of the 1-24th Marines boarded the USS Pickaway....

USS Pickaway

And departed Iwo Jima for good on March 20, 1945 for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...Arriving there on April 5th, 1945.  As the Marines began to leave Iwo, many felt these emotions...

"I stood on the rail of the ship as it pulled out. As we left I thought of my friends that had fallen and were buried there. I felt like we were leaving them back there alone, that we were deserting them. We are Marines, fighting men, that are supposed to be hard, with no feelings, but we have them. We talk of our fallen buddies as though they were transferred - we sound indifferent, but when we are alone we would cry. A buddy is something precious, and to lose that buddy is a hard blow."

Dad (Willard W. Wemple) returned on the USS Pickaway to Maui with the 4th Marine Division and settled into a tent at Camp Maui as a permanent and fully accepted member of Baker Company. He was promoted to Private First Class on 23 April 1945, and kept his role as a squad BARman. The division continued training through the summer, anticipating an invasion of the Japanese home islands, but the war came to an end due to the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan before they saw further combat. 

While on Maui, Dad posed for a few pictures with some 1-24 guys that he served with on Iwo...

Willard Wemple, Robert Gabourie, Levon Kinsey, Robert White and Chester McCoy

Robert White and Willard Wemple

Willard Wemple and Robert Gabourie

Robert White, Robert Gabourie, Willard Wemple and George Werre

Insets and info from the photos...

 Dad (Willard Wemple) Polson, Montana

White Robert V. “RV” White - St. Louis, Missouri 

George E. Werre - Tappan, North Dakota

Robert K. “Chick” Gabourie - Escanaba, Michigan

Levon Kinsey - Ola, Arkansas

Chester L. McCoy - Augusta, Georgia

Chester McCoy is still living and we have been in contact with him through his son, also Chester....

  

HERE is an interview with Mr. McCoy conducted March 18, 2011.

As 1-24 Marines rotated back to the United States for discharge, newer men like Dad (Willard Wemple) were reassigned to garrison and service posts. Many Baker Company veterans wound up with the 6th Service Depot at Oahu for a few weeks or months; Dad enjoyed a period of relatively easy duty with the depot’s ordnance company before receiving orders to return to California. He was honorably discharged on 9 March 1946.

After the war, Dad used his GI Bill to enroll at the newly-founded Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. 

Willard pursued his new career with passion, learning to repair cameras in Connecticut and landing a job at Prestwoods Photo Shop in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

He rented a room from Samuel and Edith Harvey...and their daughter, Naomi...

Naomi was quite taken with the “handsome young Montana Man” and the two struck up a relationship. Although Willard moved back to Montana, they kept up a correspondence – and he proposed by mail. Willard and Naomi married in September, 1952...

The Wemples settled in Billings and raised three sons...

And the marriage lasted the rest of their lives...

Willard continued to work in photography and engraving until 1977, and then managed rental properties for another fifteen years. An avid outdoorsman, he was fond of fishing, camping, and hiking...

Willard was a fixture at auctions and garage sales around Billings until his death in 2007...

This will be the end of the daily updates that followed Dad and the 1-24-B in the battle through logs and stories of the battle as told by a Military Historian and battle participants on the 1st Battallion-24th Marines Website...  

Thank you for following along!

 Visit our YouTube Channel --- MtMikey for all of our videos! - Please Like and Subscribe! -

Until Next Time!!

      

 

POST #22-36 

 Day Twenty-Six...Iwo Jima Battle Narrative, 17 March, 1945.. 

Almost Done!

Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...

 We begin to wind up the day-by-day story of the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company in the bloody battle of IWO JIMA...

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Day 26...The End...

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********

On 2-22-2022 Mikey's Dad, Willard W. Wemple would have been 100 years old.  We are following Dad's time in the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company, from February 19th to March 17th, 1945, in....Operation Detachment.

What we have posted here on the Blog Post about the B-1-24 was be minimal. But we added links leading to a very good, detailed website...1st Battallion-24th Marines that have given way more information than we can deliver ourselves. 

******

On this day, 17 March 1945...At daylight, the sweeps began once more. One last time, Battalion 1-24 climbed out of foxholes. One last time they moved out, carefully searching through the caves, searching for the enemy. But instead of facing northeast as they had done for nearly thirty days, their line of advance moved southwest. Back to the landing beaches!  Soon to be the departing beaches!

They moved slowly through the terrain. Discarded weapons were collected. Dropped gear was salvaged. Caves were blasted shut. Dead men were hauled out and sent for burial...in a cemetery if American, on the spot if Japanese. It took hours to cover the few hundred yards back to Hill 382. They crossed their own old battlefields and those of hundreds of other men. Every step held memories, and every step got them closer to the end.

When Dad and the other Marines caught sight of the beach they must have been amazed at the change since they came ashore nearly a month earlier. There were thousands of men and lots of equipment. There were pilots and mechanics, cooks, bakers, hospitals, and bulldozers making runways.

But no one was interested in sightseeing...they wanted to get aboard one of the ships and sail as far away from Iwo as possible. For a time, the rumor had it that they would board the ship that evening, but this didn’t happen. Instead, they dug in one more time on the slopes of Hill 382...overlooking the Meat Grinder, the Turkey Knob and the Amphitheater... the spots that they had battled for, and where their buddies had died. They waited for an attack and waited for the morning and the orders that would finally get them out of the living hell they had experienced...Tomorrow...

The 1-24 consisting of Dads Baker Composite Company and Able Composite Company had one last Marine killed this day and no wounded, with a Battalion strength of 480.

For the entire campaign of the 1034 men of the 1-24 that landed on Iwo, 146 were killed, 482 were wounded and 11 became sick.

According to official records, the 36-day assault of Iwo Jima resulted in more than 26,000 total American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Japanese combat deaths numbered over three times as many. The Medal of Honor was awarded to 27 U.S. Marines and U.S. sailors (14 posthumously).

Read the full narrative below...     

  

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TODAYS FULL NARRATIVE

Todays narrative is DAY TWENTY-SIX on Iwo Jima, 14 March, 1945...It will be called The End...

Click or tap HERE to go to the full narrative...

https://1-24thmarines.com/the-battles/iwo-jima/d26/

Soon we will be ending the daily updates that followed the 1-24-B in the battle through logs and stories of the battle as told by a Military Historian and battle participants on the 1st Battallion-24th Marines Website...  Thank you for following along!

 Visit our YouTube Channel --- MtMikey for all of our videos! - Please Like and Subscribe! -

Until Next Time!!

     

 

POST #22-35 

 Day Twenty-Five...Iwo Jima Battle Narrative, 16 March, 1945.. 

Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...

 We continue the day-by-day story of the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company in the bloody battle of IWO JIMA...

******

Day Twenty-Five...Gladiators...

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********

Tap any photo or video to enlarge/play.

Tap the underlined links to visit an explanatory webpage. 

********

On 2-22-2022) Mikey's Dad, Willard W. Wemple would have been 100 years old.  We are following Dad's time in the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company, from February 19th to March 17th, 1945, in....Operation Detachment.

What we post here on the Blog Post about the B-1-24 will be minimal. But we will add links leading to a very good, detailed website...1st Battallion-24th Marines that will give way more information than we can deliver ourselves. We must warn you that some of the information will be graphic and upsetting, but will give you some idea about what Dad and the other Marines experienced.  If you see a mention of Baker Company, that is the unit Dad was assigned to.

******

On this day, 16 March 1945...The Marines knew the end of the battle was close, but the thought brought them little comfort.

They knew it was going to be one hell of a fight when the Japanese decided to make their last suicide charge. They were going to come out screaming "banzai," waving their weapons and planned to kill until they were dead. They had seen it happen before, and they were not looking forward to it.

Major Schechter led his men out of their rest area at 0600, headed for the positions of Battalion 1-23, which spanned a 300 yard front. Thirty minutes later, Major Milton G. Cokin led his composite Baker Company on a similar mission, to relieve Battalion 3-23 in positions to the east of the Motoyama Airfield. Both companies were on station by 0700. The exhausted men of the 23rd Marines slowly moved to the rear, policing up their path. They were ultimately bound for the beaches, the boats, and the ships that would take them away from Iwo Jima for good.

Able Company found themselves once again in Iwo’s inhospitable terrain. The Japanese had been pushed back into a small corner of the island maybe the size of a city block with lots of boulders and cave mouths. The frightening process of investigating open caves, crevices, and suspicious looking holes soon took a deadly turn.  Japanese rifle fire and hand grenades opened up...Nobody wanted to be the battle’s last casualty, and the company held up while weighing its options.

Mopping up continued throughout the day. Able Company sealed numerous caves in their sector and suffered a handful of wounded. Baker Company patrolled its own area, but had no enemy encounters worth reporting. With their zones of operation secured, both companies started preparing their nighttime positions.

The Marines managed to get to the high ground without incident. From their new positions, the terrain dropped steeply away into a jumble of rocks, with only a single path providing a possible approach for the Japanese.  As darkness closed in the Marines prayed for an easy night. Nobody wants to die close to the end of the battle. They did not know it, but this night would be the last they had to spend in combat. But one more man would crack, and one more man would die before it was through.

The 1-24 consisting of Dads Baker Composite Company and Able Composite Company had one Marines killed this day and six wounded, with a Battalion strength of 481.

Read the full narrative below...     

  

******

TODAYS FULL NARRATIVE

Todays narrative is DAY TWENTY-FIVE on Iwo Jima, 14 March, 1945...It will be called Gladiators...

Click or tap HERE to go to the full narrative...It's very interesting! 

https://1-24thmarines.com/the-battles/iwo-jima/d25/

Over the next posts and next days we will continue posting daily updates that will follow 1-24-B in the battle through logs and stories of the battle as told by a Military Historian and battle participants on the 1st Battallion-24th Marines Website...

 Visit our YouTube Channel --- MtMikey for all of our videos! - Please Like and Subscribe! -

Until Next Time!!

     

 

POST #22-34 

 Day Twenty-Four...Iwo Jima Battle Narrative, 15 March, 1945.. 

Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...

 We continue the day-by-day story of the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company in the bloody battle of IWO JIMA...

******

Day Fifteen...Stand By

If you're have trouble seeing the entire post, CLICK HERE

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********

Tap any photo or video to enlarge/play.

Tap the underlined links to visit an explanatory webpage. 

********

On 2-22-2022) Mikey's Dad, Willard W. Wemple would have been 100 years old.  We are following Dad's time in the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company, from February 19th to March 17th, 1945, in....Operation Detachment.

What we post here on the Blog Post about the B-1-24 will be minimal. But we will add links leading to a very good, detailed website...1st Battallion-24th Marines that will give way more information than we can deliver ourselves. We must warn you that some of the information will be graphic and upsetting, but will give you some idea about what Dad and the other Marines experienced.  If you see a mention of Baker Company, that is the unit Dad was assigned to.

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On this day, 15 March 1945... The day on Iwo brought the anticipated orders for BLT 1-24... Stand by to move out.

Major Webster’s info of the previous day turned out to be wrong. The battalion would not be relieving Battalion 2-24...instead, they would assume control of a larger sector. Able Company was to relieve and occupy the lines of Battalion 1-23, which had three companies on the line. Baker Company was to relieve Battalion 3-23.” The company commanders repeated their reconnaissance missions of the previous day, learning the route to the front lines and talking with the commanders in the 23rd Marines.

Major Schechter knew he had a tall order to fill, even though the Japanese were cornered. He had about one hundred men, half a company, under his command.

However, Schechter was a master of the motivating pep talk.  Schechter passed the word he was going into the area first thing in the morning with a patrol for an overnight stay, and fight it out if necessary, and needed a group of volunteers to come along.

One last effort, one gutsy patrol, led by a combat veteran who wanted only the most motivated guys in the battalion for help. It wasn’t quite what the operations order demanded, but it did the trick. When the time came and Schechter took the lead, every man fell in behind him.

The 1-24 consisting of Dads Baker Composite Company and Able Composite Company had three Marines killed for the days of 11 March to 15 March day and none wounded, with a Battalion strength of 845.

Read the full narrative below...     

  

******

TODAYS FULL NARRATIVE

Todays narrative is DAY TWENTY-FOUR on Iwo Jima, 14 March, 1945...It will be called Stand By...

Click or tap HERE to go to the full narrative...It's very interesting 

https://1-24thmarines.com/the-battles/iwo-jima/reserve/#standby

Over the next posts and next days we will continue posting daily updates that will follow 1-24-B in the battle through logs and stories of the battle as told by a Military Historian and battle participants on the 1st Battallion-24th Marines Website...

 Visit our YouTube Channel --- MtMikey for all of our videos! - Please Like and Subscribe! -

Until Next Time!!

     

 POST #22-33 

 Day Twenty-Three...Iwo Jima Battle Narrative, 14 March, 1945.. 

Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...

 We continue the day-by-day story of the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company in the bloody battle of IWO JIMA...

******

Day Fourteen...Rumors...

If you're have trouble seeing the entire post, CLICK HERE

Subscribe to get E-Mail notifications of new posts!

Fill the CONTACT US TO SUBSCRIBE fields!

********

Tap any photo or video to enlarge/play.

Tap the underlined links to visit an explanatory webpage. 

********

On 2-22-2022) Mikey's Dad, Willard W. Wemple would have been 100 years old.  We are following Dad's time in the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company, from February 19th to March 17th, 1945, in....Operation Detachment.

What we post here on the Blog Post about the B-1-24 will be minimal. But we will add links leading to a very good, detailed website...1st Battallion-24th Marines that will give way more information than we can deliver ourselves. We must warn you that some of the information will be graphic and upsetting, but will give you some idea about what Dad and the other Marines experienced.  If you see a mention of Baker Company, that is the unit Dad was assigned to.

******

On this day, 14 March 1945...The orders received on Day 23 were unchanged...local patrols, salvaging of equipment, cleaning of weapons, and policing of area. But the atmosphere at headquarters was beginning to change.

The acting commander, Major George D. Webster, got wind of a plan to send Battalion 1-24 back to the lines to relieve the tired troops of Battalion 2-24 who were badly in need of a rest. Webster called up the two acting company commanders...Major Irving Schechter and Major Milton G. Cokin...and the three veteran officers departed for the front to make their own reconnaissance. Knowing what lay ahead would enable them to anticipate problems in their path.

The Word began spreading down through the ranks, and the Marines began mentally preparing themselves for the final effort.

Read the full narrative below...     

  

******

TODAYS FULL NARRATIVE

Todays narrative is DAY TWENTY-THREE on Iwo Jima, 14 March, 1945...It will be called Rumors...

Click or tap HERE to go to the full narrative...It's very interesting 

https://1-24thmarines.com/the-battles/iwo-jima/reserve/#rumors

Over the next posts and next days we will continue posting daily updates that will follow 1-24-B in the battle through logs and stories of the battle as told by a Military Historian and battle participants on the 1st Battallion-24th Marines Website...

 Visit our YouTube Channel --- MtMikey for all of our videos! - Please Like and Subscribe! -

Until Next Time!!