POST #22-28
Day Eighteen...Iwo Jima Battle Narrative, 9 March, 1945..
Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...
Continuing 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 Eighteen...Disbanded... |
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On this day, 9 March 1945, heavy attacks were made over the
previous night all along the front. An estimated 1,200 Japanese troops, many
armed with demolition charges, tried to break through American lines in various
sectors before dawn on Day18. All attacks were repulsed, and as many as 900
corpses were counted in the morning. Many of the dead Japanese bore the
telltale wounds of suicide...after striking a grenade against their helmets,
they held the bombs to their stomachs, chests, or heads.
We could tell they were near the end of their rope when we saw
them in the morning. They were in their best uniforms, with their best sabers,
all dressed up for their funerals. One Jap officer made a lone banzai charge,
swinging his dress saber and running straight towards the Marines
Dad told of an experience like this where a Japanese officer was charging at him waving his sword...Maybe it was this one...Dad obliged him with a burst from his BAR. He said he collected that mans sword and pistol and stashed it in a crack in the rocks, intending to pick it up later. Unfortunately they never made it back there and the weapons could still be there today...
Orders called for a renewed assault at 0700, but it was plain to
all that the First Battalion of the 24th Marines would be ready to go at that
time. The previous day’s fighting and the exhausting night of combat had sapped
their strength and disorganized the companies.
Headquarters was aware of the problem and made a drastic decision.
The First Battalion 24th Marines would get new leadership and a new
structure. They couldn’t possibly take
the casualties the battalion was suffering without consolidating the troops.
The battalion was being re-formed into two companies. But even
these new companies were woefully under strength.
It took the rest of the morning to reorganize the battalion...the
Companies were now Able Composite and Baker Composite. Charlie and Easy had
been disbanded and consolidated into A and B. When they moved out at 1300
hours, the change in organization was noticeable.
The renewed attack started slowly but gathered momentum throughout
the afternoon. Both companies advanced cave by cave advancing between 150 and 250
yards. Japanese resistance was starting to crumble in places as they were
gradually compressed into a smaller and smaller area.
Marines noted more instances of Japanese troops moving between positions or out in the open, which they to mean an insufficient number of prepared positions to maintain a defense. It was clear that the overnight attacks had taken a huge toll on the Japanese, but those who survived fought on fiercely.
At one point, an American tank rolled into the line and the tanker stated “Didn’t you fellows hear? General Hart said the island is secure!”
The Marines felt a rush of excitement...Maybe the tanker was right! Maybe the island was secure! They could go back to the rear, go back to Maui, and get a one step closer to home!
But Iwo Jima was FAR from secure. Two more weeks would pass before the final organized Japanese resistance ended. More men would be wounded, more men would die. And, it seemed, the day ended much as it began. It was to be another restless night followed by a bad day...
The 1-24 consisting of Dads Baker Composite Company and Able Composite Company had 8 Marines killed this day and 20 wounded, leaving a Battalion strength of 457.
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