From the 4th ofMarch on, however, the leaders of both sides entertained no doubts as tothe ultimate outcome. This was a colossal fightbetween two well-armed, veteran forces-the biggest and bloodiestbattle in the history of the United States Marine Corps. The battle of Iwo Jima would rage on for another 22days, claiming eleven thousand more American casualties and the lives ofvirtually the entire Japanese garrison. Then the 65-ton Superfortlumbered aloft through a hail of enemy fire and headed back to its basein Tinian. Mechanicsmade field repairs within a half hour. Pilot Lieutenant Fred Malo and his10-man crew were extremely glad to be alive, but they didn't stay long.Every Japanese gunner within range wanted to bag this prize. As the Americans in the vicinity held their breaths, thebig bomber swooped in from the south, landed heavily, clipped a fieldtelephone pole with a wing, and shuddered to a stop less than 50 feetfrom the bitter end of the strip. It was the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress "Dinah Might," crippled in araid over Tokyo, seeking an emergency landing on the island's scruffymain airstrip.
Through the overcast skiesappeared a gigantic silver bomber, the largest aircraft anyone had everseen. That afternoon the fighting men of both sideswitnessed a harbinger of Iwo Jima's fate. "Send me air and navalsupport and I will hold the island " he signalled. The usual blandishments from Imperial GeneralHeadquarters in Tokyo reached him by radio that afternoon, butKuribayashi was in no mood for heroic rhetoric. Post from the central highlands to a large cave onthe northwest coast. Waterhouse,USMCR (Ret), who as private first class was wounded during the battle. Silence in the Gorge," an acrylic painting on masonite by Col Charles H. On this date Kuribayashi moved his own command His brilliant chief of artillery, Colonel ChosakuKaido, lay dying. The American capture of the key hills in themain defense sector the day before deprived him of his invaluable artilleryobservation sites. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi knew his 109th Divisionhad inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking Marines, yet his own losseshad been comparable. Most rifle companies were at half-strength.the net gain for the day, the division reported, was "practically nil."īut the battle was beginning to take its toll on the Japanese garrisonas well. The Sunday morning attacks lacked coordination, reflectingthe division's collective exhaustion. The 23d and 25th Marinesentered the most difficult terrain yet encountered, broken groundthat limited visibility to only a few feet.Īlong the western flank, the 5th Marine Division had just seized NishiRidge 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 ofinfiltrators. It would drop another five points by nightfall.On this day the 24th Marines, supported by flame tanks, advanced atotal of 100 yards, pausing to detonate more than a ton of explosivesagainst enemy cave positions in that sector. To the east the 4th Marine Division had finally captured Hill 382,ending its long exposure in "The Amphitheater," but combat efficiencyhad fallen to 50 percent. Bothregiments made marginal gains against very stiff opposition. The counterattackspoiled the division's preparations for a morning advance. In the center of the island, the 3d Marine Division units had been upmost of the night repelling a small but determined Japanese counterattackwhich had found the seam between the 21st and 9th Marines.Vicious close combat had cost both sides heavy casualties. Ahead the going seemed all uphill against awell-disciplined, rarely visible enemy. The "front lines"were a jagged serration across Iwo's fat northern half, still in the middleof the main Japanese defenses. The thrilling site of the American flag being raised by the28th Marines on Mount Suribachi had occurred 10 days earlier, a lifetime on"Sulphur Island." The landing forces of the V Amphibious Corps (VAC)had already sustained 13,000 casualties, including 3,000 dead.
By this point the assault elements of the 3d, 4th, and 5th MarineDivisions were exhausted, their combat efficiency reduced to dangerouslylow levels. Sunday, 4 March 1945, marked the end of the second week of the U.S. Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima by Colonel Joseph H. Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 111006. Marines of Company E, 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, lower the first flag raised over Mount Suribachi, while other men raise a second flag which became the subject ofĚssociated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's world-famous photograph.ĝepartment of Defense Photo (USMC) 112718Ī Marine flamethrower operator moves forward to assault a Japanesepillbox on Motoyama Airfield. HyperWar: Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima Closing In:
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