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SPOTLIGHT ON MARINE HEROES #10
LOADING OUT FOR WAR In December 1944, the 5th Marine Division began breaking camp as the haze-gray ships arrived in Hilo harbor for the next stage in the long voyage to war. 1/27 loaded its cargo and equipment on the night of 28-29 December 1944. Soon thereafter, they departed for the first port of call; Pearl Harbor, where the huge convoys formed. Every spare berth in the port was crammed with ships and supplies, but all most Gyrenes wanted to know was, “When’s liberty call?”
In mid-January, the ships slipped out of Pearl bound for the island of Maui. There, the Marines and Sailors of the Joint Expeditionary Force conducted a series of three rehearsals from 13-17 January 1945. They launched amphibian tractors, and practiced combat landings, maneuvers, naval gunfire, and aerial support. At the conclusion of the exercises, the Marines of 1/27 boarded the USS Hansford (APA 106) and returned to Pearl.
Honolulu was only eight miles from Pearl Harbor and all hands counted their money for a last, rushed liberty. Each day, 25 percent of the battalion was allowed ashore. Meanwhile, supplies and equipment were replenished and crews made preparations to get underway. On 27 January 1945, 1/27 departed from Hawaii aboard the Hansford with a course set westward across the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
In the midst of the Joint Expeditionary Force convoy, Marines stood by the rails of their ships. They marveled at the sheer size of their convoys, which seemed to cover the ocean with ships of every size and shape. Life aboard ship quickly settled down to a routine of weapons cleaning, standing watch, classes and physical fitness training. Of course, Gyrenes also engaged in the time-honored ritual of doping off whenever they could. Two days out of Hawaii, the Marines were briefed on their destination and mission. LtCol Butler passed the word via the ship’s intercom to his Marines. His voice carried across loudspeakers to every part of the Hansford. "Island X" was an eight-square-mile volcanic island about 700 miles south of the Japanese home islands. Its name was Iwo Jima. The Skipper told his Marines that Iwo was part of Japan and a critical part of the enemy’s defenses. The battalion would play a key role in the coming battle.
2ndLt Craig Leman, of Corvallis, Oregon, was attached to 1/27 aboard the Hansford during the passage to Iwo Jima. He recalled: "The Hansford was a fairly new ship which had been built as a cargo ship and later converted to a troop transport. It had a 5-inch gun and lots of 40mm antiaircraft guns. Several days out of Pearl, there was an extended antiaircraft exercise with live fire against drones simulating kamikazes. There was a tremendous volume of fire without much to show for it till, at last, one of the drones was hit and crashed, to the cheers of all of us lining the gunwales."
After the briefing, the companies formed for separate, detailed operational briefings. Each Marine viewed a topographical model of Iwo Jima and learned the part he and his unit would play. Leaders briefed their Marines on the mission: “On DOG-Day land, seize and occupy Iwo Jima in order to use that island for further operations against the enemy and to destroy or capture the enemy therein…At HOW plus 2, DOG-Day [Landing Team 1-27] lands on beach RED-2, advances rapidly and seizes… [the enemy held airfield] within its zone of action and continues to advance to “O-1” on order.”(1) Landing Team 1-27, built around the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, had more than 1,000 Marines and Sailors within its ranks. For the D-Day landing, the battalion was reinforced by the following assets:
Most of the Marines in LT 1-27 would ride to the beach in amtracs of the 11th Armored Amphibian Battalion. In addition, shore party Marines and heavy assets such as the 37mm guns would go ashore in Higgins boats. Ahead of them all, eleven LVT(A)-4 amtanks from the 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion were slated to land at H-Hour. The LVT(A)-4s, equipped with 75mm howitzers, would provide close-in fire support during the run-in to the beach.
On 5 February 1945, the giant convoy reached the next destination, Eniwetok. Some Marines were allowed ashore to play baseball and drink warm 3.2 beer. On the Hansford, the captain had a cargo net rigged over the side and sounded swim call. At Eniwetok, LtCol Butler Butler received a special gift from home—a picture of his children, including baby Clinton. This was the colonel's first and only photo of the newest addition to the Butler family. The convoy shoved off on 7 February bound for Saipan Island in the Marianas. On arrival, the ships put into port at Tanapag harbor on 11 February 1945 and began to refit and refuel immediately. Most of the Marines in LT 1-27 packed their gear and boarded LSTs for the final stages of the voyage to war. On 13 February 1945, the Joint Expeditionary Force conducted the final dress rehearsal off the coast of Tinian. The rehearsal was conducted in high seas under combat conditions. Early in the morning, amtracs launched from the LSTs and formed into waves. Loaded with Marines and equipment, the heavily laden vehicles made the run-in toward the beach under simulated naval gunfire support. The waves turned back about 500 yards form the beach and returned to their LSTs for embarkation.
One of the landing team’s LSTs broke down during the rehearsal after it had launched its amtracs. Several amtracs were unable to locate the LST and almost ran out of gas searching for it. All were finally rescued and refueled by another ship. A few Marines in the battalion were also injured during the exercise while climbing down the nets on the heaving transports. Col Thomas Wornham, Commanding Officer of the 27th Marines, later wrote, “I recommend that in the next operation any rehearsal such as the one held at Tinian prior to the Iwo Jima landing be absolutely eliminated…It is my opinion that the rehearsal at Tinian was of no benefit whatsoever to the combat team.” (4)
Once all amtracs and boats were recovered, the Joint Expeditionary Force regrouped and set a course northwest. Now they were heading into enemy-controlled waters closer and closer to their final rendezvous—the island of Iwo Jima. Stuffed into the berthing compartments and tank decks of their LSTs, Marines wrote home, read the same old books and batted the breeze. The young and not-so-young Marines heading for their first taste of combat wondered about their future. The combat veterans who knew the score considered how many chances they had left in the law of averages.
LtCol Butler wrote home to his family every day during the voyage. He often told Honey Gal of the great pride and confidence he had in his Marines. The skipper and his leaders had shaped a proud and ready outfit and they were up to the tough job ahead. Like every combat leader, the Skipper was faced with the two basic charges of command—take care of your Marines and accomplish the mission. Pfc Chuck Tatum of Stockton, Calif., was an 18 year old machine gunner in B 1/27. On the night of D-2, he was assigned to fire watch on the tank deck of his LST and decided to make himself comfortable on a pile of seabags. He felt a lump beneath his back in one of the seabags. Checking the name on the seabag, he saw that it belonged to an officer. The lump Tatum felt was a whiskey bottle, so he used his K-Bar knife to carefully cut it out of the seabag. After his relief, Tatum took the bottle of whiskey back to his squad. Another Marine had some Coca Colas, so the squad hid out in a landing boat on the deck of the LST. They made mixed drinks in their canteen cups and spent the evening shooting the breeze. Day by day, the convoy steamed northwest at 12 knots per hour and the weather grew cooler. Marines packed their gear and made their berthing compartments shipshape. On D-1 they cleaned weapons for the final time, broke out ammunition and rations and made last minute preparations. Many of them went to religious services to make their peace with God. They tried to sleep in their packed holds, but for many, sleep wouldn’t come. Finally, well before dawn, reveille sounded. The fleet had arrived at Iwo Jima. There was just one more leg of the journey for Landing Team 1-27, and for all the Marines who would land on D-Day, 19 February 1945.
(1) Mission order extracted from 5th MarDiv OPLAN 2-44, dated 31 Dec 44
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