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SPOTLIGHT ON MARINE HEROES #7
VII. VICTORY AND THE END OF WAR During the first months of 1945, the offensive against Japan reached its full stride. American naval and air forces hammered the enemy day and night and the stage was set for the climactic battles of the Pacific war. In February 1945 the Marines of the Sixth Regiment were encamped in garrison on Saipan. They watched from the sidelines as the Vth Amphibious Corps stormed ashore on Iwo Jima. In preparation for future operations, the 2nd Marine Division absorbed thousands of replacements. Long service Marines rotated back home, leaving only a handful of Guadalcanal veterans in the ranks. But their memories lived on. There were only a few operational objectives remaining in the fifth year of war. Once again, orders came down from CincPac; this time code named Operation ICEBERG. Objective— Okinawa. L-Day was set for 1 April 1945. In mid-March, ships of Transport Division 15, put into anchorage at Saipan, and the 2nd Marine Division loaded-out for its mission. Sailing on 25 March 1945, the Silent Second was designated as the Demonstration Group for ICEBERG. Its mission was to simulate a landing near Minatoga, on the southeast coast of Okinawa. Before dawn, the Demonstration Group arrived off its fake objectives. Japanese kamikazes attacked the fleet at 0520. A "Val" crashed into LST 884, which was loaded with amtracs and infantrymen of L 3/2. The burning airplane smashed through the hull onto the tank deck. Fires ignited and numerous amtracs were engulfed in flames as Marines and Sailors were trapped and burned to death. Damage control parties worked valiantly to stop the fires, and the ship was saved. Another kamikaze crashed into the USS Hinsdale, also carrying elements of 3/2. Many Sailors died as a result of this attack, but the crew saved their ship. The embarked Marines were transferred to an already–laden LST, and the Hinsdale was towed to a protected anchorage at Kerama Retto. The 2nd Marine Division returned to Saipan after its feint. Ironically, it had suffered the first casualties in the invasion of Okinawa. The 6th Marines reoccupied its camps and waited for the call to arms. Saipan was bursting at the seams. A major air base and logistical center, it played host to thousands of servicemen and units of every type. The Sixth had a front row seat to the fleets of silver B-29 bombers taking off for missions to the Japanese home islands. Meanwhile, the campaign for Okinawa ground forward; brutal and bloody. The 1st and 6th Marine Divisions wore through two months of terrible combat. The 8th Marines was committed to battle in Operation ICEBERG. Gyrenes of the Sixth Regiment, along with the rest of the Silent Second, wondered when they would be called. On 22 June 1945, Okinawa was declared secure. Now there was only one objective left. Marines wondered aloud how many would survive the next landing somewhere on the coast of Japan. Planning began for Operation OLYMPIC— the assault on Kyushu. In that summer of 1945, the Sixth—now under the command of Col Gregon W. Williams—humped across the old battlefields on Saipan, ran problems in street fighting and practiced tank-infantry assaults. Marines joked only half in jest, "We sure won't be no bridesmaid this next time around." But a world away, the top–secret Manhattan Project was exerting a powerful influence on the fate of the Sixth. On 16 July 1945. At a place called Trinity Test Site in New Mexico, the world changed forever when the first atomic bomb exploded. This test was followed by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 August 1945. Back on Saipan, rumors spread like wildfire. "Did you hear about the air force? They dropped a single bomb and knocked out a whole city!" Soon the rumors were confirmed and servicemen all asked the same question, "What's going on?" The first atomic bombing was followed by the destruction of another Japanese city—Nagasaki—on 8 August 1945. Soon, the unbelievable was confirmed. There wouldn't be another beach head for the Sixth, or any other Marine regiment. The war was over! The only thing to do was sign the papers and go home. Then, word came down from on high; the 2nd MarDiv would occupy Kyushu.
On 23 September 1945, the 6th Marines made its final amphibious landing of World War II at Nagasaki, Japan. The Regiment fanned out through the demolished city and set-up a cordon around the areas most heavily damaged in the atomic bombing. All hands were locked and loaded, ready for anything. Memories of the Tenaru, fake cries for Corpsmen, and hidden grenades were all foremost in Marines' minds.
But against all odds, the Japanese didn't appear to be warlike at all. They were almost docile in their civility and willingness to cooperate with the Americans. So began the 2nd Marine Division's final mission of the war. As the occupation force for a large area of southern Kyushu, the Silent Second helped stabilize the local government and disarmed thousands upon thousands of Japanese troops. Weapons and ammo caches were destroyed, and military installations made unusable.
All through the winter of 1945-46, Marines on occupation duty wondered, "When in the hell are we gonna go home?" They grumbled at the boredom of occupation duty, but never forgot who they were. Finally, in June 1946, the Silent Second boarded transports for its last voyage. This time, it was bound for home.
SOURCES USED: Follow Me! The Story of the 2nd Marine Division in World War II by Richard Johnston
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