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BATTLE NARRATIVE

Return. Iwo Jima: 26 – 28 February, Part III

The [replacement] plan used in the IWO JIMA campaign was an emergency measure and not satisfactory. A disorganized unit cannot fight with much efficiency, and the new men have not absorbed the spirit of the outfit they join. Many of the replacements hardly knew who their platoon leader or squad leader was before being killed or wounded. The replacements were not adequately trained for the type of fighting experienced on IWO JIMA, nor were they trained in the use of all infantry weapons.[1]
LtCol. Charles L. Banks
HQ/1/24th Marines

Approximately one hundred and fifty replacements — from former drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Otto Brettrager down to seventeen-year-old volunteer Private Mills W. Miller — were assigned to the First Battalion, 24th Marines during their period in reserve on Iwo Jima.

It was not the first time the battalion received a large number of new men. They rebuilt their ranks at Camp Maui after suffering casualties on Namur. In the Marianas, new men intended for the 2nd Marine Division filled in the gaps; some arrived in the aftermath of Saipan, and others mid-battle on Tinian, to slug through the final days of the campaign. And in September 1944, scores of Marines arrived from the mainland to be melded into the unit. Four months of training and one week on Iwo made these new men “old salts,” and it would be their responsibility to teach the replacements enough to stay alive.

This photo, which belonged to 1/24 replacement Andrew T. Donaldson, is believed to show members of the 24th Replacement Draft on Iwo Jima.

Sources vary on the exact date the replacements arrived. Battalion muster rolls indicate about half reported for duty on 24 February, while the other half joined on 28 February. This first date is unlikely, as 1/24 was engaged in heavy combat on February 24 and 25, and the replacements suffered no losses on this date. The battalion’s AAR states that the replacements arrived en masse on 27 February, which seems more plausible for a unit in reserve.[2] It is also not clear when the front-line platoons and squads actually absorbed the new men. Baker Company appears to have had a policy of using at least some of its replacements as stretcher-bearers before putting them on the firing line. This would help the new men acclimate to battlefield conditions. Replacements could also be sent wherever needed, which may explain why some combat veterans felt like new faces appeared daily. Corporal Alva Perry, for example, recalled that “we were getting replacements every day as we were losing men every day.”[3]

No matter when they arrived, each new man was taken up on the battalion’s muster rolls by D+9. Administrators tried to tailor each man’s assignment to his MOS, but with so many “basic” Marines and anti-tank crewmen (1/24 had no anti-tank weapons save the bazooka) this was not always possible. Private Wayne D. Thomas (521) was sent to Company A for a crash course in the mortarman’s craft.[4] Private Joseph Ziemba was directed to the assault platoon and handed a flamethrower. Private Robert Owensby would live the credo “every Marine a rifleman,” while his buddy James Parker became a machine gun ammo carrier. Both went to Charlie Company with Sergeant Philip R. Baldwin.[5]

Private James A. Moore “was sent forward to a dugout where there was a man with a typewriter and a file system. He asked for my name, rank, and serial number. Then, he handed me a “V” mail blank and told me to write home. ‘Remember, this might be your last letter ever to go out,’ he said.”[6] Moore was assigned to duty as a stretcher-bearer in Baker Company. Private Lawrence A. “Slats” Trower also wound up in Baker; the welcome he received from his new squad leader, Corporal Andrew Chorzempa, was brief but memorable: “If you know how to pray, start praying now.”[7] Trower became an assistant BARman. Privates Melvin AdalmanRondall Baird, Andrew Donaldson, Lloyd Abbott, and dozens more were similarly assigned.

NameMOSRankJoined FromAssigned To
Alexander, Charles Willard Jr.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Degen, William Christian610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Gardner, David Richard610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Gibson, Raleigh Cleon610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Liess, William John610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Lindstrom, George Wallace610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Lukac, John610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Mausser, Bernard Anton610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Miller, Paul LeRoy604 (Machine Gunner)Corporal24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Miller, Robert Eugene610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Mooney, Herman Leroy610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Morgan, Irven Milton610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Nichols, Earl Elmore610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Oberheide, Harold Junior610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Oleson, Delbert Albert610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Opheim, Robert Elmer610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Oster, Ardell William610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Parsons, Harry Robert Jr.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Philomeno, Ralph Samuel610 (AT Gunner)Corporal24th Replacement DraftAble Company
Hendricks, Roy L. 521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Herman, James Daniel Joseph521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Layne, Willard Russell521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Merola, Emilio Vincent521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Miller, Arthur N. Jr.745 (Rifleman)Corporal30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Monahan, William Paul521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Stevens, James Harold521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Stewart, James Bernard521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Swann, Claud Thomas521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Tackett, Charles Luther521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Thomas, Wayne Devere521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Thomas, William Jr.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Tommasiallo, Joseph521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Trapp, Lawrence Adam521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Travis, Paul521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftAble Company
Abbott, Lloyd Ervin610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Allison, Reuel Dring737 (Squad Leader)Corporal24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Davis, James F. Sr.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Donaldson, Andrew Thomas610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Elkins, James Arthur610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
French, Floyd Robert610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Fulton, Wilton C.812 (Heavy Weapons NCO)Platoon Sergeant24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Gibson, Robert Charles610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Glidewell, Alva Dexter Jr.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Goff, Marvin Verle610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Groger, Teddy Warren610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Hoffman, Henry Francis610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Hultin, LeRoy Edwin610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Jones, Clifford G.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
King, William Hugh610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Lewis, Elery Ward610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Maassen, Robert William610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Mackey, Hubert Joseph610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Mattsey, Walter Edwin610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Mauzey, Francis Lafayette610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Mills, Marsh Edward Jr.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Moore, James Adolphus610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Phillips, Ben Ray610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Pierson, John Howard610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Plansky, Gilbert Wencil610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Timmons, Jack Douglas745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Trower, Lawrence Andrey745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Tveter, Ivar745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Umfress, Samuel Lamar745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Van Dusen, Leonard George610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Van Sickle, Robert Sheldon521 (Basic)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Vrana, Richard William745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Welborn, Hillyer Walter745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Wemple, Willard Washington745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Werre, George E.745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
White, Robert V.745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Adalman, Melvin Solomon521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Adam, Archie Morrison Jr.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Aldinger, Charles Friedrich Jr.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Allen, William Perry521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Bachulis, Peter Anthony521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Bailey, Jimmy Edward521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Baird, Rondall McDowell521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Banko, Charles521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Barnhill, Gernie Philip521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Bayes, Darrell DeLoy521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Beisel, George Hadden521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Bennett, Leslie Lloyd521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Betts, Jesse Thurmond606 (AA Machine Gunner)Corporal30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Brettrager, Otto Joseph600 (Machine Gun NCO)Gunnery Sergeant30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Burke, Robert Anthony521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Halliwell, Alfred John607 (Mortarman)Corporal30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Miller, John Joseph745 (Rifleman)Corporal30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Muise, William Francis737 (Squad Leader)Corporal30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Musser, Henry Shank522 (Duty NCO)Corporal30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Saville, Dennis521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Scaramellino, Anthony Joseph521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Schmidt, Robert Gerald521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Shugars, Edgar Leroy521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Skinner, William Edward521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Spaid, Gladstone C.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Spivey, James Lester521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Squicciarini, Rudolph521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Stankwytch, Joseph Knox060 (Cook)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Stanley, Lester Franklin521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Sundgren, Arthur William Jr.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftBaker Company
Baldwin, Philip Russell812 (Heavy Weapons NCO)Sergeant24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Fischer, Richard Francis610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Hawkins, Donald George605 (Heavy Machine Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Henrichs, Henry Hugh Jr.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Jarvis, James Leonard610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Kelly, Richard Harry610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Kuhl, Marvin Lensch610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Lee, Wallace A.610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Lomoro, Dominic William610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Miller, James Osborne604 (Machine Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Miller, Mills Wagner610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
More, Donald Freeman610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Noyes, Dale Henry610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Nurenberg, Lavern Clark610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Owens, Kenneth Eugene610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Owensby, Robert Lee610 (AT Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Parker, James Robert605 (Heavy Machine Gunner)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Steffy, James Earl414 (Carburetor Mechanic)Corporal24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Tomasetti, Herman Philp745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Treppa, Ralph Gregory745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Warren, Tom Joe745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Weatherford, Paul745 (Rifleman)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
White, James Roland521 (Basic)Private24th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Kalb, Edmund Vincent Sr.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Kopsitz, Joseph John Jr521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Stainforth, William Harold Jr.521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Stansky, Benjamin Raymond521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Starkey, LeRoy Elmer521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Steffey, William Arthur521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Swanson, Robert Harding521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Taylor, Allen Jacob521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Taylor, Lawrence Wilbert521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Williams, David J. Jr.745 (Rifleman)Private30th Replacement DraftCharlie Company
Dunphy, Charles Augustus014 (Mechanic)Sergeant24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Hurst, Billy Joe997 (Amphibian Tractor Crew)Private24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Jibben, Ronald Edward736 (Tank Crewman)PFC24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Johnson, LaVerne Leon907 (Tank Armorer)PFC24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Kirk, Earl Jr.997 (Amphibian Tractor Crew)Private24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Kown, Hugh660 (Tank Mechanic)PFC24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
LeClaire, Louis997 (Amphibian Tractor Crew)Private24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Moffit, Dwight "A.", Jr.060 (Cook)Assistant Cook24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Rappert, Julius Jr.014 (Mechanic)Corporal24th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Kelley, John Joseph521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftHQ Company
McQuillan, Donald Paul521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Simmons, Edwin Gregory521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Simpson, Robert Edward521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftHQ Company
Ziemba, Joseph Francis521 (Basic)Private30th Replacement DraftHQ Company

While the battalion as a whole was glad of the replacements, the individual receptions they received ran the gamut from vague friendliness to calculated indifference to veiled hostility. Corporal Robert D. Price of Able Company summed up the practical side: “They were so badly needed to help fill in the ranks and help carry a weapon, we didn’t have time [for socializing].”[8] Camaraderie extended to learning each other’s names, and sometimes men didn’t even get that far. One of Al Perry’s replacements was a tall, lanky seventeen-year-old who introduced himself as “Bones” – he never knew the kid’s real name.[9] PFC Stanley Cupps was assigned a replacement called Taylor. A lieutenant performed the brisk introduction: “Taylor, this is Cupps. Do what he tells you.” Taylor didn’t listen. “Taylor was peeking over the top, and I told him to get his head down. He said, ‘They can’t see me,’” recalled Cupps. No sooner had he spoken the words than a Japanese marksman drilled Taylor through the skull. “He lasted about half a minute. His name was Taylor. That’s all I know about him.” [10]

If the replacements needed any more reason to listen to veteran advice, they had only to look a few hundred yards to the rear.

Marines armed with bulldozers and shovels began a major construction project on 21 February. A site between Motoyama Airfield #1 and Yellow Beach Two was selected; the grade was steeper and the soil looser than they preferred, but space was at a premium, and they had little choice. They toiled for three days, ducking sniper fire and gingerly disarming booby traps and dud rounds. Eleven of them were wounded as they worked.[11] On the morning of D+5, a bulldozer dropped its blade and carved out the first of several forty-two-inch deep trenches. Men with shovels scooped holes in the trench floor: one foot deep, three feet apart. Into each was placed the body of a dead Marine. It took time to build decent roads the cemeteries, so stretcher-bearers hand-carried each man in a seemingly unending stream. By the time the cemetery opened, several hundred Marines were already awaiting burial.[12]

On 26 February, 2Lt. Stephen H. Opalenik, the former wrestler turned Mustang mortar leader, was buried in Row 4, Grave 173 of the 4th Marine Division Cemetery. A few minutes later, Corporal John M. Corcoran, the affable Able Company BARman hit by a friendly shell, was placed in a grave – then PFC Roland P. Jackson, the former high school football coach with a wife and young son at home. As 1/24 enjoyed its three-day respite in the rear, Graves Registration men buried sixteen members of the battalion. Many more awaited burial and still others were yet to die.

Fingerprinting a dead Marine. Taking prints helped confirm the identity of the deceased: a very low percentage of American casualties on Iwo went unidentified.
By this point in the campaign, the lines had consolidated from east to west across the island with the Fourth Division on the east, the Fifth on the west, and two regiments of the Third Division filling in the center. Both airfields were in Marine hands, and the southern one was supporting a few observation planes. Mt. Suibachi, too, had been secured for several days, and all our strength was concentrated on the one remaining sector. Nonetheless, the progress while we were in reserve was just as painfully slow as it had been when we were on the line.[13]

Every morning, the thunder of the pre-assault barrage wakened those who managed to sleep through the night. As the last rumble of artillery died away, there might be a brief period of comparative quiet before a sudden eruption of small arms fire signaled the meeting of American and Japanese infantry. Shortly after that, stretcher teams would appear with their bloody burdens. The majority of the sound and fury seemed to be coming from a low, craggy hill and a long, bowl-shaped ridge. At the time, 1/24 didn’t care to know the names of local landmarks – to them, “it was just hill after hill after hill” – but they would become intimately familiar with the boulders and crevices of this one small part of Iwo Jima in the days to come.[14]


“Such a state of relaxation couldn’t be prolonged indefinitely,” opined Captain Frederic Stott, “nor was it desired. We realized we would have to return to the line, and further delay would bring no new benefits.” The battalion was bedding down on D+9 when the anticipated orders arrived – they were to relieve a decimated unit of the 23rd Marines on the front line before dawn and be ready to continue the attack. “In a way, we welcomed the orders,” said Stott, and while he doubtless spoke for some of the First Battalion, many more faced a long and sleepless night, wondering what the morning would bring.[15]

Previous Day

Table Of Contents

Next Day

Footnotes

[1] Major Charles L. Banks, “Final Report on IWO JIMA Operation, Battalion Landing Team 1/24,” in Annex George to Fourth Marine Division Report on Iwo Jima: RCT 24 Report (20 April, 1945), 139. Hereafter “Final Report.”
[2] Ibid., 140.
[3] Alva Perry, “The Men Of ‘A’ Company,” 2011.
[4] Interestingly, photographs of Thomas in his dress uniform reveal that he was an expert rifleman.
[5] Baldwin’s and Parker’s assignments are proof that MOS numbers were not ignored; Baldwin was an 812 (Heavy Weapons NCO) and Parker was a 605 (Heavy Machine Gunner)
[6] “James Moore” in Bruce M. Petty, Saipan: Oral Histories of the Pacific War (McFarland & Company: Jefferson, NC, 2002), 109-110.
[7] Lawrence A. Trower, “Lawrence ‘Slats’ Trower, PFC,” in The Muted Trumpet’s Call: Stories of the Everyday Heroes of World War II ed. Chuck Knox (Chicago: Authorhouse, 2011), 140.
[8] Robert D. Price, oral history interview conducted by Thomas Swope, Robert D. Price Collection(AFC/2001/001/49660), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
[9] Perry.
[10] David Harper, “Month in Hell Lingers in Memory,” Tulsa World, 19 February, 1995. Accessed 15 February 2015. “Taylor” is unknown; the two battle replacements named Taylor were assigned to Charlie Company. Taylor may have been one of the otherwise unrecorded replacements referenced above.
[11] Headquarters, Fourth Marine Division, “Annex II: Medical Report,” in Annex Dog to Fourth Marine Division Report on Iwo Jima: Logistics (2o April, 1945), 313.
[12] And this was just the Fourth Marine Division cemetery. The Third and Fifth had their own, similarly built and backlogged. Some Marines waited weeks for burial – Eugene Morris and James Freeman, both killed on 25 February, were not interred until 12 March.
[13] Frederic A. Stott, “Ten Days on Iwo Jima,” Leatherneck Vol. 28, No. 5 (May, 1945); 18.
[14] “People are saying the Quarry, the Amphitheater, this and that – I didn’t have any idea where we were, you know? Nobody was saying ‘this is the Quarry,’ there was no road map.” William T. Quinn, interview conducted by the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, “Heroes of Iwo Jima: 70 Years Later,” 5 March 2015.
[15] Stott, “Ten Days,” 18.

Battalion Strength: Recapitulation

Casualties, Evacuations, Joinings & Transfers from D-Day through D-plus-9
0

KIA/DOW

0

WIA & EVAC*

0

WIA & PRESENT

0

TRANSFERRED

0

REPLACEMENTS

0

STRENGTH

Out of an original landing strength of 893 officers and men.
* Does not include minor wounds not requiring evacuation from the line.

2 thoughts on “Iwo: D+9. February 28, 1945”

  1. Information was informative and well written. Does anyone have the same information on the 27th Replacement Draft? I do know that the 27th Replacement Draft was attached to the Fifth Marine Division. I’ve been looking for unit rosters and/or muster sheets to no avail. My father was in the 27th Replacement Draft. I’ve obtained his SRB and confirmed he was in the 27th Replacement Draft and attached to the 5th Mar.Div. In January 1945. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

  2. Damn, if your father was Joseph Arledge, he is listed on the roster of the 27th Replacement Draft in the 5th Marine Division official history.

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