BATTLE NARRATIVE
Combat Softens Any Foxhole. Saipan: 30 June 1944
At first, it seemed that D-plus-15 would be another day in dangerous stasis for BLT 1-24. They were positioned on the far left of the 4th Marine Division’s line, facing due west into a dense tangle of trees and underbrush that hid a succession of hills, ridges, and ravines. Ahead of them in the distance stood Mount Tapochau, the highest point on Saipan. Friendly forces were on the summit; BLT 1-24 need not worry about Japanese spotters calling down long-range artillery on their heads. The enemy to their immediate front was trouble enough, and while Japanese activity in the area was somewhat diminished, it was always risky to remain on the front line.
PFC Glenn L. Buzzard of Charlie Company could attest to the dangers. A stray mortar round landed near his hole and the Marine felt a big piece of shrapnel smack into his back. “It was spent – didn’t have full force when it hit me, but it went up under my skin and the bone of the shoulder blade. Adrian DeWitt pulled it out, put sulfa powder on me, and I caught a jeep back to the battalion aid station where they dressed it. I stayed overnight and came back up to the line the next day. The walking wounded.”[1]
Patrols went out as usual to make sure no Japanese soldiers were lurking close to the line. One squad ventured out to the left, into the worrying gap that yawned between their flank and the Army units that were slowly advancing northward. Despite coordination with liaisons from the 106th Infantry, and mortar flares fired to mark friendly positions, there was still no contact between the battalions.
As the Marine squad pushed through the undergrowth, the scouts signaled a halt – then visibly relaxed. An Army combat patrol was approaching from the south. Marines and soldiers grinned, shook hands, and swapped information as messengers relayed the word back to their respective command posts. The gap was not fully closed – in fact, it would take until 1700 hours for the Army to fully occupy the area – but, after two difficult days, the connection was finally made.
News of the meeting reached Lt. Col. Austin R. Brunelli at 1000 hours. The battalion commander was having a busy morning digesting intelligence from other areas of the Division front and reacting to reports of Japanese troops close by. At 1030, he welcomed Colonel Franklin A. Hart, commander of the 24th Marines, to the CP. Hart spent a few minutes on pleasantries, then delivered more welcome news. If the Army continued to advance at its present pace, BLT 1-24 would be taken off the line and placed in reserve.[2] “Bunny” Brunelli wasted no time in packing up to leave. By 1330, his forward echelon CP was heading to the rear, followed ninety minutes later by the rest of the rear echelon troops.
At long last, the 106th Infantry advanced past the right flank of BLT 1-24, and the Marines were “pinched out” of the front line. Gratefully, the line companies gathered their gear and marched back down the hills towards Chacha Village. “We moved back down toward the eastern shore, and thence northward again along the coast road to a bivouac area, where for the second time we were fortunate enough to find the digging easy and the sleeping excellent,” wrote a relieved 1Lt. Frederic A. Stott. “One hard day of combat softens any foxhole.”[3]
As he settled into his foxhole on last night of June 1944, PFC Robert E. Tierney realized just how tired he was. Impressions of the past two weeks flitted through his thoughts, becoming memories that would stay with him for decades.
Tierney could name more than a few of those lost men. His close friend Bobby Vail died in agony when a Japanese grenade took off his leg; Tierney held his fire and felt guilty. I had it in my power to take the guy out, but you follow orders, regardless. Days later, he was caught in an ambush; the interval between machine gun rounds spared his life while killing the men to his right and left. Tierney knew a man maimed by friendly fire falling short; he knew another who carried grenades in his pocket until a pin jiggled loose. After that day, Captain Irving Schechter forbade the straightening of pins – as if anybody who saw the aftermath of the accident needed telling twice. A third of his squad was gone: Lee Anderson and Richard McGinnis wounded, Andy Loban cracked up, and his best buddy Herb Mauritz sick as a dog.
[1] Gail Chatfield, By Dammit, We’re Marines! (San Diego: Methvin Publishing, 2008), 62-63. Buzzard mentions a “banzai attack” in the story of his wound; his casualty card indicates he was wounded on 30 June 1944, and no counterattacks are mentioned in battalion records.
[2] “Action Report: First Battalion, 24th Marines Record of Events, 15 June – 9 July 1944″ (24 August 1944), 1. Hereafter BLT 1-24 Report. It should be recalled that Brunelli’s assignment with BLT 1-24 was only temporary; his permanent role was executive officer of the regiment – Hart’s second in command.
[3] Frederic A. Stott, “Saipan Under Fire” (Andover: Frederic Stott, 1945), 14.
[4] Robert E. Tierney, “My Marine Corps Experience,” unpublished memoir dated 10 January 2013.
Battalion Daily Report
Casualties, Evacuations, Joinings & Transfers
KIA/DOW
WIA & EVAC*
SICK
JOINED
TRANSFERRED
STRENGTH
Out of an original landing strength of 888 officers and men.
* Does not include minor wounds not requiring evacuation from the line.
| Name | Company | Rank | Role | Change | Cause | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beehner, Kenneth August | Headquarters | First Lieutenant | 81mm Officer | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown |
| Buzzard, Glenn Lee | Charlie | PFC | Machine Gunner | Wounded In Action | Shrapnel, shoulder | Not evacuated |
| Erickson, Reeve Edward | Headquarters | Corporal | Wire Chief | Joined | Attached from 1st JASCO | To HQ Company |
| Frazier, James Russell | Baker | Corporal | Squad Leader | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To Baker Company |
| Greybill, William Dryden | Headquarters | Sergeant | Lineman | Joined | Attached from 1st JASCO | To HQ Company |
| Hendricks, Jessie Maurice | Headquarters | PFC | Radioman | Joined | Attached from 1st JASCO | To HQ Company |
| Murach, John Joseph | Headquarters | PFC | Code Clerk | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown |
| Plitt, Wilbur Ellsworth | Able | Corporal | Mortar Squad Leader | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown |
| Schiavone, William | Headquarters | Corporal | Lineman | Joined | Attached from 1st JASCO | To HQ Company |
| Seidel, Kenneth Harold | Headquarters | PFC | Message Centere | Joined | Attached from 1st JASCO | To HQ Company |
| Smith, Richard Donald | Able | PFC | Basic | Transfer | Intra-battalion | To HQ Company |
| Taylor, Odis | Able | PFC | BARman | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown |