BATTLE NARRATIVE
This Tie With The Past. Saipan: 1 July 1944
The first day of July began like any other: steamy and humid as rainwater evaporated in the morning sun. Men shed their ponchos, checked weapons for rust, and rummaged in pockets for cigarettes carefully kept out of the damp. “It rains all the time here,” complained Corporal Pennock Bowen. “Only about two nights have gone by without rain. Often you wake up to four or five inches of mud creeping up on you.”[1] Damp weather was particularly troublesome for radiomen like Bowen, who had to maintain the delicate communications equipment along with M1 carbines that were obnoxiously prone to rust.[2] By now, most men in BLT 1-24 simply accepted the rain as an unavoidable discomfort, balancing out the punishing heat. “Nightly we fought a losing battle with the passing showers,” remembered 1Lt. Frederic A. Stott, “but in daytime it was the sun we combatted.”[3]
This series of photographs shows HQ personnel from BLT 1-24, particularly the 81mm mortar platoon, enjoying a relatively relaxing morning on Saipan. Exact date unknown, but almost certainly taken during their period in reserve on Kagman.
Photos from the John C. Pope collection.
After being “pinched out” of the front line on the previous afternoon, BLT 1-24 inherited the “coastal observation mission” on Kagman Peninsula. Only a handful of Japanese troops remained on Kagman, and most of these had been swept up by BLT 2-24 over the past few days. So, while sentries were posted and a few patrols sent out, most of the battalion took advantage of the chance to rest. Stott noted that sun-proof poncho roofs quickly appeared over foxholes as the Marines napped, smoked, snacked or chatted with their buddies. Jeeps arrived from the Division rear area bringing extra food, water, ammunition – and, to the battalion’s surprise, a sack or two of letters.
While the mail was “joyfully received,” Lieutenant Stott saw how quickly smiles turned to pensive frowns and faraway looks. Compartmentalizing the experience of battle helped many young men to keep fighting or simply functioning in the face of daily danger. “It was bad, but you just kept right on going and didn’t worry – you kind of get immune to it,” explained PFC Howard M. Kerr. “You pretty much got over being worried… whether someone was shooting at you or not.”[4] Some Marines staked their hopes on a higher power for survival – “it was rough, rugged, almost like a nightmare,” said PFC Tommy Lynchard, and “we had to have a desire to live so very bad to make it, of course, with God’s help.”[5] Others took a more fatalistic approach, believing that fate was entirely out of their hands. “I had made my mind up on Saipan,” said PFC Charles E. Brown. “I didn’t think I was going to live through the campaigns.”[6] This mental detachment was a key to preserving some semblance of sanity on the battlefield. Marines who had “philosophically adjusted themselves to the fighting” now had news from home to occupy their minds; all the memories and worries they tamped down in order to function on the battlefield came sweeping back. “This tie with the past destroyed the combat mental state which had been gradually acquired,” Stott wrote.[7]
A few Marines seized their first opportunity to write letters of their own, but stumbled over what to say. How could they express their experiences in battle without frightening their families, or in a way that might pass the censor? Even writing the name “Saipan” was forbidden. Some balked at the idea of sending letters before the battle ended; it might bring bad luck, or give false hope to their families if they should fall in action. “The general feeling prevailed that wisdom dictated waiting until the passage of danger,” noted Stott, and the mail bag returned much lighter than it had arrived.[8]
Battalion clerical staff, led by the adjutant 1Lt. Herbert I. Hines and Sgt. Maj. William J. Dolly, took advantage of the quiet to catch up on paperwork. Muster rolls were kept by the month, and 1 July was essentially the start of the next pay period for all units. Hines’ staff gathered reports from all companies and set to work squaring up their records. They found a number of discrepancies – men marked present who had been evacuated, men marked evacuated who had returned to duty – and in cases where precise dates weren’t known, they simply changed their status effective on the first of the month. Five Marines were marked as “missing in action” for reasons no longer known; all returned to duty after the battle.[9]
Hines had some new names to add to the rolls as well. A detachment of communications specialists from the 1st Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO) were attached to the battalion, led by 1Lt. Clark G. Kuney, Jr. Kuney had worked with BLT 1-24 in the battle of Namur and was a welcome addition to Headquarters – especially as the comms officer, 1Lt. Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. lost a toe and had to be evacuated. Popular 1Lt. Charles W. Carbeau, Jr. also turned up at headquarters; his work as transport quartermaster was finally done, and he was ready for action “after more than two weeks spent in unloading all our cargo from the transport,” remarked Stott. “It was a tribute to Bill’s versatility that he was immediately assigned to “B” Company as a rifle platoon leader. In the past twelve months his work had not involved the handling of troops in the field, but his capabilities were highly regarded, and Captain [Milton] Cokin was glad to welcome him into the company.”[10]
Cokin also gained Private Marwood B. Smith, a nineteen-year-old rifleman from Pipestone, Minnesota. Smith enlisted in November 1943 after spending ten months in the Merchant Marine; he trained as an intelligence scout and landed on Saipan with the 24th Marines’ regimental headquarters. The reasons for his abrupt transfer are not known; Captain Cokin certainly needed riflemen, but Marwood Smith was the only new man to join Baker Company until the battle was nearly over.
As always, the relief did not last long, and orders arrived to move out in the morning. The Marines of BLT 1-24 stowed their letters, smoked their last cigarettes, and retreated into their poncho-covered foxholes to keep out of the nightly rain. Despite the promise of more fighting, PFC Bob Tierney had two reasons to be glad – a decent night’s sleep, and his buddy Herb Mauritz back from the hospital. For a little while, at least, the future didn’t seem so hopeless.
[1] Pennock Bowen, letter reprinted in “Haverford Man Writes Home Of Action Against Japanese Forces At Saipan,” Our Town (Narbeth, PA), 27 July 1944.
[2] “Report of RCT-24,” 28 August 1944, in Operations Report, 4th Marine Division, Saipan, Annex I (San Diego: Headquarters, 4th Marine Division, 3 October 1944). Hereafter RCT 24 Final Report. Rusty carbines were so troublesome that the regiment’s report advised reducing the number issued and insisting “that steps be taken to manufacture a carbine that is not so susceptible to rust.”
[3] Frederic A. Stott, “Saipan Under Fire” (Andover: Frederic Stott, 1945), 14.
[4] Howard M. Kerr, oral history interview conducted by Leslie Sheridan, Howard Matthew Kerr Collection (AFC/2001/001/65492), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
[5] Tommy Lynchard, unpublished personal papers. Author’s collection.
[6] Charles Brown and Alfred Eskildsen, oral history interview conducted by Ed Sutkowski, “Interesting People with Ed Sutkowski, Episode #404 – Chuck Brown and Al Eskildsen,” February 26, 2009.
[7] Stott, 14.
[8] Ibid.
[9] The five missing men counted on 1 July 1944 all returned to duty on 14 July, once the battle was over. They included Private Claude L. Godwin, Jr. from Able Company and PFC Murray Bower, PFC Arthur E. Kirkpatrick, Jr., PFC James W. Smith, and Pvt. Carroll E. Stout from Baker Company. Bower received a Purple Heart; the others were probably sick. The dates of their evacuation are not known.
[10] Stott, 14.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams, James Henry | Able | PFC | Rifleman | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Alford, Roy Grey | Able | PFC | Messenger | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Beehner, Kenneth August | Headquarters | First Lieutenant | 81mm Mortar Officer | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To HQ Company | |
| Bower, Murray | Baker | PFC | Ammo Carrier | Missing | Unknown | Whereabouts unknown | |
| Boylan, Kenneth Laverne | Able | PFC | Rifleman | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To Able Company | * |
| Burns, Elmo Arthur | Charlie | Platoon Seregant | NCO, 1 Platoon | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Cook, Wilson Leander | Charlie | Corporal | Mortar Squad Leader | Wounded In Action | Shrapnel, back | Not evacuated | |
| Donahue, John Walton Jr. | Able | Sergeant | MG Section Leader | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To Able Company | * |
| Gilboy, John Arthur | Baker | Private | Rifleman | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Godwin, Claude Lorton Jr. | Able | Private | Rifleman | Missing | Unknown | Whereabouts unknown | |
| Harris, Thomas Melvin | Charlie | PFC | Machine Gunner | Wounded In Action | Shrapnel, right side | Not evacuated | |
| Henderson, Claude Thomas Jr | Able | Corporal | Mortar Squad Leader | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To Able Company | * |
| Hermansen, Francis Jack | Charlie | PFC | Rifleman | Wounded In Action | Unknown (slight) | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Hollingsworth, Reuben Nathaniel | Charlie | PFC | BARman | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Kerr, Thomas Moore Jr. | Headquarters | First Lieutenant | Communications Officer | Wounded In Action | Amputation, toe, left foot | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Kirkpatrick, Arthur Eldred Jr. | Baker | PFC | BARman | Missing | Unknown | Whereabouts unknown | |
| Kuney, Clark Glamis Jr. | Headquarters | First Lieutenant | Communications Officer | Joined | Attached from 1st JASCO | To HQ Company | |
| Mauritz, Herbert Joseph | Able | PFC | Rifleman | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To Able Company | |
| McDonald, Windle Leon | Charlie | Private | BARman | Wounded In Action | Gunshot, left index finger | Evacuated to USS Bellatrix | |
| Patterson, William Robert | Charlie | Corporal | Squad Leader | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Puliafico, Aniello Anthony | Baker | Sergeant | Basic | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Reilly, John James | Headquarters | PFC | Mortarman | Wounded In Action | Unknown (slight) | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Smith, James W. | Baker | PFC | Mortarman | Missing | Unknown | Whereabouts unknown | |
| Smith, Marwood Baldwin | Baker | Private | Rifleman | Joined | From HQ/24th Marines | To Baker Company | |
| Stout, Carroll Eldridge | Baker | Private | Rifleman | Missing | Unknown | Whereabouts unknown | |
| Underwood, Thomas Ellis | Baker | PFC | Fire Team Leader | Sick | Unknown | Evacuated, destination unknown | |
| Yates, Clyde Odell | Able | PFC | Rifleman | Returned To Duty | From hospital | To Able Company | * |