The following is an excerpt from my grandfather's diary
PERSONAL DIARY
The morning of 1 April 45 broke clear with the morning sun shining brightly on the blue waters of the East China Sea, We were awaken aboard our LSTs around 0430, mustered, and fell out for our “battle breakfast” of steak and eggs. After breakfast we dressed in our combat gear carrying three (3) days of ammunition and rations, 6 hand grenades, and back packs that included one change of clothing, toilet items, and poncho, plus your assigned weapon. My assigned weapon happen to be a seventy (72 lbs) two pound flame-thrower. I was carrying about half of my own weight on my back. Our Assault Ships were about three (3) miles out to sea and several hundred yards behind our Battleships.
Around 0630 we went below decks of our LST and loaded aboard amphibious tractors (“amtracks”). We were launched through the bow doors of our ship and down the ramp into the China Sea. The angle of the ramp was such that it appeared that we were going straight down into the water. At the time all I could think of was that if this craft sank, I would beat it to the bottom of the sea with all this weight I was carrying. But we made it out without a problem and mustered with the rest of the amtracks. At 0800 we set off for the beach as the first wave ashore headed for “Green Beach 1” on the extreme left flank. The noise was unbelievable as we passed through the ring of battleships firing those big 16”guns.
In front of us now was a ring of “Picket Ships or former LSI’s moving with the precision of a well trained drill team; moving in line parallel to the beach and then all turning at the same time, heading directly for the beach while firing their racks of rockets all at once. Each rocket was equal in explosives to a 155mm canon shell. The Picket Ships then turned in unison and returned to their original position to reload and repeat the drill.
Overhead was our Navy aircraft in swarms like gnats. It must have been all 1400 planes in the air at the same time, attacking the beach, wave after wave. One wave would come in, wing to wing, and strafe the beach. The next wave would fire rockets, and the following wave would drop bombs. Then they would repeat the pattern over again and again. Collectively the sights were unbelievable. The Navy can be awesome when it flexes its muscle. As our landing craft drew closer to the beach, our support ceased.
At 0837 we landed on the beach without any sign of resistance. It was obvious that the Japanese either were not expecting us to land here or they had changed their defense strategy all together. Their main line of defense (as we found out later) was further south, facing their south beaches. Our assigned objective was to drive across the island, cutting it in half, and then turn north and secure the northern end. In the next 20 days we covered 84 miles, about 2/3s of the island, or about 436 square miles of Japanese territory. That averaged about 4.2 miles per day of rough, high country.
Our trek north was for the most part uneventful, that is, until we hit some pretty heavy resistance on the Motobu peninsula. But that was a minor skirmish compared to what we would later face at the southern end of the island. The northern terrain was mountainous and a good part of the time we were in a position to where our supplies could not get to us. Helicopters were not around in those days and trucks could not travel where there are no roads. As a results we were without food and water a number of times.
On May 2nd we moved south but on this trip we were able to ride most of the way. Heavy rains set in on May 7th and continued without interruption through May 12 or so. It was miserable. Five days of wearing wet clothes, no hot food or drink, and sleeping in water filled mud holes called foxholes. But we got so busy on May 11th that we hardly had time to think about it. At 0230 (2:30am) we made a night river crossing of the Asa Kawa river, wading through chest deep water into what was called Asa Kawa valley. At daybreak all hell broke loose. Japanese resistance became extremely heavy. Unbeknownst to us, this was the outlying area of the enemy’s main line of defense. The Japanese troops were in caves and tunnels that interconnected. Even their artillery was underground, mounted on tracks throughout a tunnel system that allowed them to fire the howitzers and then roll them back out of harms way. Casualties began to mount but we did what Marines are trained to do: we continued to gain ground.
May 12, 1945. Both “G” and “E” Companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 22nd Regiment on the “POINT” (attack) with “F” Company (my Company) in “reserve.” Late in the afternoon “G” Company ran into “SUGAR LOAF HILL” and suffered extremely heavy casualties.
SUGAR LOAF HILL BATTLE STATISTICS
Date: 12 May 1945 - 22 May 1945 (10 days)
6th Division Casualties: 2,664 KIA and 7,000 wounded
Physical Size:
The hill, so named Sugar Loaf because of it’s shape, also resembled a watermelon cut in half, lengthwise with the flat side down. It was approximately 50 feet high by 300 yards long; a catacomb of interconnecting caves and bunkers. Caves were as deep as 50’ below ground surface.
“Sugar Loaf” was flanked by two other smaller hills, Half Moon and Horseshoe, and were so situated that the three hill formed crude triangle. Both hills also interconnected with Sugar Loaf Hill through its network of caves and tunnels. It was the Japanese version of the French Maginot Line - except the Japanese flanks unlike the French, where highly protected. The three (3) hills were so situated that if one hill was attacked, the other two (2) would offer crossfire” to protect the third (3rd) hill. The enemy would re-man a position as fast as it was knocked out; throughout their underground tunnel system.
“Sugar Loaf” was very different indeed. Part of a complex of the three hills, Sugar Loaf formed the western anchor of General Mitsuru Ushijima’s Shuri Line, which stretched from coast to coast across the island. Sugar Loaf was critical to the defense of that line, preventing the U.S. forces from turning the Japanese flank.
The forward approach to Sugar Loaf Hill was though an area about 500 yards square, or about the size of a normal shopping center, of absolutely bare terrain. The surrounding higher ground formed the area into a shallow valley that became known as “Death Valley” so called because the wide open area completely exposed the attacking force making each man an open target.
On the high ground to the left of the approach, was a sugar cane field that covered snipers hiding in “spider traps.” Their mission was to pick off anyone that appeared to be giving orders - and they did it with a great deal of accuracy. Most of the officers and ranking enlisted men were taken out by the snipers right at the beginning of the attack.
History of the first contact at Sugar Loaf Hill:
The enemy still held that ridge that dominated the Asa Kawa valley. That area lay directly in the path of the 2nd Battalion and the enemy stood ready to bitterly oppose further advance.
The morning of the 12 May 45, the 2nd Battalion, with Companies “G” and “E” on the “point” and “F” Company in reserve began hitting the outer edge of the Japanese main line of the Island’s defense.
Somewhere around 1500 hours (3:00pm), “G” Company ran into the key position of the enemy’s main defense line (later called Sugar Loaf Hill because of it’s shape) and suffered extremely heavy causalities under exceptionally heavy and accurate machine gun fire. By around 1700 hrs. (5:00pm), “G” Co. was down to about 12 men still on their feet. ( The combat strength of a Marine “rifle” Company is 240 men.) “G” Company was down to less than 5% of their normal strength and was rendered ineffective. Enemy fire was so intense that “G” Company had difficulty getting their wounded out.
The remains of “G” Company pulled back about 100 or so yards and joined “F” Company. I was sent over to “G” Company to help fill in their defense line for the night. We dug our “foxholes” and had hardly settled down when the Japanese starting laying in a heavy mortar barrage on us. Normally, two men dig-in together, as foxhole buddies; one on the alert while the other sleeps, rotating in two hour shifts, through-out the night. However, this was not the case for me that night. I was alone. When the incoming mortar shells began to explode, I laid down in my “hole” to escape the shrapnel flying all around us and immediately fell asleep in spite of all the noise of exploding shells. I was exhausted from the lack of sleep the two previous nights. I also snored for the first time in my life. Unknown to me, the Japanese charged our lines in a banzai attack right after the mortar barrage lifted. There had to be an eruption of noise, gun fire, hand grenades, etc. but I slept right through it like a baby. The next morning I awoke to see Japanese bodies everywhere, particularly a stack of bodies in front of my foxhole. The guys from “G” Company on my right said that they were tempted to throw a grenade into my “hole” to quiet my snoring because the Japs were zeroing in on the noise I was making. I owe my life to those guys. Some help I was.
The next morning around 0700, “F” Company and the remnants of “G” Company, pushed off for a second assault on Sugar Loaf Hill. We made it to the base of the hill by about 1300 (1:00PM). It took the balance of the afternoon to fight our way to the top only to be driven back down. At dusk we had less than 20 men that could stand and fight... There were bodies of the dead and the wounded everywhere. Our Battalion XO, Major Henry Courtney, gathered up the remaining men, along with all other available men that happen to be close at hand, for an all out assault. In that group was a Cpl. Jim Day, a special weapons man assigned to our Company. That small group of men charged the top of the hill against overwhelming odds and held their position throughout the night only to be driven off the next morning. Only a handful of men returned. That night when the Major’s little group reached the top they spotted a force of Japanese soldiers forming up for an all out “banzai” attack on the remaining Marine forces on the other side. The Major’s group started hurling hand grenades into the Japs forming up below, on the back side of the hill, inflicting heavy casualties, scattering the troops, and creating a lot of confusion. That night around midnight, an incoming mortar round killed the Major
Both Major Courtney and Cpl. Jim Day won the Congressional Medal of Honor that night. It is very unusual for two men to win the nations highest decoration for valor while being in the same Battalion, in the same battle, in the same general area, the same night. The Major received his posthumously but Jim Day managed to live through the battle and later rose to the rank of Major General in the Marine Corps.
Sugar Loaf Hill changed hand 14 times in 10 days and went down as the bloodiest SINGLE battle in Marine Corps history. The remnants of the 2nd Battalion were rendered ineffective for the remainder of the battle. We were replaced by the 3rd Battalion who also suffered high casualties. On May 17, the 2nd Battalion of the 29th Regiment took over from the remnants 3rd Battalion 22nd Marines. On the morning of May 19 the 29th Regiment was relieved by the 4th Regiment who went on to finally win the hill and the surrounding area. The Japanese main line of defense was finally broken at a tremendous loss of troops on both sides. The 6th Marines Division accounted for 23,000 Japanese troops killed. That is not something to brag about but simply said to illustrate the ferocity of the battle.
I was wounded during the battle of Sugar Loaf Hill and survived only because of faulty enemy ammunition. I had climbed partly up the hill when a Japanese soldier ran out of a tunnel entrance and threw a hand grenade directly at me; all seemingly in one motion. I stood there frozen, as if my body was made of iron, watching that grenade spiraling toward me. Then there was a flash of bright light at arm’s length away from my face. Then everything went black. The concussion felt as if I had been hit very hard with a heavy pillow. When I came to seconds later, I realized I was still standing on my feet. The Japanese soldier was just disappearing over the top of the hill. My wounds were minor. I had a bloody nose, while my hands and legs were peppered with bits of shrapnel. Several days later, these wounds became infected and I turned myself in to the field hospital. The wounds were treated and they kept me over night then released me. That was the first and only hot meal I had in the 83 days of the campaign.
There was a fellow on the cot next to me, that night in the hospital that kept asking me questions. I later found out he was a war correspondent and he had done a story about me. The Army publication, STARS & STRIPS, picked up on his story and wrote a short article calling me “The Luckiest Marine Alive.” At the same time, LEATHER-NECK magazine wrote in their DEEP SIX column that I wanted to change the name of Sugar Loaf Hill to “Bloody Nose Ridge.”
My lesson learned was to be more alert. I realized also that it could be a very easy, and almost painless to die that way.
The battles of IWO JIMA and OKINAWA had all but depleted the U.S. Marine Corps. We started getting replacements by men who were civilians on April 1. They came to us with very little training and many died because of it.
From what has been written and said, the invasion of Japan would have been worse than Iwo Jima and Okinawa combined - in terms of causalities.
The morning of 1 April 45 broke clear with the morning sun shining brightly on the blue waters of the East China Sea, We were awaken aboard our LSTs around 0430, mustered, and fell out for our “battle breakfast” of steak and eggs. After breakfast we dressed in our combat gear carrying three (3) days of ammunition and rations, 6 hand grenades, and back packs that included one change of clothing, toilet items, and poncho, plus your assigned weapon. My assigned weapon happen to be a seventy (72 lbs) two pound flame-thrower. I was carrying about half of my own weight on my back. Our Assault Ships were about three (3) miles out to sea and several hundred yards behind our Battleships.
Around 0630 we went below decks of our LST and loaded aboard amphibious tractors (“amtracks”). We were launched through the bow doors of our ship and down the ramp into the China Sea. The angle of the ramp was such that it appeared that we were going straight down into the water. At the time all I could think of was that if this craft sank, I would beat it to the bottom of the sea with all this weight I was carrying. But we made it out without a problem and mustered with the rest of the amtracks. At 0800 we set off for the beach as the first wave ashore headed for “Green Beach 1” on the extreme left flank. The noise was unbelievable as we passed through the ring of battleships firing those big 16”guns.
In front of us now was a ring of “Picket Ships or former LSI’s moving with the precision of a well trained drill team; moving in line parallel to the beach and then all turning at the same time, heading directly for the beach while firing their racks of rockets all at once. Each rocket was equal in explosives to a 155mm canon shell. The Picket Ships then turned in unison and returned to their original position to reload and repeat the drill.
Overhead was our Navy aircraft in swarms like gnats. It must have been all 1400 planes in the air at the same time, attacking the beach, wave after wave. One wave would come in, wing to wing, and strafe the beach. The next wave would fire rockets, and the following wave would drop bombs. Then they would repeat the pattern over again and again. Collectively the sights were unbelievable. The Navy can be awesome when it flexes its muscle. As our landing craft drew closer to the beach, our support ceased.
At 0837 we landed on the beach without any sign of resistance. It was obvious that the Japanese either were not expecting us to land here or they had changed their defense strategy all together. Their main line of defense (as we found out later) was further south, facing their south beaches. Our assigned objective was to drive across the island, cutting it in half, and then turn north and secure the northern end. In the next 20 days we covered 84 miles, about 2/3s of the island, or about 436 square miles of Japanese territory. That averaged about 4.2 miles per day of rough, high country.
Our trek north was for the most part uneventful, that is, until we hit some pretty heavy resistance on the Motobu peninsula. But that was a minor skirmish compared to what we would later face at the southern end of the island. The northern terrain was mountainous and a good part of the time we were in a position to where our supplies could not get to us. Helicopters were not around in those days and trucks could not travel where there are no roads. As a results we were without food and water a number of times.
On May 2nd we moved south but on this trip we were able to ride most of the way. Heavy rains set in on May 7th and continued without interruption through May 12 or so. It was miserable. Five days of wearing wet clothes, no hot food or drink, and sleeping in water filled mud holes called foxholes. But we got so busy on May 11th that we hardly had time to think about it. At 0230 (2:30am) we made a night river crossing of the Asa Kawa river, wading through chest deep water into what was called Asa Kawa valley. At daybreak all hell broke loose. Japanese resistance became extremely heavy. Unbeknownst to us, this was the outlying area of the enemy’s main line of defense. The Japanese troops were in caves and tunnels that interconnected. Even their artillery was underground, mounted on tracks throughout a tunnel system that allowed them to fire the howitzers and then roll them back out of harms way. Casualties began to mount but we did what Marines are trained to do: we continued to gain ground.
May 12, 1945. Both “G” and “E” Companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 22nd Regiment on the “POINT” (attack) with “F” Company (my Company) in “reserve.” Late in the afternoon “G” Company ran into “SUGAR LOAF HILL” and suffered extremely heavy casualties.
SUGAR LOAF HILL BATTLE STATISTICS
Date: 12 May 1945 - 22 May 1945 (10 days)
6th Division Casualties: 2,664 KIA and 7,000 wounded
Physical Size:
The hill, so named Sugar Loaf because of it’s shape, also resembled a watermelon cut in half, lengthwise with the flat side down. It was approximately 50 feet high by 300 yards long; a catacomb of interconnecting caves and bunkers. Caves were as deep as 50’ below ground surface.
“Sugar Loaf” was flanked by two other smaller hills, Half Moon and Horseshoe, and were so situated that the three hill formed crude triangle. Both hills also interconnected with Sugar Loaf Hill through its network of caves and tunnels. It was the Japanese version of the French Maginot Line - except the Japanese flanks unlike the French, where highly protected. The three (3) hills were so situated that if one hill was attacked, the other two (2) would offer crossfire” to protect the third (3rd) hill. The enemy would re-man a position as fast as it was knocked out; throughout their underground tunnel system.
“Sugar Loaf” was very different indeed. Part of a complex of the three hills, Sugar Loaf formed the western anchor of General Mitsuru Ushijima’s Shuri Line, which stretched from coast to coast across the island. Sugar Loaf was critical to the defense of that line, preventing the U.S. forces from turning the Japanese flank.
The forward approach to Sugar Loaf Hill was though an area about 500 yards square, or about the size of a normal shopping center, of absolutely bare terrain. The surrounding higher ground formed the area into a shallow valley that became known as “Death Valley” so called because the wide open area completely exposed the attacking force making each man an open target.
On the high ground to the left of the approach, was a sugar cane field that covered snipers hiding in “spider traps.” Their mission was to pick off anyone that appeared to be giving orders - and they did it with a great deal of accuracy. Most of the officers and ranking enlisted men were taken out by the snipers right at the beginning of the attack.
History of the first contact at Sugar Loaf Hill:
The enemy still held that ridge that dominated the Asa Kawa valley. That area lay directly in the path of the 2nd Battalion and the enemy stood ready to bitterly oppose further advance.
The morning of the 12 May 45, the 2nd Battalion, with Companies “G” and “E” on the “point” and “F” Company in reserve began hitting the outer edge of the Japanese main line of the Island’s defense.
Somewhere around 1500 hours (3:00pm), “G” Company ran into the key position of the enemy’s main defense line (later called Sugar Loaf Hill because of it’s shape) and suffered extremely heavy causalities under exceptionally heavy and accurate machine gun fire. By around 1700 hrs. (5:00pm), “G” Co. was down to about 12 men still on their feet. ( The combat strength of a Marine “rifle” Company is 240 men.) “G” Company was down to less than 5% of their normal strength and was rendered ineffective. Enemy fire was so intense that “G” Company had difficulty getting their wounded out.
The remains of “G” Company pulled back about 100 or so yards and joined “F” Company. I was sent over to “G” Company to help fill in their defense line for the night. We dug our “foxholes” and had hardly settled down when the Japanese starting laying in a heavy mortar barrage on us. Normally, two men dig-in together, as foxhole buddies; one on the alert while the other sleeps, rotating in two hour shifts, through-out the night. However, this was not the case for me that night. I was alone. When the incoming mortar shells began to explode, I laid down in my “hole” to escape the shrapnel flying all around us and immediately fell asleep in spite of all the noise of exploding shells. I was exhausted from the lack of sleep the two previous nights. I also snored for the first time in my life. Unknown to me, the Japanese charged our lines in a banzai attack right after the mortar barrage lifted. There had to be an eruption of noise, gun fire, hand grenades, etc. but I slept right through it like a baby. The next morning I awoke to see Japanese bodies everywhere, particularly a stack of bodies in front of my foxhole. The guys from “G” Company on my right said that they were tempted to throw a grenade into my “hole” to quiet my snoring because the Japs were zeroing in on the noise I was making. I owe my life to those guys. Some help I was.
The next morning around 0700, “F” Company and the remnants of “G” Company, pushed off for a second assault on Sugar Loaf Hill. We made it to the base of the hill by about 1300 (1:00PM). It took the balance of the afternoon to fight our way to the top only to be driven back down. At dusk we had less than 20 men that could stand and fight... There were bodies of the dead and the wounded everywhere. Our Battalion XO, Major Henry Courtney, gathered up the remaining men, along with all other available men that happen to be close at hand, for an all out assault. In that group was a Cpl. Jim Day, a special weapons man assigned to our Company. That small group of men charged the top of the hill against overwhelming odds and held their position throughout the night only to be driven off the next morning. Only a handful of men returned. That night when the Major’s little group reached the top they spotted a force of Japanese soldiers forming up for an all out “banzai” attack on the remaining Marine forces on the other side. The Major’s group started hurling hand grenades into the Japs forming up below, on the back side of the hill, inflicting heavy casualties, scattering the troops, and creating a lot of confusion. That night around midnight, an incoming mortar round killed the Major
Both Major Courtney and Cpl. Jim Day won the Congressional Medal of Honor that night. It is very unusual for two men to win the nations highest decoration for valor while being in the same Battalion, in the same battle, in the same general area, the same night. The Major received his posthumously but Jim Day managed to live through the battle and later rose to the rank of Major General in the Marine Corps.
Sugar Loaf Hill changed hand 14 times in 10 days and went down as the bloodiest SINGLE battle in Marine Corps history. The remnants of the 2nd Battalion were rendered ineffective for the remainder of the battle. We were replaced by the 3rd Battalion who also suffered high casualties. On May 17, the 2nd Battalion of the 29th Regiment took over from the remnants 3rd Battalion 22nd Marines. On the morning of May 19 the 29th Regiment was relieved by the 4th Regiment who went on to finally win the hill and the surrounding area. The Japanese main line of defense was finally broken at a tremendous loss of troops on both sides. The 6th Marines Division accounted for 23,000 Japanese troops killed. That is not something to brag about but simply said to illustrate the ferocity of the battle.
I was wounded during the battle of Sugar Loaf Hill and survived only because of faulty enemy ammunition. I had climbed partly up the hill when a Japanese soldier ran out of a tunnel entrance and threw a hand grenade directly at me; all seemingly in one motion. I stood there frozen, as if my body was made of iron, watching that grenade spiraling toward me. Then there was a flash of bright light at arm’s length away from my face. Then everything went black. The concussion felt as if I had been hit very hard with a heavy pillow. When I came to seconds later, I realized I was still standing on my feet. The Japanese soldier was just disappearing over the top of the hill. My wounds were minor. I had a bloody nose, while my hands and legs were peppered with bits of shrapnel. Several days later, these wounds became infected and I turned myself in to the field hospital. The wounds were treated and they kept me over night then released me. That was the first and only hot meal I had in the 83 days of the campaign.
There was a fellow on the cot next to me, that night in the hospital that kept asking me questions. I later found out he was a war correspondent and he had done a story about me. The Army publication, STARS & STRIPS, picked up on his story and wrote a short article calling me “The Luckiest Marine Alive.” At the same time, LEATHER-NECK magazine wrote in their DEEP SIX column that I wanted to change the name of Sugar Loaf Hill to “Bloody Nose Ridge.”
My lesson learned was to be more alert. I realized also that it could be a very easy, and almost painless to die that way.
The battles of IWO JIMA and OKINAWA had all but depleted the U.S. Marine Corps. We started getting replacements by men who were civilians on April 1. They came to us with very little training and many died because of it.
From what has been written and said, the invasion of Japan would have been worse than Iwo Jima and Okinawa combined - in terms of causalities.