War Stories II (67 page)

When President Roosevelt saw the casualty figures from Iwo Jima D+2 for the first time, he wept. He found it hard to believe that the Marines had lost so many men in just two days ashore. Over 4,000 Marines were wounded and more than 600 were dead. Another 560 were MIA—in just the first two days of battle.

By now the Marines were coming to grips with a painful reality. The enemy soldiers were not on Iwo Jima—they were in it. General Kuribayashi's island defense plans were ingenious.

He had built sixteen miles of tunnels, some several stories below the ground. These tunnels were wide and tall enough for soldiers carrying rifles to walk or run erect. There were also nearly 1,500 rooms spread throughout the subterranean sprawl, big enough for barracks, ammunition and fuel
storage, bunkers and pillboxes, affording plenty of places to hide from American bombs, flame-throwers, naval guns, and other offensive actions. The Japanese had also constructed the tunnels and rooms with electricity, water storage, and even ventilation systems. They were ready to stay put and hold out for many months.

General Kuribayashi also improved on the German D-Day defenses. Instead of trying to blast the invaders while they were still coming ashore, he waited until they were already on the island so as to have more precision in using his guns. He had set up a vast, protected “killing machine.” From inside concrete pillboxes situated all across Mount Suribachi, he could unleash every manner of weapon, including spigot mortars that could hurl a 675-pound shell almost a mile. Heavy machine guns set up a crossfire, and other big guns inside bunkers could fire down on the concentrated American forces. Every square foot of the invasion beach had interlocking sectors of fire where machine guns and small arms fire could crisscross.

Night brought a new kind of nightmarish hell. Mount Suribachi resembled a monstrous Christmas tree, with cannon and mortar fire, tracers, and flares exploding all along the rise of the ancient extinct volcano. When the firing stopped, General Kuribayashi sent out terror in the form of his prowling wolves—each warrior intent on killing his quota of ten Marines.

Some of the Japanese soldiers carried hand grenades in addition to their rifles. Others strapped land mines to their chests. After emptying their rifles at the Americans, and trying to kill others with a grenade, bayonet, or sword, they'd run into a foxhole containing several Marines and throw themselves down onto their enemies. The mine exploded and eviscerated everyone within six feet of the blast.

But despite heavy casualties, the Marines held their ground and kept pushing the enemy back, inch by inch. They attacked the Japanese pillboxes with grenades, satchel charges of TNT, and flame-throwers. Many times this just drove the enemy soldiers deeper underground, keeping them alive to fight another day.

One day after the landing, the Marines took the southern end of Iwo Jima around Mount Suribachi and made plans to take the summit. By the
end of the day on 20 February, the Marines had secured one-third of the island and Motoyama Airfield No. 1.

Three days after the landing, a teenage Marine from Cleveland assigned to Combat Intelligence made his own landing on Iwo Jima. Private Don Mates experienced combat, death, and the aftermath of the war.