Japanese 120-mm cannon, obviously not still manned by the Japanese. Two Marines pose by the weapon.


U.S. Marines advancing on Mt. Surabachi over the black sands of Iwo Jima. Those Marines set the standard for the Marine Corps. to this day.


A U.S. First Class postage stamp was printed to honor all the men who fought so valiantly in the taking
of Iwo Jima.


The islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam were extremely important to the US Army Air Force. The islands provided bases from which the long-range B-29s could strike the homme islands of Japan. These 3 islands were about 1,500 miles from Japan and the 3,000 round-trip strained the B-29s heavily, particularly if the aircraft had any engines shot out or severely wounded crew were onboard. The solution? Take Iwo Jima away from the Japanese. It was almost exactly halfway between the B-29s' home basess on Tinian, Saipan, and Guam and the home islands of Japan. It was an extremely costly battle for the US Marines, but from the time the Marines took Iwo Jima, some 2,600 landings were made there by B-29s. That's saving some 26,000 US bomber and crewmembers that otherwise would have probably been lost.


WHY IWO JIMA? (Part II)
By Clyde Durham

 

The United States desperately needed the island of Iwo Jima for two reasons. It would allow the B-29 bombers flying from bases on Saipan, Tinian and Guam a place to stop and refuel after dropping their bombs on Japan. Without having Iwo Jima, a B-29 could only carry about 8,000 pounds of bombs instead of the 20,000 pounds which was their capacity. The other 12,000 pounds were needed for extra fuel tanks in the bomb bays. Without that additional fuel there was no way the B-29s could fly from their bases to Japan and back.
Iwo Jima had another attractive feature. The US could place squadrons of P-5l fighters there and they could escort the bombers up to Japan and then once over the target area attack Japanese fighter planes attempting to shoot down B-29s. It was feared it would be an extremely costly price to pay in US deaths and wounded soldiers but it was felt the price would be worth paying.

Two Alexandria men had a close relationship with the island of Iwo Jima. Menard Brouillette of Alexandria spent 33 days of combat against the Japanese defenders and lived to tell about it. He told his story quietly and without any bragging or embellishments. He fought the fight and it was still vivid in his memory. He hit the Iwo beaches on D-Day and was still on the tiny island 33 days later.

He did not say so in so many words but in his quite, calm and reasonable talking about that time some 66 years ago one had the feeling that although he was in the room with Woo and me, he was also back on Iwo Jima among the hills, Japanese fortifications and caves and could once again hear the whine of bullets zipping closely by, shouts by friends and foes alike and trying to find a little safe place among the rocks and the black, black sand of Iwo Jima. My opinion of Menard Brouillette is that he is definitely not one to brag about himself or his Marines but that he is intensely proud to be a US Marine and equally proud of his part in the taking of Iwo Jima.

Menard spoke softly and it was obvious he was back on Iwo and reliving the horror of that first few hours of the invasion. The first wave of Marines hit the beach between 0800 and 0900. No fire from the Japanese. The next two waves of Marines followed shortly thereafter. Still silence from the defending Japanese. “Then suddenly,”  Menard said, “All hell broke loose!” The Japanese let loose with all the weapons they had and soon the beach became cluttered with American wounded and dead Marines. But the Marines returned fire and blunted some of the Japanese weapons.

The black sand of Iwo Jima suddenly was being tinted with the red color of American blood. But the Marines did not retreat. Instead they continued to forge forward into the fire and began inflicting some casualties on the Japanese defenders.

The Japanese were determined to stop the American Marine attack and push them back into the ocean but as determined as they were, the Fourth and Fifth Marine Divisions were even more determined to take that important little island of Iwo Jima.

Menard’s platoon commander, Capt. Martin, received the Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima. With pistol in hand, he charged an estimated 200 Japanese soldiers, killing many and taking the remainder prisoners.

Menard was 17 years old when the battle of Iwo Jima took place and he said even if he could, there is nothing about his experience on Iwo that he would change.|

The United States Marine Corps earned themselves a place forever in the hearts and minds of American citizens. And to this day there is a special bond between Air Force B-29 crewmen and the Marines. I feel that bond and comment on it to all Marine veterans whether or not they were involved in the invasion of Iwo Jima.  And even though my combat time on B-29s came during the Korean War 58 years ago, I still have a special place in my heart and mind for United States Marines.

And at the risk of embarrasing him, I want everyone reading this to know that in my mind Menard Brouillette is a man to be admired and respected. Indeed, he is one of the proud, the few, the US Marines, which would be permanently stationed there.

And I say the same about James “Woo” Leatherman”. Even though Woo was not a combat participant in the battle to take Iwo he, along with his outfit, was sent there as soon as the main aircraft landing field was in American hands. They were Army Air Force ground crews sent to take care  of B-29s needing fuel, emergency repairs, etc., and to service and repair the P-51s.

In fact, the very first B-29 that landed there was while the battle was still going on. This B-29 had an engine shot out and wounded crew members needing immediate aid after a combat mission over Japan. They contacted the airfield tower for landing instructions and were given the usual instructions except the words added at the end. The ground controller told the pilot to land as close to the end of the runway as possible and brake extremely hard to bring his wounded aircraft to a stop as soon as possible. When asked why those instructions, the ground controller radioed back, “ We (the U.S.) control this end of the runway but the Japs still control the other end. You’ll be landing on our end but heading down towards the Jap end. And you’ll be taking a helluva lot of rifle and machine gun fire from them!”

That answer was good enough for the US pilot and he touched down at the very end of the US part of the runway and stood on his brakes so hard they locked up the tires and almost burned them out. Some Japanese fire hit the big bomber but no further injuries to crew was recorded.



Woo and his outfit were there to service the P-5l fighter aircraft that arrived as soon as possible after the Americans took the island. A B-29 would be assigned to navigate for the fighters to and back from Japan. Then the P-5l Mustangs would orbit the B-29 target area and engage Japanese fighter aircraft in combat. The Jap fighters had to pay first attention to the P-51s instead of going for the B-29s. Then after the mission was completed the mother B-29 would navigate the flight of fighters back to Iwo.

Woo was careful to point out and to emphasize that he did not see combat on Iwo. His air force outfit did not come to Iwo until it was safely in US hands. Nevertheless, the job he and his fellow air corps men played in servicing the P-51s and some time the B-29s was vital to the success of the venture. Without Iwo Jima in US hands there was no way the US would be able to do what was needed to win the war.

Some 2,600 B-29 landings were recorded at Iwo Jima after the Marines took over. The B-29 was designed to carry a lO-man crew, 20,000 pounds of bombs (20 500-pounders in each bomb bay) but before Iwo was taken by the Marines the 29s could only carry about 8,000 pounds of bombs. The remaining space in the two bomb bays was used for extra fuel tanks. Without the extra tanks a B-29 could not carry its max load of bombs plus enough fuel to make the 3,000 mile round trip from Guam, Tinian or Saipan to Japan and back.