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Liberation:Marines in the Recapture of Guamby Cyril I. O'Brien

ith the instantaneousopening of a two-hour, ever-increasingbombardment by sixbattleships, nine cruis-

ers, a host of destroyers and rocketships, laying their wrath on the wrin-kled black hills, rice paddies, cliffs,and caves that faced the attackingfleet on the west side of the island,Liberation Day for Guam began at0530, 21 July 1944.

Fourteen-inch guns belching fireand thunder set spectacular blossomsof flame sprouting on the fields andhillsides inland. It was all very plainto see in the glow of star shells whichilluminated the shore, the ships, andthe troops who lined the rails of thetransports and LSTs (Landing Ships,Tank) which brought the U.S. Ma-rines and soldiers there.

The barrages, which at daylightwould be enlarged by the strafingand bombing of carrier fighters,bombers, and torpedo planes, werethe grand climax of 13 days (since 8July) of unceasing prelanding

On the Cover: Marines of Battery I, 14thDefense Battalion, man their twin-barrelled, Mark IV, Oerlikon-designed20mm guns on top of Chonito Ridge,overlooking Adelup Point. In the initialstages of the Guam operation, these an-tiaircraft guns fired in support of the 3dMarines. Department of Defense Photo(USMC) 93063At left: A threatening 75mm Japanesegun pokes its barrel out of the GaanPoint pilibox where a companion pieceand a 37mm gun wreaked havoc on theassault waves of the 22d Marines on W-Day, destroying approximately 24 troop-carrying amphibian tractors, before theenemy position was taken out. Depart-ment of Defense Photo (USN) 247618

softening-up. Indeed, carrier aircraftof Task Force 58 had been blastingGuam airfields since 11 June, whilethe first bombardment of the B-24sand B-25s of the Fifth, Seventh, andThirteenth Air Forces fell as early as6 May.

Up at 0230 to a by-now traditionalMarine prelanding breakfast of steakand eggs, the assault troops, ladenwith fighting gear, sheathed bayonetsprotruding from their packs, hurriedand waited, while the loudspeakersshouted "Now here this . . . . Nowhear this:' Unit commanders onboard the LSTs visited each of theirmen, checking gear, straighteningpacks, rendering an encouraging paton a shoulder, and squaring away thequeues going below to the well decksbefore boarding the LVTs (LandingVehicles, Tracked).

Troops on the APAs (attack trans-ports) went over the rail and downcargo nets to which they—weigheddown with 40-pound packs as wellas weapons — held on for dear life,and into LCVPs (Landing Craft, Ve-hicle and Personnel). These troopswould transfer from the landing craftto LVTs at the reef's edge, if all wentas planned.

Aircraft went roaring in over masttops and naval guns produced a con-tinuous booming background noise.Climaxing it all was the voice ofMajor General Roy S. Geiger, com-manding general of III AmphibiousCorps, rasping from a bulkheadspeaker:

You have been honored. Theeyes of the nation watch you asyou go into battle to liberate thisformer American bastion fromthe enemy. The honor whichhas been bestowed on you is asignal one. May the glorious

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traditions of the Marine Corps'esprit de corps spur you to vic-tory. You have been honored.

In the crowded, stifling well decksof the LSTs, the liberators climbed onboard the LVTs and waited claustro-phobic until the LST bow doorsdropped and the tracked landing ve-hicles rattled out over these rampsinto the swell of the sea. As the am-phibian tractors circled (about 0615)near the line of departure, a flight ofattack aircraft from the Waspdrowned out the whine of the am-trac engines and whirled up cloudsof fire and dust, obscuring the land-ing beaches ahead. Eighty-five fight-ers, 65 bombers, and 53 torpedoplanes executed a grass-cutting straf-ing and bombing sweep along all ofthe landing beaches from above the

SAIPAN

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General Roy S. Geigerajor General Roy S. Geiger,as the other general officersin the Guam invasion force,

was a World War I veteran. He also wasan early Marine Corps aviator. He wasthe fifth Marine to become a navalaviator—in 1917—and the 49th in thenaval service to obtain his wings. Hewent to France in July of that year andcommanded a squadron of the First Ma-rine Aviation Force. In the war and af-ter, he saw service with Marine Corps airunits. He also was well educated profes-sionally, for he attended the Army Com-mand and General Staff School at FortLeavenworth in 1924-1925 and was a stu-dent in the Senior and AdvancedCourses at the Naval War College, New-port, Rhode Island, 1939-1941. In Au-gust 1941, he became commandinggeneral of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wingand led it at Guadalcanal during thedifficult days from September to Novem-

ber 1942. Back in Washington in 1943,he was Director of Aviation, until, onthe untimely death of Major GeneralCharles D. Barnett, CommandingGeneral, I Marine Amphibious Corps,just prior to the Bougainville landings,General Geiger was rushed out to the Pa-cific to assume command and direct thelandings at Empress Augusta Bay on 1November 1943. He was the first Marineaviator to head as large a ground com-mand as IMAC, which was redesignat-ed III Amphibious Corps in April 1944.He led this organization in the liberationof Guam in July 1944, and in the land-ings on Peleliu on 15 September 1944.General Geiger led this corps into actionfor the fourth time as part of the TenthArmy in the invasion of Okinawa. Uponthe death of Army Lieutenant GeneralSimon B. Buckner, Geiger took com-mand of the Tenth Army, the first Ma-rine to lead an army-sized force. In July

1945, at the end of the Okinawa opera-tion, General Geiger assumed commandof Fleet Marine Force, Pacific at PearlHarbor. In November 1946 he returnedto Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, inWashington, and died the followingyear. By an act of Congress, he wasposthumously promoted to the rank ofgeneral.

northern beaches of Agana, southfor 14 miles to Bangi Point.

"My aim is to get the troops ashorestanding up7 said Rear AdmiralRichard L. Conolly, Southern AttackForce (Task Force 53) commander,who earned the nickname "Close-inConolly" during the Marshalls oper-ations for his insistence on having hisnaval gunfire support ships firingfrom stations very close to thebeaches.

Private First Class James C. Helt, aradioman with Headquarters andService Company, 1st Battalion, 3dMarines, in the bow of an LVT mov-ing towards shore, wondered, as didmany others, if anything could bestill be alive on Guam? Ashore, Lieu-tenant Colonel Hideyuki Takeda, onthe staff of the defending 29th Div i-sion, said the island could only bedefended if the Americans did notland. In a diary, one Japanese officernoted that the only respite from thebombardment was a "stiff drink:'

The next best thing to a welcomemat for Marine assault waves had

been laid by the audacious Navy Un-derwater Demolition Teams 3, 4, and6, who cleared the beach obstacles.Navy Chief Petty Officer James R.Chittum of Team 3 noted that thesepathfinders were usually closeenough to draw small arms fire. AtAsan, they exploded 640 wire obsta-cle cages filled with cemented coral,and at Agat they blew a 200-foothole for unloading in the coral reef.Team 3, under Navy Reserve Lieu-tenant Thomas C. Crist, also re-moved half of a small freighter froma channel blocking the way of theMarines.

Swimmers as well as scouts, the"demos" reconnoitered right up on thelanding beaches themselves. Theyleft a sign for the first assault waveat Asan: 'Welcome Marines — USOThis Way."

At 0730 a flare was shot in the airabove the waiting flotilla and Ad-miral Conolly commanded: "La'ndthe Landing Force:' At 0808, the firstwave of the 3d Marine Divisionbroke the circle of waiting LVTs to

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form a line and cross the 2,000 yardsof water to the 2,500-yard-widebeach between Asan and Adeluppoints. At 0829, the first elements ofthe 3d Marine Division were onGuam. Three minutes later, 0832,lead assault troops of the 1st Provi-sional Marine Brigade crossed theshelled-pocked strand at Agat, sixmiles south of the Asan-Adelupbeachhead.

Guam, along with the Philippines,became a territorial possession of theUnited States with the signing of theTreaty of Paris in 1899, ending theSpanish-American War. Earlier, on21 June 1898, First Lieutenant JohnTwiggs "Handsome Jack" Myers hadled a party of Marines ashore fromthe protected cruiser Charleston toaccept the surrender of the Spanishauthorities, who didnt know that astate of war then existed betweenSpain and the United States. Thus be-gan a long Marine presence onGuam. The island, southernmost of

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the Marianas chain, was discoveredby Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, but

• not occupied until 1688 when a smallmission was established there by aSpanish priest and soldiers. Whencontrol of the rest of the Mariana Is-lands, including Saipan and Tinian,all once German possessions, wasgiven to Japan as a mandate powerin 1919, Guam became an isolatedand highly vulnerable American out-post in a Japanese sea.

This American territory, 35 mileslong, nine miles at its widest and fourat its narrowest, shaped like apeanut, with a year-long mean tem-perature of 79 degrees, fell quickly

and easily in the early morning of 10December 1941. Much of the Jap-anese attack on Guam came from hersister island of Saipan, 150 miles tothe north.

The governor of Guam, CaptainGeorge J. McMilIan (the islandgovernor was always a U.S. Navyofficer), aware that he could expectno reinforcement or relief, decided tosurrender the territory to Japanesenaval forces. Foremost in his mindwas the fate of the 20,000 Guamani-ans, all American nationals, whowould inevitably suffer if a strongdefense was mounted. He felt "the sit-uation was simply hopeless." He sent

word to the 153 Marines of the bar-racks detachment at Sumay on OrotePeninsula and the 80-man InsularGuard to lay down their arms. Evenso, in two days of bombing and fight-ing, the garrison lost 19 men killedand 42 wounded, including four Ma-rines killed and 12 wounded.

In late 1943, both the Joint Chiefsof Staff (JCS) and, later, the Com-bined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) agreed tothe further direction of the PacificWar. General Douglas MacArthur,commander of the Southwest PacificArea, was to head north through

RAdm Richard L. Conolly, Southern Attack Force commander right: BGen Alfred H. Noble, assistant division commander,for the Guam landings, confers on Guadalcanal with the 3d Marine Division; Cdr Patrick Buchanan, USN, com-commanders of the Northern Attack Group during rehearsals mander, Northern Transport Group; Adm Conolly; MajGenprior to the departure for the Marianas target. From left to Allen Turnage, commanding general, 3d Marine Division.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 50235

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General Allan H. Turnagehan H. Turnage was commis-sioned in 1913, and went toFrance as commanding officer

of the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 5thBrigade of Marines. In the interwar peri-od, Turnage had an assortment of as-signments to sea duty and to dutyoverseas, and in 1935 he reported asdirector of The Basic School, then at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard. At the outsetof World War II, he commanded CampLejeune and its training center, whichwas responsible for the organization and

training of two regimental combat teamsslated for duty with the 3d Marine Di-vision. In October 1942 he became as-sistant division commander of the 3dMarine Division and its commander thenext September. General Turnage led thedivision in the landing on Bougainvilleand the liberation of Guam. Followingthe end of the war, he became AssistantCommandant of the Marine Corps.Lieutenant General Turnage's final as-signment was command of Fleet MarineForce, Pacific at Pearl Harbor. Upon his

retirement in 1948, because he was deco-rated in combat, he received a fourthstar. He died in October 1971.

New Guinea to regain the Philip-pines. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz,Commander in Chief, U.S. PacificFleet, and Pacific Ocean Areas(CinCPac/CinCPOA), proposed amove through the Central Pacific tosecure a hold in the Marianas. Thestrategic bombing of Japan wouldoriginate from captured fields onGuam, Saipan, and Tinian. The newstrategic weapon for these attackswould be the B-29 bomber, whichhad a range of 3,000 miles while car-

rying 10,000 pounds of bombs. Thecode name of the Marianas operationwas "Forager." The Central Pacificdrive began with the landing onTarawa in November 1943, followedby the landings in Kwajalein Atoll onRoi-Namur, Eniwetok, andKwajalein itself.

In January 1944, Admiral Nimitzmade final plans for Guam, andselected his command structure forthe Marianas campaign. Accordingly,Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, the

victor at Midway, was designatedcommander of the Fifth Fleet and ofall the Central Pacific Task Forces; hewould command all units involved inForager.

Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turn-er, who had commanded naval forcesfor the landings at Guadalcanal andTarawa, headed the Joint Expedition-ary Force (Task Force 51). Turnerwould also command the NorthernAttack Force for the invasion of Sai-pan and Tinian. Admiral Conolly,

General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr.emuel C. Shepherd, Jr., was inhis senior year at the VirginiaVirginia Military Institute and

had not yet graduated when he was com-missioned in the Marine Corps. Hesailed to France as a member of the 5thRegiment of Marines, part of the 4thBrigade of Marines. He saw considera-ble action in the war — he was woundedtwice at Belleau Wood and after recover-ing from his wounds and rejoining hisregiment for the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives, he was wounded fora third time in the latter. Shepherdserved in the Army of Occupation inGermany, and on his return home, be-came aide to the Commandant and atthe White House. During the interwarperiod, he had a mix of school, staff,

and command assignments. In March1942, he assumed command of the 9thMarines and took it overseas as part ofthe 3d Marine Division. Upon promo-tion to flag rank in July 1943, he was as-signed to the 1st Marine Division asassistant division commander and, assuch, participated in the Cape Gloucesteroperation. He assumed command of the1st Provisional Marine Brigade in May1944, and led it in the landing on Guam.Following this operation, he received hissecond star and took command of the6th Marine Division, which was formedfrom the brigade and participated in thelandings on Okinawa. General Shepherdcommanded Fleet Marine Force, Pacif-ic, in the first two years of the KoreanWar, and then was chosen as the 20th

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Commandant of the Marine Corps.General Shepherd died at the age of 94in 1990.

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who had commanded the invasionforces at Roi and Namur in the Mar-shalls, would head the Southern At-tack Force (Task Force 53) assignedto Guam. Marine Major General(later Lieutenant General) HollandM. Smith, the Expeditionary Troopscommander for the Marianas, wouldbe responsible for the NorthernTroops and Landing Force at Saipanand Tinian, essentially the Marine VAmphibious Corps (VAC) MajorGeneral Roy S. Geiger, an aviatorwho had conducted the Bougainvilleoperation, was to command theSouthern Troops and Landing Force,the III Amphibious Corps, at Guam.

D-Day for the invasion of Saipanhad been set for 15 June. It was animportant date also for the 3d Ma-rine Division, commanded by MajorGeneral Allen H. "Hal" Turnage; the1st Provisional Marine Brigade un-der Brigadier General Lemuel C.Shepherd, Jr.; and the Army's 77thInfantry Division under MajorGeneral Andrew D. Bruce. They wereto land on Guam on 18 June, but the3d Division and the brigade firstwould wait as floating reserve untilthe course of operations on Saipanbecame clear. The 77th would standby on Oahu, ready to be called for-ward when needed.

Admiral Spruance kept the float-ing reserve well south and east of Sai-pan, out of the path of an expectedJapanese naval attack. A powerfulJapanese fleet, eager to close with theAmerican invasion force, descendedupon the Marianas. The opposingcarrier groups clashed nearby in theBattle of the Philippine Sea, one ofthe major air battles of the war. TheImperial Navy lost 330 out of the 430planes it launched in the fray. Theclash (19 June), called "the GreatMarianas Turkey Shoot;' was catas-trophic for the Japanese and endedonce and for all any naval or airthreat to the Marianas invasion.

With the hard fighting on Saipanturning gradually but inevitably infavor of the American Marines and

ndrew D. Bruce, a native ofMissouri and a graduate ofTexas A&M in 1916, was com-

missioned an Army second lieutenant inJune 1917. His association with the Ma-rine Corps goes back to World War I,when as a member of the 2d Infantry Di-vision's 5th Machine Gun Battalion, heparticipated in actions in France in theTroyon Sector near Verdun, in the AisneDefensive operation near Chateau Thier-r the Aisne-Marne offensive at Sois-sons, the fighting at St. Mihiel, and theMeuse-Argonne offensive at BlancMont. With the rest of the 2d Division,he hiked into Germany to become partof the occupation force.

In the interwar period, he had a mix ofstaff, command, and school assign-

soldiers battling the Japanese, theU.S. Navy was ready to direct its at-tention to Guam, which was nowslated to receive the most thoroughpre-landing bombardment yet seen inthe Pacific War. After weeks at sea,the 3d Division and the 1st Brigadewere given a respite and a chance togo ashore to lose their "sea legs" af-ter so long a period on board ships.The Task Force 53 convoy movedback to Eniwetok Atoll, whose huge

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ments. At the outbreak of World War II,then-Lieutenant Colonel Bruce headedthe Army's Tank Destroyer School,which was first at Camp Meade,Maryland, then at Camp Hood nearKileen, Texas. He assumed command ofthe 77th Infantry Division in May 1943.The division first saw combat at Guamwith the 3d Marine Division and the 1stProvisional Marine Brigade, and thenlanded at Leyte for the Philippines oper-ation. General Bruce's 77th once againfought with Marines in the landing on1 April 1945 on Okinawa. When theXXIV Corps attacked to the south,General Bruce's soldiers and the 1st Ma-rine Division were neighbors in thefrontlines.

General Bruce retired with three starsas a lieutenant general and died in 1969.

20-mile-wide lagoon was rapidly be-coming a major forward naval base.

The Marines welcomed the breakand the chance to walk on dry landon the small islands of the atoll.There was even an issue of warmbeer to all those on shore. The Ma-rine veterans of the fighting on Bou-gainville, New Georgia, andEniwetok had a chance to look overthe soldiers of the 305th RegimentalCombat Team, which now came for-

Major General Andrew D. Bruce

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talions of 155mm howitzers and gunsand the 9th and 14th Defense Battal-ions, whose 90mm guns could andwould fire at both air and groundtargets.

ward from Oahu to be attached brie-fly to the brigade for the landing onGuam, set for 21 July and designatedW-Day. The rest of the Army contin-gent, the 77th Infantry Division, waswell trained and well led, and wasscheduled to arrive at the target onW plus 1, 22 July.

The 3d Marine Division, com-posed of the 3d, 9th, and 21st Ma-rines (rifle regiments), the 12thMarines (artillery), and the 19th Ma-rines (engineers and pioneers), plussupporting troops, numbered 20,238men. It had received its baptism offire on Bougainville in Novemberand December 1943 and spent the in-tervening months on Guadalcanaltraining and absorbing casualtyreplacements. The 1st ProvisionalMarine Brigade, which was or-ganized on Guadalcanal, was also aveteran outfit. One of its infantryregiments, the 4th Marines, wasformed from the disbanded raiderbattalions which had fought in theSolomons. The other once-separateregiment, the 22d Marines, wasblooded in the seizure of Eniwetokin February 1944. Both regimentshad 75mm pack howitzer battalionsattached, which now joined brigade

For the handling of casualties, IIICorps had a medical battalion, withequipment and supplies to operate a1,500-bed hospital. In addition, the1st Brigade had two medical compa-nies; the 3d Division its own medicalbattalion; and the 77th Division afully staffed and equipped Armyfield hospital. Each of the divisionshad a medium tank battalion and afull complement of engineers, aug-mented by two Marine separate en-gineer battalions and two navalconstruction battalions (Seabees).Two amphibian tractor battalionsand an armored amphibian battalionwould carry the assault waves toshore. All in all, the III AmphibiousCorps was prepared to land morethan 54,000 soldiers, sailors, andMarines.

Waiting for the attack and sure

En route to Guam on board the command ship USS Appalachian (AGC 1), Ma-rine III Amphibious Corps commander, MajGen Roy S. Geiger; his chief of staff,Col Merwin H. Silverthorn; and the Corps Artillery commander, BGen Pedro A.del Valle, all longtime Marines and World War I veterans, review their copy ofthe Guam relief map to assist in their estimates and plans for the operation.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 87140

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 90434

BGen Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., Commanding General, 1st Provisional MarineBrigade and his principal officers, from left, Col John T Walker, brigade chief ofstaff; LtCol Alan Shapley, commander, 4th Marines; and Col Merlin T. Schneider,commander, 22d Marines, view a relief map of Guam for the brigade's operation.

troops. In all, the brigade mustered9,886 men.

Corps troops of the III Corps washeavy with artillery and would useevery gun. III Corps had three bat-

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were 5,000 naval troops of the 54thKeibitai (guard force) and about2,000 naval airmen reorganized as in-fantry to defend Orote Peninsula andits airfield. General Takashina was inoverall tactical command of the18,500 Army and Navy defenders.His immediate superior, LieutenantGeneral Hideyoshi Obata, com-manding the Thirty-first Army, wasalso on Guam, though not intention-ally. Returning to his Saipan head-quarters from an inspection trip tothe Palau Islands, Obata was trappedon Guam by the American landingon Saipan. He left the conduct ofGuam's defense to Takashina.

The fact that the Americans wereto assault Guam was no secret to itsdefenders. The invasion of Saipanand a month-long bombardment byships and planes left only the ques-tion of when and where. With only15 miles of potential landing beachesalong the approachable west coast,the Japanese could not be very wrongno matter where they defended.

Tokyo Rose said they expected us.On board ship, the Americans heardher and her pleasant beguiling voiceon the radio. While she made threatsof dire things to happen to invasiontroops, she was never taken serious-ly by any of her American "fans."

Imperial Japanese Army LtGen TakeshiTakashina, commander of the 29th In-fantry Division, which came to Guamfrom Manchuria in early 1944, where itwas part of the Kwantung Army,was killed on 28 July while directingthe evacuation of his Fonte defenses.

that it would come, but not where,was the Japanese 29th Infantry Di-vision under Lieutenant GeneralTakeshi Takashina. The 29th hadserved in Japan's Kwantung Army,operating and training in Manchuriauntil it was sent to the Marianas inFebruary 1944. One of its regiments,the 18th, fell victim to an Americansubmarine, the Trout, and lost 2,200of its 3,500 men when its transportwas sunk. Reorganized on Saipan,the 18th Infantry Regiment took twoinfantry battalions to Guam, togetherwith two companies of tanks.

Another of the 29th's regimentsgarrisoned Tinian and the remainingunit, the 38th Infantry, together withdivision headquarters troops, arrivedon Guam in March. The other majorArmy defending units were the 48thIndependent Mixed Brigade and the10th Independent Mixed Regiment,both formed on Guam in Marchfrom a six-battalion infantry, ar-tillery, and engineer force sent fromthe Kwantung Army. With miscel-laneous supporting troops, the totalArmy defending force numberedabout 11,500 men. Added to these

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LtGen Hideyoshi Obata, Thirty-firstArmy commander, who took commandof the defense of Guam after GenTakashina's death, was himself killed bysoldiers of the 306th Infantry, when theyoverran the Mataguac command post.

Major General Kiyoshi Shigemat-su, shoring up the morale of his 48thIndependent Mixed Brigade, told hismen: "The enemy, overconfident be-cause of his successful landing on Sai-pan, is planning a reckless andinsufficiently prepared landing onGuam. We have an excellent oppor-tunity to annihilate him on thebeaches."

Premier Hideki Tojo, supremecommander of the war effort for

Japan, also had spirited words for hisembattled commanders: "Because thefate of the Japanese empire dependson the result of your operation, in-spire the spirit of officers and menand to the very end continue to des-troy the enemy gallantly and persis-tently; thus alleviate the anxiety ofthe Emperor:'

Back to visit Guam a half centurylater, a former Japanese lieutenantsaid the tremendous American inva-sion fleet offshore had "paved the sea"and recalled what he thought on 21July: "This is the day I will die:'

"Conditions," said Admiral Conol-ly, "are most favorable for a success-ful landing:'

Troops of the 3d Marine Divisionlanded virtually in the lap of theJapanese island commander, GeneralTakashina, whose U-shaped cavecommand post, carved out of a sand-stone cliff, overlooked the Asan-Adelup beachhead. The loomingheights dominated the beaches, par-ticularly on the left and center, wherethe 3d and 21st Marines were headedfor the shore.

W-Day, 21 July 1944, opened as abeautiful day, but it soon turnedhazy as the violent clouds of smoke,dust, and fire spiraled skyward. At

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0808 an air observer shouted into hismicrophone: "First wave on thebeach:' At 0833, the same airborneannouncer confirmed the battle wason, with: "Troops ashore on allbeaches:'

The 3d Marines under Colonel W.Carvel Hall struck on the far left ofthe 2,500-yard beachhead, the leftflank of the division near AdelupPoint. Ahead was Chonito Cliff, aridge later named Bundschu Ridge,and high, difficult ground in back ofwhich was the final beachhead line(FBHL), or first goal of the landing.The center, straight up the middle,belonged to the 21st Marines, underColonel Arthur H. "Tex" Butler. Theregiment would drive inland, securea line of cliffs, and defend them untilthe division caught up and was readyto expand the beachhead outward.Under Colonel Edward A. Craig, the9th Marines landed on the right flanknear Asan Point, ready to strike in-land over paddies to and across lowerand more hospitable hills, but all partof the same formidable enemy-heldridgeline.

The 3d Battalion, 9th Marines,under Lieutenant Colonel Walter As-muth, Jr., caught intense fire from thefront and right flank near AsanPoint, and he had to call on tanks forassistance, but one company got to

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the ridge ahead quite rapidly andthrew the defenders at Asan Point offbalance, making the regiment's ad-vance easier. (It would also be up tothe 9th Marines to take Cabras, a lit-tle island offshore and hard againstApra Harbor. This would be accom-plished with a separate amphibiouslanding.) With its 2d and 3d Battal-ions in the lead, the 9th Marinesdrove through its initial objectivesquickly and had to slacken its ad-vance in order not to thin out the di-visions lines.

Colonel Butler's 21st Marines, in a

stroke of luck which would later becalled unbelievable, found two un-guarded defiles on either side of theregiment's zone of action. His troopsclimbed straight to the clifftops. Noattempt was made to keep contactgoing up, but, on top, the 2d and 3dBattalions formed a bridge coveringboth defiles. The 1st Battalion sweptthe area below the cliffs.

The 12th Marines (Colonel John B.Wilson) was quickly on the beach,with its burdensome guns and equip-ment, and the 3d Battalion of Lieu-tenant Colonel Alpha L. Bowser, Jr.,

was registered and firing by 1215. By1640 every battery was in positionand in support of the advance. Cap-tain Austin P. Gattis of the 12th Ma-rines attributed the success of hisregiment in setting up quickly to"training, because we had done itover, and over, and over. It was eff i-ciency learned and practiced and italways gave the 12th a leg up."

On the far left, the 3d Marines wasgetting the worst of the enemy's in-creasing resistance. The regimentreceived intense mortar and artilleryfire coming in and on the beaches,and faced the toughest terrain — steep

cliffs whose approaches were lacedwith interlocking bands of Japanesemachine gun fire. The cliffs weredefended by foes who knew and usedtheir weapons well. The Japanese,that close, would roll grenades rightdown the escarpment onto the Ma-rines. Snipers could find protectionand cover in the countless folds andridges of the irregular terrain, and theridgetops were arrayed like thebreastworks of some nightmarishcastle. It appeared that ten on topcould hold off hundreds below.

One of the defenders, LieutenantKenichi Itoh, recalled that despite theterrible bombardment, he felt secure,that his countrymen could hold outfor a long time, even win. After thewar, recalling his feelings that event-ful day in July 1944, the lieutenantconsidered it all a bad dream, "even

Laden amphibious tractors carry troops of the 22d Marinesin the assault wave to Yellow Beaches 1 and 2 south of Agatin the Southern Sector. Here, they would face murderous fire

from Japanese guns at Gaan Point and from positions over-looking the beaches on Mount Alifan and Maanot Ridge.Gaan Point was not fully neutralized until 1330, W-Day.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 88093

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3d Marine Division Insignia

T he insignia of the 3d MarineDivision was adopted on 25August 1943, when the divi-

sion was in training on Guadalcanalfor the upcoming invasion of Bougain-yule. Approved in 3d Marine DivisionMemorandum 274-43, the insigniaconsisted of a caltrop on a triangular,gold-bordered scarlet shield. Thecaltrop was a medieval defensiveweapon used against both cavalry andinfantry. During the warfare of theMiddle Ages, large numbers of caltropswere scattered by defenders on theground in front of an approaching ene-my. The four-pronged, forged-ironcaltrop was designed so that no mat-ter which way it landed when thrownon the ground, one point would be upwith the other three points supporting

it. When used on the insignia, thecaltrop represented not only the 3dMarine Division, but also the mottopainted on the drums carried by theContinental Marines in the AmericanRevolution: 'Dont Tread on Me:'

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absurd" to think that his forces couldever withstand the onslaught.

On W-Day, Lieutenant ColonelRalph E. Houser's 3d Battalion, 3dMarines, was on the extreme left ofthe line, facing Adelup Point, which,with Asan Point, marked the rightand left flanks of the invasionbeaches. Houser's troops could seizethe territory in his zone only with thesupport of tanks from Company C,3d Tank Battalion, and half-track-mounted 75mm guns. Holding up theregimental advance was a little noseprojecting from Chonito Ridge facingthe invasion beach in the 1st Battal-ion, 3d Marines' zone. Early on W-Day (about 1045), Captain Geary R.Bundschu's Company A was able tosecure a foothold within 100 yardsof the crest of this promontory, butcould not hold its positions in theface of intense enfilading machinegun fire. Captain Bundschu called forstretchers and corpsmen, then re-

quested permission to disengage.Major Henry Aplington II, com-manding the 1st Battalion, was "un-willing to give up ground in the tightarea and told Captain Bundschu tohold what he had."

Colonel Hall ordered the attack tocontinue in mid-afternoon behind amassive 81mm mortar barrage. Noneof the companies of Major Apling-ton's battalion or Lieutenant ColonelHector de Zayas' 2d Battalion couldgain any ground beyond what theyalready precariously held. Their op-ponent, the 320th Independent In fan-try Battalion held fast.

A couple of hours later, ColonelHall ordered another attack, withCompanies A and E in the fore.Major Aplington recalled:

When the 1700 attack wentoff, it was no change. E madelittle progress and the gallantmen of A Company attackedagain and again, reached the

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top but could not hold. GearyBundschu was killed and thecompany slid back to the form-er positions.In the morning light of 22 July (W

plus 1), that small but formidableJapanese position still held firmlyagainst the 3d Marines' advance.During the bitter fighting of theprevious day, Private First ClassLuther Skaggs, Jr., of the 3d Battal-ion, led a mortar section throughheavy enemy fire to support the at-tack, then defended his positionagainst enemy counterattacks duringthe night although badly wounded.For conspicuous gallantry and brav-ery beyond the call of duty, he wasawarded the Medal of Honor. On the22d, Private First Class Leonard F.Mason, a Browning automatic rifle-man of the 2d Battalion, earned aposthumous Medal of Honor forsingle-handedly attacking and wip-ing out an enemy machine gun p0-

Upon reaching the beach, Marines quickly unload over thegunwales of the amtrac which brought them in and rushed

Department of Defense Photo (USMC)88160

off the beaches. As the frontlines advanced, succeeding wavesof amphibian tractors will carry the troops further inland.

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sition which threatened his unit.Although wounded severely, he re-joined his fellow Marines to continuethe attack, but succumbed to his fa-tal wounds.

During the day's bitter fighting,Colonel Hall tried to envelop theJapanese, using Companies A and Cof Aplington's battalion and Compa-ny E of de Zayas' On regimental ord-ers, Aplington kicked it off at 1150.It also got nowhere at first. CompanyA got to the top but was thrown off.

Company E was able to move aheadvery slowly. Probe after probe, itfound Japanese resistance perceptiblyweakening. By 1900, the men of Ereached the top, above Company A'sposition. The Japanese had pulledback. In the morning, a further ad-vance confirmed the enemy with-drawal.

In the south at Agat, despitefavorable terrain for the attack, the

1st Brigade found enemy resistanceat the beachhead to be more intensethan that which the 3d Divisionfound on the northern beaches.Small arms and machine gun fire,and the incessant fires of two 75mmguns and a 37mm gun from a con-crete blockhouse with a four-footthick roof built into the nose of GaanPoint, greeted the invading Marinesas the LVTs churned ashore. Thestructure had been well camouflagedand not spotted by photo interpreters

Seen from the air, 9th and 21st Marines assault Green andBlue Beaches in the Northern Sector on 21 July, W-Day. In

the right, Asan Point casts a foreboding shadow over thatportion of the landing area. Note LSTs beaching at the left.

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before the landing nor, unfortunate-ly, selected as a target for bombing.As a result, its guns knocked out twodozen amtracs carrying elements ofthe 22d Marines. For the assaultforces' first hours ashore on W-Dayon the southern beaches, the Gaanposition posed a major problem.

The assault at Agat was treated tothe same thunderous naval gunfiresupport which had disrupted andshook the ground in advance of thelandings on the northern beaches atAsan. When the 1st Brigade assaultwave was 1,000 yards from thebeach, hundreds of 4.5-inch rocketsfrom LCI(G)s (Landing Craft, Infan-try, Gunboat) slammed into thestrand. It would be the last of thepowerful support the troops of thebrigade in assault would get beforethey touched down on Guam.

While the LVTs, the DUKWs (am-

phibious trucks), and the LCVPswere considerably off shore, therewas virtually no enemy fire from thebeach. An artillery observation planereported no observed enemy fire. Thedefenders at Agat, however, 1st and2d Battalions, 38th Infantry, wouldrespond in their own time. The lossof so many amtracs as the assaultwaves neared the beaches meantthat, later in the day, there would notbe enough LVTs for the transfer of allsupplies and men from boats to am-tracs at the Agat reef. This shortageof tractors would plague the brigadeuntil well after W-Day.

The damage caused to assault andcargo craft on the reef, and the pre-cision of Japanese guns became realconcerns to General Shepherd. Someof the Marines and most of the sold-iers who came in after the first assaultwaves would wade ashore with full

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packs, water to the waist or higher,facing the perils of both underwatershellholes and Japanese fire. For-tunately, by the time the bulk of the77th Division waded in, these twinthreats were not as great because theMarines ashore were spread out andkeeping the Japanese occupied.

The Japanese Agat command hadprepared its defenses well with thick-walled bunkers and smaller pillbox-es. The 75mm guns on Gaan Pointwere in the middle of the landingbeaches. Crossfire from Gaan coor-dinated with the machine guns onnearby tiny Yona island to rake thebeaches allocated to the 4th Marinesunder Lieutenant Colonel AlanShapley. The 4th Marines was to es-tablish its beachhead, and protect theright or southernmost flank. Afterbitter fighting, the 4th Marinesforged ahead on the low ground to

its front and cleared Bangi Pointwhere bunker walls could withstanda round from a battleship. LieutenantColonel Shapley set up a block onwhat was to be known as HarmonRoad leading down from the moun-tains to Agat. A lesson well learnedin previous operations was that theJapanese would be back in strengthand at night.

When the Marines landed, theyfound an excellent but undermannedJapanese trench system on thebeaches, and while the pre-landingbombardment had driven enemydefenders back into their holes, theynonetheless were able to pour heavymachine gun and mortar fire downon the invaders. Pre-landing plan-ning called for the Marine amtracs todrive 1,000 yards inland before dis-charging their embarked Marines,but this tactic failed because of aheavily mined beachhead, with itsantitank ditches and other obstacles.However, the brigade attack ashorewas so heavy, with overwhelmingforce the Marines were able to breakthrough, and by 1034, the assaultforces were 1,000 yards inland, andthe 4th Marines' reserve battalionhad landed. After receiving extreme-ly heavy fire from all emplacedJapanese forces, the Marines workedon cleaning out bypassed bunkerstogether with the now-landed tanks.

By 1330, the Gaan Point blockhousehad been eliminated by taking theposition from the rear and blastingthe surprised enemy gunners beforethey could offer effective resistance.At this time also, the brigade com-mand group was on the beach andGeneral Shepherd had opened hiscommand post.

The 22d Marines, led by ColonelMerlin F. Schneider, was battered bya hail of small arms and mortar fireon hitting its assigned beach, andsuffered heavy losses of men andequipment in the first minutes. Pri-vate First Class William L. Dunlapcould vouch for the high casualties.The dead, Dunlap recalled, included

the battalion's beloved chaplain, whohad been entrusted with just abouteverybody's gambling money "tohold for safekeeping;' the Marinesnever for a minute considering thathe was just as mortal as they. The 1stBattalion, 22d Marines (LieutenantColonel Walfried H. Fromhold), hadleft its section of the landing zoneand moved to the shattered town ofAgat, after which the battalionwould drive north and eventuallyseal off heavily defended OrotePeninsula, shortly to be the scene ofa major battle.

The 22d Marines' 2d Battalion,(Lieutenant Colonel Donn C. Hart),in the center of the beachhead, quick-ly and easily moved 1,000 yardsdirectly ahead inland from the beach.The battalion could have gone on toone of the W-Day goals, the localheights of Mount Alifan, if Americanbombs had not fallen short, haltingthe attack.

The 1st Battalion moved into theruins of Agat and at 1020 was able tosay, "We have Agat," although therewas still small arms resistance in therubble. By 1130 the battalion wasalso out to Harmon Road, which ledto the northern shoulder of MountAlifan. Even as Fromhold's menmade their advances, Japanese shellshit the battalion aid station, wound-ing and killing members of the med-ical team and destroying supplies.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 94137

In quick order, the 105mm howitzers of LtCol Alpha L. Bowser's 3d Battalion, 12thMarines, were landed and set up in camouflaged positions to support the attack.

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Often, in attacking up the ridges, there was very little cover vanced in the face of heavy artillery, mortar, and machine gunand hardly any concealment as the Marines and soldiers ad- fire. Evacuation was extremely difficult under these conditions.

Company A, 3d Marines, is in a perilous position on W-Day to Chonito Ridge at the top. The troops were halted byplus 1, 22 July, as it is held up on Bundschu Ridge on its way Japanese fire, which prevented immediate reinforcement.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 87396

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