65 Years Ago.....

“Storm'd at with shot and shell

Bravely they rode and well

Into the Jaws of Death

Into the Mouth of Hell”

My Father with his 60mm Mortar Platoon, Camp Pendleton

Sixty-five years ago, on February 19, 1945, at 8:59 AM Iwo Jima time, my father, Gunnery Sgt. David J. Moses [5th Mar. Div, 27 Reg, 3rd Bn, H Co.] with his 60mm mortar platoon were among 30,000 US Marines landing on the soft sand and ash beaches of Iwo Jima.

This was the beginning of one of the bloodiest battles in our nations history. Almost 7,000 Americans were killed in action on Iwo Jima - more than 25,000 American casualties. Twenty-seven Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded in the battle - more than were awarded to Marines and Navy in any other Battle in our country's history. 

Fleet Admiral Nimitz said it best in 1945. He said, “among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.” I intend to honor his words and these men.

The following contains excerpts of writings of my father. His company landed with the first wave of troops on Red Beach #2. “The Red Beach was soft with volcanic ash and sand, you climbed the steep beach, took two steps, slide back one. Shelling was intermittent, mostly keying on landing craft, later shelling became more accurate…”.

Photo of Cpl. Rudolph "Rudy" E. Engstrom, wounded by shrapnel [holding in hand] in action on Iwo; he was "patched up" by my father with his field compress; this photo [converted to b&w] was used in the movie "Flags of Our Fathers" during the credits at the movie's ending.

Photo scanned from The Spearhead: The World War II History of the 5th Marine Division, by Howard Conner

“I had no men killed and three men wounded [in the] first hour. My three 60mm mortars could not be utilized as yet, due to close proximity of troops and limited range of my weapons. The beach was covered with men and equipment.”

Experiences by the conclusion of D-Day included that “most of our casualties were coming from artillery fire behind Mt. Surabachi and in front of Hill 362. We observed many wrecked Japanese fighter planes and small bombers on #1 Airfield. We could now see the other shore of the island.”

        [All of the following photos were taken by my father on Iwo Jima] 

"On the night of February 19^th, enemy artillery was at its peak. After securing the men, I occupied a shell hole for the night with GySgt. Raymond Nath. Adjacent to us in a slightly larger shell hole, Capt. Hall, Co. commander set up for the night with Co. Exec. Officer, Capt. Robert McCahill, a radioman and two runners. During the night, a shell landed in the Co. HQ wiping out our Company leaders, radioman and two runners.”

One incident my father recalled “on the 3^rd or 4^th night, we were set up near Hill 362. One of my men, PFC Stanley Wieleczko (a big strong athlete) observed a silhouette moving and without hesitation threw a grenade without pulling the pin (no time to).” The next morning “we found the Japanese soldier dead, his chest crushed by the impact of the grenade.”

When seeing the famous flag raising of February 23^rd on the peak of Iwo’s Mt. Surabachi, my father’s initial reaction was “one of complete exhilaration knowing we had half the battle won…” For many men and my father, the battle was far from over. My father was wounded twice: D+4: “shrapnel in my right leg” and D+9: “shot in my left hand”. His squad in the thirty five days of fighting sustained 10 wounded and 8 dead.

Extraordinary bravery was common on Iwo. Witnessed by my father was “one of our Pharmacist Mates, John H. Willis PhM1c, threw out several grenades from a fox hole where he was treating a casualty. He lost his life on one which he could not throw out. He won the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

The battle for Iwo Jima lasted until the end of March when on the 25^th, the last pocket of Japanese resistance was secured at Kitano Point. The penultimate campaign of the Pacific theater, the battle for Iwo Jima was the definitive operation for the US Marine Corps, putting into practice the skills of amphibious assault and finely honed in the South Pacific in over two and a half years of war. Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle in the history of the Corps.

            Fifth Marine Division Cemetary, Iwo Jima    Mt. Surabachi in the distance.