FULL BORE Squared. Had the fortune to go to Iwo 15 times while at Atsugi. The most memorable were the trips where we'd take the USMC from Iwakuni and Oki out for a 3 day battlefield studies group tour. We'd raise the flags/render honors, walk the battleground, hit the gun pits and look at the beaches, and read from the history books. If you've never been you can't understand the sucking black volcanic sand, or how close the LCIs and landing craft were to Suribachi, or the slope of the beach that went from 20 ft deep water to land in less than 8 lateral feet. Marines would jump out and go straight to the bottom even tho the front of the landing craft was ashore. It is, and always will be, hallowed ground. I have a tall glass jar filled with volcanic sand and spent ordnance on my desk.
The only downside was inspecting the Marines before boarding the a/c, as everyone wanted to bring back souvenirs like Japanese bullet clips, or US 50 cal rounds, or worse - like the time I found an antitank round in a backpack. EEE OOOO DDDD!!!!! The Japanese were still finding casualties in the tunnels, and we'd attend the funeral service on the ramp before they were flown back to Japan to be interred at the Yasakuni shrine.
Once you go, you will never look at the USMC the same ever again. My last trip we raised one American flag, took photos of the raising, the salutes, the date/time, and those in attendance. but this flag was special, as it was for a senior USMC officer who had fought on Iwo as an enlisted, and was now dying with cancer. He wanted that flag for his coffin and funeral. Not a dry eye in the photo. They went to hell and back for sure.
LCI 441 alongside the Nevada after the action (some links show this as 449 alongside the Terror, but thats incorrect) to take off the dead and wounded.
(think the new LSM's as designed could pull this off?... Oh wait the 2030 Crystal Ball will keep them away from combat. That the USMC actually believes they will have enough foreknowledge of the enemy's intent to keep these ships afloat by "Hiding in Plain Sight" is hard to believe until you hear it directly... Pretty obvious that this is a Top Down Really Bad Idea that no one has the b-lls to challenge)
That the USMC currently has its head lost in foreordained wargames doesn't take away from the ingenuity courage and heroism of 80 years ago...
FullBore!
One of the tasks for which the LCS(L)s were well-suited was that of firefighting. On 22 February Japanese mortar fire managed to set fire to an American ammunition dump only forty yards off the beach. Innumerable cases of hand grenades, 5.0 rockets, and small arms ammunition were contained in the dump. However, the Marines desperately needed their ammunition, as the battle was only in its third day. LCS(L)s 53 and 54 beached at 0155 and ran hoses from their Hale pumps and Johnson pumps over to the fire area and began to play water on it. A dazed and injured Marine stumbled from the area into their path and was taken aboard the 54 for medical aid. By 0230 the fires were under control, but exploding ordnance and fires were not their only problem. At 0255 a Japanese Betty dropped a stick of four small bombs only fifty yards from the ships but they were undamaged. By 0300 the fires were out and the LCS(L)s hauled themselves off the beach with their mission accomplished.44
Fullbore. Not far from Casa De Scoobs sits a peaceful piece of Chesapeake Bay waterfront property that during WW2 was the site of a major training facility for LCI crews. Not much of the wartime structures remain but at least in recent years a historical marker and veterans memorial have been added to remember the brave men that trained here before venturing forth to take the fight to hostile shores.
The LCIs at Iwo Jima story has been ably told in this recent work:
What magnificent courage and discipline under fire. I grew up hearing many UDT stories because of my grandfather, a proud frogman during the war (Peleliu, Philippines, Okinawa), but I never heard much about the vessels riding shotgun. Not always required for the mission but this time they were and performed in truly heroic fashion. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around unarmored vessels making 9 kts toward the foot of Mt. Suribachi under fire. Dropping over the side in cold water at 500 yds toward the same beach as a frogman would be rather grim, too. I am humbled and grateful for who these men proved to be.
For the last 20 years I have kept a copy of "The Book" in every office I have occupied in government.
"The Book", as I call it, is the full listing and citation of every Medal of Honor recipient in the history of the Medal.
It's about 2" thick.
Whenever I get frustrated with a mission or task, or start to feel demoralized, I pick it up, flip it open to a random page, and read the citation.
When I need particular motivation, I tend to flip to the sections for WW2, and look for USMC citations.
(Marines are a stingy lot, and we tend not to give out the Medal until long after most other services would have determined it was warranted. As a result, most Marine citations read like a page from a superman novel)
I frequently offer it as suggested reading to others who come to me with problems and no ideas for solutions, or who clearly don't have the intestinal fortitude for a proverbial battle with a contracting officer, much less a determined adversary who would kill them.
My hat is off to LtJg Herring and his brave crew. Bravo Zulu!
These modified LCI always strike one as being a quick, cheap, and fast back of the envelope modification to meet an operational exigency. You'd have to be crazy to deliberately sail one of these where sustained exposure to shore batteries is part of the mission.
Of note, this coincidentally popped up in my FB feed yesterday - a surviving LCI out west that is in a precarious situation. Hopefully they can find a Sugar Daddy or two to underwrite their restoration efforts. https://museumships.us/landing-ship/lci-l-1091
http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/15/150449.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_G._Herring
FULL BORE Squared. Had the fortune to go to Iwo 15 times while at Atsugi. The most memorable were the trips where we'd take the USMC from Iwakuni and Oki out for a 3 day battlefield studies group tour. We'd raise the flags/render honors, walk the battleground, hit the gun pits and look at the beaches, and read from the history books. If you've never been you can't understand the sucking black volcanic sand, or how close the LCIs and landing craft were to Suribachi, or the slope of the beach that went from 20 ft deep water to land in less than 8 lateral feet. Marines would jump out and go straight to the bottom even tho the front of the landing craft was ashore. It is, and always will be, hallowed ground. I have a tall glass jar filled with volcanic sand and spent ordnance on my desk.
The only downside was inspecting the Marines before boarding the a/c, as everyone wanted to bring back souvenirs like Japanese bullet clips, or US 50 cal rounds, or worse - like the time I found an antitank round in a backpack. EEE OOOO DDDD!!!!! The Japanese were still finding casualties in the tunnels, and we'd attend the funeral service on the ramp before they were flown back to Japan to be interred at the Yasakuni shrine.
Once you go, you will never look at the USMC the same ever again. My last trip we raised one American flag, took photos of the raising, the salutes, the date/time, and those in attendance. but this flag was special, as it was for a senior USMC officer who had fought on Iwo as an enlisted, and was now dying with cancer. He wanted that flag for his coffin and funeral. Not a dry eye in the photo. They went to hell and back for sure.
This link may flag as suspicious, but its legit...
https://erenow.org/ww/american-amphibious-gunboats-wwii-history-lci-lcsl-ships-pacific/8.php
LCI 441 alongside the Nevada after the action (some links show this as 449 alongside the Terror, but thats incorrect) to take off the dead and wounded.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/images/h65000/h65317.jpg
The skipper can be seen along the port rail just abaft the conning tower in a state of shock...
More in the series of pics here:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/15/150441.htm
[edit] part of 441's After Action Report
https://imgur.com/a/pKlofAv
Littoral Warfare: Sharp Fast Brutal
Been some years since I delved into this saga...
Good link about the "Little Giants" here:
http://usslci.org/
Dont remember reading this...
(think the new LSM's as designed could pull this off?... Oh wait the 2030 Crystal Ball will keep them away from combat. That the USMC actually believes they will have enough foreknowledge of the enemy's intent to keep these ships afloat by "Hiding in Plain Sight" is hard to believe until you hear it directly... Pretty obvious that this is a Top Down Really Bad Idea that no one has the b-lls to challenge)
https://youtu.be/d2N9k9N7oj8?si=nfVQx2zlucZO9K0W&t=486
More on this Hide in Plain Sight fever dream...
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/March-April-2023/Hiding/
That the USMC currently has its head lost in foreordained wargames doesn't take away from the ingenuity courage and heroism of 80 years ago...
FullBore!
One of the tasks for which the LCS(L)s were well-suited was that of firefighting. On 22 February Japanese mortar fire managed to set fire to an American ammunition dump only forty yards off the beach. Innumerable cases of hand grenades, 5.0 rockets, and small arms ammunition were contained in the dump. However, the Marines desperately needed their ammunition, as the battle was only in its third day. LCS(L)s 53 and 54 beached at 0155 and ran hoses from their Hale pumps and Johnson pumps over to the fire area and began to play water on it. A dazed and injured Marine stumbled from the area into their path and was taken aboard the 54 for medical aid. By 0230 the fires were under control, but exploding ordnance and fires were not their only problem. At 0255 a Japanese Betty dropped a stick of four small bombs only fifty yards from the ships but they were undamaged. By 0300 the fires were out and the LCS(L)s hauled themselves off the beach with their mission accomplished.44
The gent who fostered the LCI(G) concept has been the subject of his own remarkable FbF...
https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-96000/NH-96692.html
https://www.eaglespeak.us/2008/07/sunday-ship-history-continuing-saga-of.html
Fullbore. Medically retired and lives another 51 years after his injuries in his hometown.
If that’s not maintaining the traditions of citizen-sailors, I don’t know what is.
Keep on finding more sources with different perspectives...
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/about-us/leadership/hgram_pdfs/H-Gram_042.pdf
At about 1100, the LCI gunboats closed within
1,500 yards of the beach, preparing to unleash a
barrage of 4.5-inch rockets, when Japanese
positions along shore mistook the operation for
the actual landing and prematurely opened fire.
Small-arms and automatic-weapons fire was
directed against the swimmers and mortar rounds
began dropping around the LCI gunboats. A
heavy casemated gun on Mount Suribachi joined
in, followed by intense fire from a previously
unlocated artillery battery north of the beaches.
The Japanese fire was very heavy, well-aimed, and
effective, with the LCI gunboats bearing the brunt,
as every one of them was hit repeatedly, in some
cases with shells as large as 6-inch. Despite
increasing damage and mounting casualties, the
LCI gunboats refused to back down and
continued to provide covering fire for the
swimmers, but some of the Japanese guns were
so well protected they could only be neutralized
by direct hits. Eventually, the damage to several of
the LCI gunboats became so severe that they
temporarily withdrew to fight their fires and
offload dead and wounded onto the fleet
minelayer Terror (CM-5), which served as an
impromptu casualty evacuation point and repair
ship, enabling most of the LCI gunboats to get
back in the fight.
Additional LCI gunboats of Flotilla 3, under the
command of Commander Malanaphy (embarked
on flotilla flagship LCI[FF]-627), dashed in to
replace those that were temporarily forced out.
Despite damage and casualties LCI gunboats 409,
438, 441, and 471 returned into the battle (409
despite 60 percent casualties). LCI(G)-474 was so
badly damaged that she had to be abandoned;
she was scuttled by gunfire from destroyer Capps
(DD-550). In all, 12 LCI gunboats took part in the
brutal fight, standing in until all but one of the
UDT swimmers was recovered by 1240 (one of
the recovered swimmers later died from his
head wound).
During the LCI gunboat battle, the skipper of
battleship Nevada, Captain H. L. “Pop” Grosskopf,
turned a Nelsonian “blind eye” to the order to
withdraw, eventually silencing the northern
Japanese battery. (At the Battle of Copenhagen in
1801, British Admiral Lord Nelson, when informed
of an order to withdraw, famously put his
telescope to his blind eye and claimed he didn’t
see the signal flag hoist, and went on to a great
victory). At 1121, a Japanese shell hit the
destroyer Leutze (DD-481) in her forward stack,
killing seven and wounding 33 crewmen,
including seriously wounding the skipper,
Commander B. A. Robbins. Leutze remained in
the fight, continuing to fire on Japanese positions
to aid the LCI gunboats. Afterward, on the
recommendation of Robbins, Lieutenant Leon
Grabowsky was placed in command, thereby
becoming the youngest (27 years, 4 months old)
destroyer skipper in modern U.S. Navy history.
All 12 of the LCI gunboats were damaged during
the UDT beach reconnaissance operation, with a
total of 51 crewmen killed and 148 wounded.
LCI(G-474 was lost and LCI(G)-441 and 473 would
have to be towed away. All the LCI gunboats
would be awarded Naval Unit Commendations.
Commander Michael Malanaphy, Lieutenant
Commander Willard Nash, and 11 of the
LCI gunboat skippers would be awarded the
Navy Cross.
Fullbore. Not far from Casa De Scoobs sits a peaceful piece of Chesapeake Bay waterfront property that during WW2 was the site of a major training facility for LCI crews. Not much of the wartime structures remain but at least in recent years a historical marker and veterans memorial have been added to remember the brave men that trained here before venturing forth to take the fight to hostile shores.
The LCIs at Iwo Jima story has been ably told in this recent work:
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Hell-Untold-Courage-Sacrifice/dp/0425279170/ref=sr_1_33?crid=3IQ0QMG0AGI09&keywords=landing+craft+iwo+jima&qid=1703860733&sprefix=landing+craft+iwo+jima%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-33
Even smaller than stated above, 158'5.5" loa 389 tons full load.
What magnificent courage and discipline under fire. I grew up hearing many UDT stories because of my grandfather, a proud frogman during the war (Peleliu, Philippines, Okinawa), but I never heard much about the vessels riding shotgun. Not always required for the mission but this time they were and performed in truly heroic fashion. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around unarmored vessels making 9 kts toward the foot of Mt. Suribachi under fire. Dropping over the side in cold water at 500 yds toward the same beach as a frogman would be rather grim, too. I am humbled and grateful for who these men proved to be.
FullBore!
For the last 20 years I have kept a copy of "The Book" in every office I have occupied in government.
"The Book", as I call it, is the full listing and citation of every Medal of Honor recipient in the history of the Medal.
It's about 2" thick.
Whenever I get frustrated with a mission or task, or start to feel demoralized, I pick it up, flip it open to a random page, and read the citation.
When I need particular motivation, I tend to flip to the sections for WW2, and look for USMC citations.
(Marines are a stingy lot, and we tend not to give out the Medal until long after most other services would have determined it was warranted. As a result, most Marine citations read like a page from a superman novel)
I frequently offer it as suggested reading to others who come to me with problems and no ideas for solutions, or who clearly don't have the intestinal fortitude for a proverbial battle with a contracting officer, much less a determined adversary who would kill them.
My hat is off to LtJg Herring and his brave crew. Bravo Zulu!
These modified LCI always strike one as being a quick, cheap, and fast back of the envelope modification to meet an operational exigency. You'd have to be crazy to deliberately sail one of these where sustained exposure to shore batteries is part of the mission.
I wonder how his "diversity statement" reads, though?
You've probably seen these before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0GzxD-k9a4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WMqGYBOn9A
Of note, this coincidentally popped up in my FB feed yesterday - a surviving LCI out west that is in a precarious situation. Hopefully they can find a Sugar Daddy or two to underwrite their restoration efforts. https://museumships.us/landing-ship/lci-l-1091