D + 3

February 22, 1945

Combat efficiency of both divisions now suffered seriously from heavy casualties, and the Japanese defense showed little indication of weakening. Most assault battalions that came ashore on D-Day had been in the front lines for three days and nights of grueling, nerve shattering action. Troops of those units had little chance to rest or sleep, and their diet consisted solely of K rations and water, occasionally supplemented by unheated C rations. On this morning, a cold, drizzling rain did little to improve morale.

- Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic

The rain did more than shorten tempers and lengthen physical discomfort for the Marines. As the day wore on, the rain grew heavier. Iwo's ash, already difficult to negotiate, became a sloppy, abrasive morass that clung to boondockers and utilities. Visibility dropped - first ruling out air support, then even rendering tanks useless as the men on the ground could see no more than a few yards in any direction. The Japanese, who knew every inch of the island, were perfectly content to send their shells and bullets whistling away into the fog; even firing blind, they could be fairly confident of scoring hits.

And score they did. On average, any given Marine company on the line was about 1,200 yards from its D-Day objective - the O-1 line. They faced the hellish task of attacking extremely well-constructed and interlocking defenses - like those they had taken in previous days - but, dishearteningly, most of the objectives were now uphill. Not only were the defenses almost impossible to locate, but they commanded excellent fields of view, weather nonwithstanding. Elements of the 21st and 26th Marines flung themselves gamely at the Japanese, but were cut to ribbons - the farthest advance in any sector was only 450 yards, at an astronomical cost.

Able Company spent another day continuing the mop-up of the Beach Blue-2 area. The demolitions teams were active, and throughout the daylight hours they attacked and destroyed pillbox after pillbox, cave after cave. The "corkscrew and blowtorch" technique that they had first employed on Saipan proved its worth once again - an assault team would lay down a heavy base of fire, keeping defenders pinned down while a flamethrower team worked its way within range. The gunfire would cease, and the flamethrower would leap forward, spraying a jet of napalm into the nearest opening. The defenders would be immolated immediately, or would begin to choke as the flames sucked the air out of their hiding place. Finally, a demolitions man would race for the enemy position and hurl in a satchel charge or block of TNT, blasting the entrance closed forever. This was a laborious, tiring, and nerve-wracking process, but in the end proved to be the only effective method of sealing off the caves.

Throughout the day, Able Company faced small arms from the emplacements they were sealing, as well as scattered shellfire. Their casualties were light, but still they suffered.

One of the casualties of the day was Second Lieutenant Steven Henry Opalenik. Opalenik was one of the rare "mustangs," and had been awarded the Silver Star for venturing beyond American lines to rescue wounded men on Saipan. He had received his commission immediately after the Tinian campaign, and was on the muster rolls as a member of the Headquarters Company. Somehow, he found himself commanding Able's weapons platoon. The former skipper of the company, "Buck" Schechter, remembered Opalenik in an interview:

He was the strongest man I've ever seen - he had been a wrestling champion somewhere. But he wasn't strong enough to stop a shrapnel sliver from going into his brain.

That's the way it was. It really depended on the exact spot where you were located. There were so many shells coming in that if you were going to survive, you just had to be lucky, that's all.

- Irving Schechter, 1982 interview. Quoted in Henry Berry's "Semper Fi, Mac"

[Steve Opalenik's body was returned to his hometown of South Hadley, Massachussetts, after the war. He is buried in Notre Dame Cemetery.]

Opalenik before the War, date and location unknown.

Able Company Casualties, February 22, 1945

Killed:
2nd Lt. Steve Opalenik. Age 28. South Hadley, MA. Weapons Platoon leader.
PFC Andrew Loban. Age 19. Chicago, IL. Automatic Rifleman.

Wounded:
Corporal Henry F. Denson, Jr. Rifle squad / fire team leader.
Corporal Virgil M. McNutt. Demolitions Corporal

Total: 4

Returned From Hospital:
First Lieutenant Marshal Salvaggio. Rifle platoon leader.