D + 7 through D + 9

February 26 through 28th, 1945

Able Company spent three days in reserve, resting and recovering from the worst week any of them had ever spent.

They all had something on their mind. Friends had been wounded and killed; they themselves had narrowly missed death only by chance. A decent nights sleep was impossible. Hot meals were impossible. To relax and let one's guard down was impossible. And on top of it all, the enemy mortar shells kept falling.

Every day became more and more hard to bear.... Our C.O. kept all of the dog tags and he didn’t let us see how many he had. Probably wasn’t good for morale. The Japs had a big rocket that they launched every day. It was loaded with scrap iron, chain, nails and even old horseshoes. If it made a hit near your company, it would take many of the men out with the most barbaric wounds. Legs cut off, men cut in two, sometimes the person hit just disappeared into thin air and we couldn’t even find the pieces. Sometimes the rocket would take a turn and fly out into the ocean and a couple of times I saw it turn back toward the Jap lines. We would all cheer when this happened. We called the missile “washing machine charley.” The Japs 320mm spigot mortar was the most demoralizing. It weighed approximately 400 pounds and looked like a big trash can as it flew over. It was accurate and used very effectively by the Japs.

It made a little whisper just before it hit. The wounds were always killing and very few survived a near miss.

- Al Perry, personal recollection

Nobody wanted to think about what was coming, though the amount of fire coming from the front they had just passed off to the 23rd Marines left little to the imagination.

Able Company took a few more casualties, gained a few more replacements, and grimly waited for the next trip up to the line.

Able Company Casualties, February 26 - 28

Killed
(February 28) Private William W. Knicely. Manassas, GA.

Wounded
(February 26) 2nd Lt. Thomas Drake. Platoon leader. (not evacuated)
(February 26) PFC Richard J. Hammill. Automatic Rifleman.
(February 26) Private Roland J. Hulslander. Machine gunner.
(February 27) Corporal John A. Cuthbertson. Machine gunner.

Total: 5

Returned From Hospital
Corporal Ronald Bartels. Mortarman.
Corporal Virgil McNutt. Demolitions Corporal.