D + 1

February 20, 1945

One of the reasons for these casualties was the Japanese commander, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi. I think he knew his cause was hopeless from the beginning, but he also knew the natural defenses on Iwo were extremely formidable. He had over twenty thousand men under his command, plenty of artillery, mortars, and strong firepower. His troops had several months to prepare for the attack and they had pre-registered every inch of that rock. I guess Kuribayashi figured that of his men could make the taking of Iwo bloody beyond belief, the Allies would think twice before invading Japan. This might give Japan a way out of the war without unconditional surrender. Who knows?

There is one thing that is definite, though. I don't think it could have been possible to defend the island with any more tenacity than was shown by the Japanese.

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

The First Battalion, 24th Marines awoke on February 20 to find themselves in the most inhospitable environment many of them would ever encounter. Through the night they had braced themselves for the Japanese counterattack that experience had taught them to expect, but which never materialized - part of Kuribayashi's strategy of attrition - and they had already lost eleven of their comrades. The mortar section - who had already forfeited their senior veteran NCO, Wilbur Plitt, to disease - had seen five of their comrades shot down, and one rifle squad was mourning the loss of Sergeant Horan, another veteran leader.

The island itself was unwelcoming, both naturally and artificially:

"General Kuribayashi had concentrated the majority of his forces and installations in the central and northern part of the island, and had used every conceivable means to make his defenses in this sector impregnable. The entire area was a weird looking mass of cliffs, ravines, gorges, crevices, and ledges. Jumbled rock, torn stubble of small trees, jagged ridges, and chasms all sprawled about completely without pattern, and within this macabre setting the Japanese were deeply entrenched in hundreds of excellently constructed positions. From blockhouses, bunkers, pillboxes, caves, and camouflaged tanks, enemy guns jutted defiantly. Every possible approach to the north was contested by weapons with well-integrated fields of fire.

"The enemy had so deftly prepared this area that it had been impossible to neutralize or destroy an appreciable number of positions before troops landed. Masterful camouflage had prevented American ships and planes from detecting many of these positions, and of those that were spotted, as often as not a direct hit failed to put them out of business. Complete accomplishment devolved upon ground Marines. "

- from The USMC Historical Monograph, Iwo Jima.

Each company of the battalion had a different job on D+1. Charlie Company was back in battalion reserve, where they ducked artillery rounds and thanked their lucky stars that they were in battalion reserve. Baker Company grit their teeth and moved forward against the ridge of the Quarry; after heavy casualties, they took the objective only to be hit by friendly aircraft, losing five killed and six wounded. Later, they would be struck by friendly naval gunfire and mortars, suffering still more casualties.

Able Company was assigned to the task of mopping up the landing area in the wake of Baker Company's advance. This was a difficult task; the Japanese were dug into elaborately camouflaged positions and were prepared to sell themselves dearly.

We tried to move out as the sun came up but we were stopped in our tracks by sniper fire. These Jap snipers were the best shots I had ever seen. They hardly ever missed. They always hit the marine in the head or neck and the ones I saw hit died instantly.

One of the Jap mortar shells landed about 20 yards to our rear and instead of exploding it started to emit green smoke that was blowing in our direction. Someone yelled gas and nearly everyone in the company got out of their holes and started to run for the beach where we all had dropped our gas masks. Many of these guys became targets for the snipers and a number of them died. It was not gas just a bad shell.

- Al Perry, personal recollection. The Fighting Fourth

In this one day of simply cleaning out bypassed positions, Able Company was gradually picked apart. In the words of the battalion report - "their casualties were heavy having received five killed early in the mopping up process."


ABLE COMPANY CASUALTIES, February 20, 1945

KILLED
Cpl William Paul Loutzenhiser. Salem, OH. Age 22. Fire Team Leader
Cpl Bartholomew R. J. Wanagaitis. Scranton, PA. Age 26. Mortar Squad Leader.
PFC John Joseph Cummings. Brooklyn, NY. Age 19. Rifleman
PFC Charles Thomas Etty. Pine Castle, FL. Age 21. Automatic Rifleman
PFC Harn Luke Mandemaker Mar Vista, CA. Driver
PFC Herman T. Middleton. Calvert, TX. Automatic Rifleman
PFC Kenneth Byron Olson. Benson, MN. Age 18. Rifleman
Pvt Norman Richard Bell. Brooklyn, NY. Age 19. Automatic Rifleman
Pvt Ervin D. Rothe. Baltimore, MD. Automatic Rifleman

WOUNDED
1st Lt. Marshall Salvaggio (Rifle platoon leader)
Sgt. Joseph Henry Wendte (Rifle Squad Leader. Not evacuated.)
Cpl. Hugh H. Bosworth (Mortar squad leader)
Cpl. Ernest M. Jeffrey (Automatic Rifleman)
Cpl. James H. Pritchett (Machine Gun squad leader)
Assistant Cook James H. Adams
PFC Alfred D. Dennis, Jr. (Automatic Rifleman)
PFC Otto E. Buchle, Jr. (Mortarman)
PFC Paul K. Steele (Automatic Rifleman)
PFC Randolph A. Tyre (Rifleman)
PFC Howard L. Webber, Sr. (Automatic Rifleman)
Pvt. George H. Calcutt (Machine Gunner)
Pvt. Allen B. Duncan (Rifleman)
Pvt. Edward P. Rezendes (Mortar Gunner)


TOTAL: 23