Replacements

The high command had anticipated casualties on Iwo Jima to be heavy - but not THIS heavy. A seemingly unending stream of dead and wounded were being brought back to the beach for treatment at battalion aid stations, the worst cases then being loaded onto nearby landing craft making constant shuttling runs out to the hospital ships lying offshore.

To offset these losses, the generals had authorized a series of replacement drafts. Fresh Marines who had been rushed through basic training and sent overseas as soon - and sometimes sooner - than practicable had been loosely attached to the assault forces as what one historian has called a "down-payment" against the inevitable bloodletting. These men had been on the beach for several days, assisting with various menial tasks - digging positions for artillery, filling sandbags, and unloading supplies - but this was the first time any had been close to a combat situation. When the word was passed along that the companies on the line were nearly too depleted to continue - those not killed or wounded were uniformly suffering from exhaustion, both physical and mental - the replacements were parcelled out to the units needing them most.

They were woefully unprepared for combat of any sort, let alone the unprecedented brutality of Iwo. Many had completed basic training in the United States only weeks before, had only fired their weapons on the range once, and had little idea how to comport themselves under fire. The battalion's official report noted that "Basic training in weapons, self-preservation, and squad tactics were negligible." It went on to note that the majority of the men assigned either bore the SSN 521 - Basic - and had no idea how to care properly for the weapons they were given, particularly the troublesome BAR. Others had specialized in areas that were not conducive to manning the line. Finally, due to the nature of combat on Iwo, the replacements would be sent directly into the front lines, with no assimilation period with their new unit. Under fire, among strangers, and untrained for the mental shock and physical realities of combat, many replacements simply became easy targets for the Japanese. Many were wounded or killed before their new squad leaders and comrades ever learned their names.

Al Perry, by now a squad leader, wrote of one replacement whose name he never knew. The kid was only 17, and his tall and skinny frame had earned him the nickname "Bones" in civilian life. Though Corporal Perry was only nineteen, to Bones he was a salty veteran. The younger replacement latched onto his leader and followed him like a shadow. Perry, a former company scout, was asked one day to reconnoiter ahead and feel out the enemy position; Bones immediately asked to go along and was allowed. Before long, they made contact - a Japanese rifle spat and suddenly Bones was bleeding. He opened his mouth to yell, and Perry could see that the bullet had passed through both his cheeks and nearly severed his tongue. Quickly, the corporal stuffed a bandage into the younger marine's mouth; Bones started choking and blood poured from his nose. Rightly worried that Bones would choke, Perry slung him over his shoulder and raced back to the company. Bones was carried away on a stretcher, never to return. Luckily, Perry was able to learn a few days later that Bones had survived, and had even had his tongue reattached - in fact, he had snuck out of his hospital bunk and was found seated on the head, engrossed in a comic book.

On February 24, 1945, Able Company received its first group of new men, taken from the 24th Replacement Draft. The problem of assimilating specialists was very evident with this group - with the exception of Private Lukac, who was a machine gunner, the remainder had trained as anti-tank gunners (MOS 610) and not as front-line riflemen.

Private Charles W. Alexander, Jr.
Private William C. Degen
Private David R. Gardner
Private Raleigh C. Gibson
Private William J. Leiss
Private George W. Lindstrom
Private John Lukac
Private Bernard A. Mausser
Private Robert E. Miller
Private Herman Leroy Mooney
Private Irven M. Morgan
Private Earl E. Nichols
Private Harold J. Oberheide
Private Delbert A. Oelson
Private Robert Elmer Opheim
Private Ardell W. Oster
Private Harry R. Parsons, Jr.