Bloody Saipan, June 1944 by Gary Schreckengost

Author:Gary Schreckengost [Schreckengost, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-03-26T23:00:00+00:00

Patches of the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions and the Army’s 27th Infantry Division.

A Sherman “Flame” Tank in action on Saipan.

To a wounded Marine, morphine is his best friend.

Chapter 16

I Get Wounded on Bloody Hill 790

On D-Day Plus-Two, June 18, we were behind

schedule. I don’t know who actually made these

schedules, but that’s what we heard. Our division

commander, Maj. Gen. Thomas Watson ordered the

2nd Marine Regiment to advance through our lines

and drive north to G-town while we headed

northeast, toward Mount Tipo Poli (“Mount T.P.”)

and an adjoining ridge that we called Hill 790,

protecting their right flank. It was called “790”

because on the map, that’s how high it was in feet.

While we did this, the 8th Marines, the final infantry

regiment in the 2nd Marine Division, was to attack

due east and through the swamps around Susupi, protecting our right. Further south, the 4th Marine

Division was to continue its attack across the island

and seize the airfield, the very reason for our landing.

To begin the move, which began in early

morning, we were replaced by elements of the 2nd

Marines, who were moving north across the fields

that were scattered with the Japs that we had

polished off the night before. We then got up,

moved to the right, and came up behind the 1st and

the 3rd battalions who were headed in the direction

of T.P., which we could clearly see in the distance. I

for one was relieved being in the reserve battalion of

the regiment. As I understood it, the 1st Battalion

advanced on the left in column of companies and

the 3rd Battalion advanced on the right. Behind them

were us. The terrain was extremely rocky, forested, and

uphill, much like what we saw on Hawaii. Because of

this, the going was slow for the 1st and 3rd Battalions

as the Japanese were in fortified caves, hidden in

gullies, and the like. Enemy snipers, plus our own

planes, were our biggest obstacles. What I mean by

our own planes is that when we got beyond the

range of our own regimental artillery (each infantry

regiment had an artillery battalion assigned to it), or

if the target was moving, we would call in air

support. Well, not me personally, but battalion

headquarters would. Occasionally, the planes would

miss the target and hit some of our men.

For the next few days, from June 19-21, we

slowly moved toward Mount T.P., with the 1st and

3rd battalions still on point and us guarding the regimental supply assets. This was a fat time for us in

Fox Company and it gave us time to recuperate from

the first 48 hours on the beach. I also got a good

look at one of our artillery units in action, Battery E,

2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, which fired 105mm

rounds out to ten or so miles. The guns were

wheeled and hauled by trucks, which carried the

crews. When I saw them, six guns were set in a line,

facing Mount T.P. One gun would fire a round at a

time until a projectile hit the target. When the

artillery forward observer, much like the

A.N.G.L.i.CO. team, saw the round hit where he

wanted, he’d say “fire for effect” on the radio. With

that, all six guns were

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