The Mosquito Bowl by Buzz Bissinger
Author:Buzz Bissinger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-07-22T00:00:00+00:00
IV
The distance from the beaches to Yontan Airfield was about a mile uphill. Ceremonial Okinawan burial tombs made of concrete, perfect for conversion into pillboxes, were empty. The edge of the airfield was seized by Schreiner and Baumanâs 1st Battalion at 10:30 a.m. They went across standing up; it was a ghost field. The US command once again thought the Japanese had made a tactical blunder in not defending such an important objective. But the Japanese thinking was that there was no point in defending the airfield if the Americans were going to take it anyway, as they had with virtually every other airfield during the Pacific war.
Yontan Airfield was taken without resistance by the 4th Regiment. They had reached their L + 3 line, meaning that the regiment was three days ahead of schedule. At 1800, the 4th dug in for the night; all was quiet except for a Japanese plane that landed on the airstrip hoping to refuel and taxied directly into the 1st Battalion command post. The pilot exited with some papers, realized that the airfield was no longer in the possession of his compatriots, reached for his pistol in a good-to-the-last-drop gesture, and was riddled with bullets.
âThereâs always ten percent that donât get the word,â said a marine.
âThe Japs have missed their best opportunity on the ground and in the air,â Buckner confidently wrote in his diary that first day.
April Fool.
The total number of those from the 4th killed in action that first day was five, including a corporal from the 3rd Battalion nicknamed âRedâ for his hair color. His name was John Henry Anderson, and he had enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was eighteen. He had fought in the Battle of Guam, where he had received a shrapnel wound in the hip and been awarded the Purple Heart. He had also played in the Mosquito Bowl.
He was going over a rise near the airfield when his friend Gallagher lost sight of him.
âHey, Gallagher, they got your buddy. I saw him lying on the ground.â Gallagher rushed up to a body and flipped it over. Anderson had died of a gunshot wound.
A Japanese sniper was firing, so Gallagher had to crouch down and go for cover. Another marine was able to get to Anderson. He retrieved his wallet and gave it to Gallagher, the threadbare details of a life that was over.
John Henry âRedâ Anderson was the first player from the Mosquito Bowl to die.
He was buried on Okinawa in 6th Marine Division Cemetery No. 1, Grave 6, Row 1, Plot A.
He was twenty-two years old.
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