|
|
We are looking for stories to add to
this section. If you have a story
that you would like to share, please
submit it to our webmaster.
webmaster@ussbellegrove.com
|
|
|
 The
Belle Grove at the Invasion of Iwo Jima
By Cliff Viereck 
|
The following is
a first hand account of the
Belle Grove's participation in
the Invasion of Iwo Jima during
February, 1945, as remembered by
Clifford E.Viereck, MM2. Cliff
was aboard the Belle Grove from
15 Aug 1944 to 28 Mar 1946. He
now resides in Olga, Washington,
and can be reached by e-mail at
cliffv@embarqmail.com He would
like to hear from any of his
former shipmates. |
| |
July 23, 2000
I have been encouraged to relate
my personal experience during
the D-Day landing at Iwo Jima
February 19th. 1945.
August 1943. I enlisted in the
Navy at the age of 17. Following
boot camp training in Farragut
Idaho I was sent to engineering
school at the Ford motor company
in Dearborn Michigan. The school
was built by Henry Ford
expressly to train young Navy
people to operate and maintain
machinery and equipment on steam
and diesel ships.
Henry Ford senior personally
welcomed us to the school.
March 15th 1944. After
completing school at the Ford
motor company some of us were
sent to the Destroyer Base in
San Diego for additional
training operating and repairing
Hallscott gas and G.M diesel
engines used in amphibious
landing craft called LCVPs and
LCMs. These landing craft were
expressly built to carry men and
equipment to the landing
beaches. LCVPs were 36 feet in
length and could normally carry
36 troops. LCMs were ether 50 or
60 feet long and could transport
troops and small cannon or a
35-ton General Sherman tank.
I had volunteered for small boat
duty but did not anticipate my
next transfer to Coronado CA.
for amphibious training. We
spent the next six weeks landing
on the beaches in very
uncomfortable surf getting sea
sick, bruised and wet. May 13th.
to May 23rd. we were attached to
the USS Hunter Ligget practicing
amphibious landings from the
ship with marines from Camp
Pendleton.
I recall the training and
landings clearly. The boats we
trained in were early versions
of the LCVPs with the helm
perched precariously on the
fantail of the boat. Boat crews
for the VPs consisted of the
Coxswain, two deckhands (seamen)
and one engineer. The fact some
of us were not Coxswains did not
excuse us from operating the
boat during landings. Due to
large waves and rough seas it
was hazardous to be perched on
the stern of the craft and
maintain footing to avoid
breaking you arm from the wheel
or being tossed in the ocean.
These early designed boats were
often gas powered and had a
strange way of catching fire
causing damage to men and boats
during the landings.
May 31st 1944. We departed San
Diego on the aircraft carrier
Franklin for Pearl Harbor and
other points in the Pacific. The
Navy was noted for not knowing
exactly where they should place
some of its personnel. We were
transported from Island to
Island until we finally returned
to Pearl Harbor on August 15th.
1944 and assigned to the USS
Belle Grove a Landing Ship Dock,
L.S.D. lovingly referred to as a
"Large Setting Duck".
An L.S.D. is 490 feet long. It
carries one 5-inch cannon on the
foredeck and many 40-millimeter
and smaller guns to make it look
threatening. We never seemed to
do well hitting anything. (I
recall once when returning from
New Guinea to the Phillipeans we
sited a free floating mine. The
gunners spent some time
attempting to hit and remove the
hazard for other ships. Finally
it was decided to continue on
our way and report the sighting
to other ships.) The main
purpose or use for LSDs was to
carry amphibious craft to a
landing site. The ship would
ballast down filling the
390-foot well deck with water to
load and unload landing craft.
The B.G. had only two LCVPs
(Landing Craft Vehicle
Personnel) assigned specifically
for the ships use.
With the training I had received
I would normally be assigned to
an amphibious boat crew. A group
of men and boats that would
continue to train as a unit.
Rather I was assigned to "A"
division aboard the Belle Grove.
"A" division is responsible for
repairs and maintenance of all
auxiliary equipment aboard ship
as well as manning the boats
assigned specifically to the
ship. The B.G. had only two
boats # 1 and # 2 boats that
were positioned port and
starboard.
The next several months we
toured the pacific making the
D-Day landings October 20, 1944
at Leyte and S-Day landing at
Luzon (Lingayan Gulf) January 9,
1945.
IWO JIMA
Following is my personal
experience as best I can recall
during the invasion of Iwo Jima.
My participation was
insignificant and in no way
suggests my participation was
more than the fact I was there.
The supreme sacrifices made by
the 4th. 5th. and 3rd marine
divisions during the 36 days of
battle far out shadow all of the
support groups that took part in
the invasion.
We were seldom informed or knew
where we were headed next. But
on February 7, 1945 we arrived
at Guam. We ballasted down to
receive 20 LCMs Landing Craft
Mechanized with their crews that
were filled to the gunwales with
powder and shell for the landing
at Iwo Jima. The ship
immediately departed Guam for
Saipan a few miles away. I
believe we left Guam with our
load of firecrackers for safety
reasons. The boat crews from the
LCMs were assigned to the Belle
Grove for the landing of Iwo.
February 17th we departed Saipan
arriving early February 19th. D
Day at Iwo Jima I can truthfully
say there was no delay
ballasting down and getting
those ammunition loaded craft
away from the B.G. The purpose
of those boats full of
ammunition was to replace the
ammunition used by the warships
to shell Iwo Jima the previous
few days.
That first day the Belle Grove
and the ships crew with the
exception of the LCM boats and
crews were mere spectators to
the landings and the battle
taking place on the beaches. We
witnessed the continuing bombing
and rockets that continually hit
Mt Surabachi and other areas
near the beaches. As night
approached most of the ships not
needed would go out to sea and
return at dawn.
D-Day plus one the Belle Grove
returned to the Island. The
primary duty for the ship was to
function as a dry dock for the
damaged boats. The ship would
ballast down and receive the
boats that required repair. Most
of the repairs were for the
propellers and propeller shafts
bent from the beach landings.
The second day I was assigned to
our ships boat # 2. (I was 19 at
this time and somehow I never
rose above being the junior on
the team, which assured me of a
position on jobs that were not
desirable) Normally our ship's
boats would not be involved in
actual landings, but for some
reason our skipper must have
volunteered the two ship's boats
to participate in a joint effort
with other ship's boats to form
a boat group that would
transport marines to the landing
beaches. That seemed unusual to
our boat crew because it would
have been beneficial to team
together prior to making such a
serious venture. Never the less
being young and gung ho provided
us with all the necessary
strength to proceed as directed
besides we had no choice.
Our two ships boats were
directed to a troop transport
that was loaded with marines.
Eight other LCVPs also arrived
at the ship and we all went
along side the transport to load
marines. The marines boarded our
boats using cargo nets. When the
boats were all loaded some one
must have felt it would be
appropriate to have an officer
in charge of this rag tag unit
of boats. It was our lucky day
to have a young lieutenant J.G
came down the cargo net to get
into our boat. One of his
buddies on the ship tossed him a
bullhorn that became his
security blanket.
I remember my concern about the
training this officer had
received. Did he know the
fundamentals about the landing
procedure? Did he know which of
the several beaches to land at?
and other questions that might
help to prolong my life. As it
turned out he had received some
training in amphibious landing
procedures and coupled with mine
we agreed on several important
life saving points.
There is a procedure that was
generally accepted prior to
hitting the beach. The ten boats
in our group with approximately
36 marines in each boat
rendezvoused and headed towards
the beach. The first step prior
to landing is to circle up just
like the settlers used to do.
The lieutenant did well to
accomplish that exercise using
his bullhorn and arm signals.
Following that and just before
heading to the beach you employ
the signal to form a line of
assault. Again the lieutenant
did well because we formed that
line and headed for our destiny
on the beaches of Iwo Jima.
Each of the boat crew members
has a specific job to do upon
landing. The coxswains job is
probably the most important. He
has to keep the boat at right
angles to the beach to prevent
the boat from broaching (
turning sidewise and swamping or
sinking right at the beach).
During our landing the waves
were very large and the beach
angle was very steep preventing
a level landing. The job of the
engineer is to keep the motor
running primarily by keeping the
sea water from becoming
restricted due to the volcanic
ash on the beach. There is a
dual strainer that requires
constant attention. The engineer
and the two deck hands must
disengage the ramp and lower the
ramp with a hand winch. The
added problem on this beach was
the steep angle that did not
allow the ramp to drop freely.
Due to the clutter of sunken and
damaged boats and vehicles on
the beach the wave of our ten
boats could not land on the same
section of beach. I do not
recall seeing any of our boats
again with the exception of our
other ships boat # 1and that was
the next day.
In my opinion several things
must occur in the minds of the
marines that are landing and the
navy boys taking them to the
beach. In my mind I thought of
two things I was scared to death
and I thought about my mother
who I knew worried about me. I
distinctly recall thinking that
if she only knew I was OK and
standing unharmed it would be
better for her. My most profound
thought that I had when we
actually hit the beach was for
the young marines that we
delivered to the beach. They
were all my age and we had
delivered them to a place they
might never return from. This
feeling I had was supported by
the next event. The beach master
would not let us depart the
beach after we landed the
marines. We had to remain in the
surf and cluttered beach until
we loaded as many wounded
marines as we could take with
us. All were on stretchers. We
also took one Japanese with a
head wound.
After departing the beach we
attempted to deliver the wounded
to any ship that would accept
them. (there was a hospital ship
there but I do not know why we
were not able to take the
wounded to that ship). We had
difficulty finding a ship that
would take them. Finding a ship
that would take the Japanese was
more difficult. We finally
threatened to throw him
overboard if someone did not
accept him.
We did not have radios then and
no specific orders as to what to
do next. We delivered the
lieutenant to his ship and he
was happy to be shed of us. When
he was ascending the gangplank
we yelled to him that he had
left his bullhorn behind. He
yelled back telling us to keep
it and he hoped never to see us
again.
I am not able to recall all the
events of the day but darkness
was falling and we were drifting
around off the Island. Our ship
the Belle Grove was nowhere in
sight. Most of the ships had
went further out to sea leaving
only the control boats and some
of our landing craft drifting
around. It was not our plan to
remain on our small boat all
night but that is what happened.
I recall it was cold and not
very exciting. We tried to stay
a distance away from the beach
but not to far out to sea. The
control boats and marines
continually shot star shells so
we could visualize the enemy
swimming out to our boats.
The Belle Grove returned the
next day to pick up its chicks.
We were very happy to be back
aboard and spent the next month
repairing damaged boats. |
>> BACK HOME
|