the battle for kwajalein

7/31/2019 The Battle for Kwajalein

1/5

Soldier2


2/5

Soldier20 Soldier20


3/5

November 2000 21

Story By Jim BennettPhoto Montage by Dan Adler

Jim Bennett is editor of The Kwajalein Hourglass. Dan Adler is the papersgraphics editor.

L

ANDING at Kwajalein Atolls Bucholz ArmyAirfield today, one scarcely notices the marksof a historic battle there 56 years ago. A fewbattle markers and worn-down bunkers are

about the only physical reminders that, before it was aworld-class missile range with a global mission and allthe comforts of small-town America, Kwajalein was aWorld War II Japanese base with a strategic mission.

Operation Flintlock changed that. From Jan. 30 toFeb. 5, 1944, the atoll was a battlefield where U.S.troops stormed beaches and fought their way throughbomb- and shell-ravaged jungle and bunkers.

Today, the island little resembles its war days. TheUnited States has added entire sections of land alongLagoon Road and north of Bunker Hill, for example.

Trees have grown where the terrain once appeared as amoonscape from the battle damage. And entire com-plexes of buildings and huge sensors have been built.

(Right, above) Soldiers of the 7th Infantry Division carrya wounded comrade on a stretcher through the desolateKwajalein terrain.

(Right) Soldiers take a moment out from battle to playcards while other soldiers survey the scene.

November 2000 21


4/5

Soldier22

WHEN soldiers and

marines hitKwajaleins beaches,

they were backed by amassive naval and airbombardment intended toknock out Japanesefortifications.

Near the islands of Roiand Namur, Navy shipslaid a nonstop barrage of2,655 tons of ammuni-tion. A regiment of75mm and 105mmhowitzers bombardedthe islands from fivenearby islands.

Marines hit thebeaches at 11 a.m. and

faced relatively light resistance onRoi, but stronger defenses on Namur.

Meanwhile, near Kwajalein, Navyships fired 7,000 shells into the

Since the war, the staff of theislands newspaper, The KwajaleinHourglass, has been here collectingstories and photos. That has giventhem an opportunity to view imagesseen by few, except perhaps archivistsat the Smithsonian Institution or U.S.military museums. Over the years, as

islands defenses on the morning ofFeb. 1, alone, not counting the heavy

bombardment days before the attack.Navy aircraft flew 96 sorties overKwajalein before H-Hour.

Forty-eight 105mm howitzers andseveral 155mm howitzers bombardedKwajalein from nearby Carlson Island,sending in more than 29,000 shells.

As the bombardment ended, 1,200soldiers landed on the west end ofKwajalein without a casualty. Unitsadvanced 1,800 yards up the islandbefore the end of the day, losing 17dead and 46 wounded, while killing500 Japanese and capturing 11 more.

On-island CombatAs soldiers advanced on Kwajalein

they faced stiffer resistance. Thesurviving Japanese had recovered fromthe heavy shelling and began organiz-ing a defense along the front lines. TheJapanese also conducted late-nightcounterattacks, and individual defend-ers tried to infiltrate the Americanlines.

Hitting the Beaches

photos from the battles at KwajaleinAtoll have surfaced, people havetrusted the Hourglass with theirkeeping. Many have run in anniversarystories, but many more photos haveremained in boxes, with no room to runin the paper.

Recently, the photos were joined by

photographs taken by Marine Corpscombat photographer Sgt. AndrewZurick. Today, Zuricks son, Pat,works on Kwajalein.

The collection depicts men incombat. But it depicts more than that.One can open up any number of booksat any library and see combat photos.

Wary 7th Inf. Div. troops move forward past the body of afallen comrade. The division lost 142 soldiers in the battlefor Kwajalein.

RoiandNamur

weredevastate

dbythenavala

ndaerial

bombardments

,andbythesub

sequentfightin

g.

Menofthe7thInfa

ntryDivisionhead

forKwajaleinaboa

rdlandingcraftat

9:30a.m.onFeb.1

,1944.

Soldier22


5/5

November 2000 23

The fighting over the next threedays quickly deteriorated into small-

unit actions, as soldiers sought outsnipers and attacked heavily defendedbunkers and buildings. As they nearedwhat is now Kwajaleins downtown,the Americans faced a whole complexof fiercely defended Japanese build-ings.

On day three, shortly after sunset,Japanese soldiers charged American linesnear what is now 6th Street. The attackerswere cut down to the last man.

By the fourth day, troops advancingoceanside reached Bunker Hill, whichwas the end of the island at the time. Atthat point, organized resistance ceasedand a day of mop-up operations began.

Roi fell quickly, but the Japanesehad well prepared Namur for attack.The action was further complicated asmarines mistakenly destroyed ablockhouse used as a storage buildingfilled with torpedo warheads and aerialbombs. The explosion killed Japaneseand Americans alike and filled the skywith a towering, thick black smoke.

The Marines 2nd Battalion sufferedmore than half of its total casualties in

that one explosion.

The WoundedOn Kwajalein Island, 845 Ameri-

cans were wounded in action. Whenpossible, the wounded were evacuatedto the rear and then transported tohospital ships offshore and in thelagoon.

Soldiers took the greatest numberof casualties on the second and thirddays after the invasion 244 and 255wounded, respectively as theyencountered stiff resistance in bunkersand heavily defended buildings.Marines on Roi and Namur islandsrecorded 547 wounded in the 24 hoursof action.

The FallenOn Kwajalein, the 7th Infantry

Division lost 142 dead and twomissing in action. Estimates putJapanese losses at 4,938 dead, with206 more taken prisoner, including

127 Korean laborers.On Roi and Namur islands, 190

marines died. The enemy lost 3,472dead and 51 prisoners of war.

VictoryThe victory at Kwajalein Atoll

could hardly have been more complete.It marked the first time U.S. troops hadtaken prewar Japanese territory, and itestablished another key American basein the Central Pacific.

This presence helped lead to theisolation of the Bismarks, Solomonsand New Guinea. Furthermore, manyJapanese positions were bypassed as aresult of the success at Kwajalein Atoll,allowing U.S. forces to concentrate onother targets, including successfulassaults on the Philippines andMarianas.

The battles proved true the lessonslearned in the earlier U.S. invasion ofTarawa, and those lessons wouldbecome a part of U.S. amphibiouslanding operations in the years tocome. Jim Bennett

These are pictures of men who fought some lived, some died on theground where, today, Americans liveand play.

And what better way to honor ourveterans than to remember them inthese evocative photographs taken byveterans?

Anunknownsoldierofthe7thInf.Div.standson

whatappearstobeNob(nowEcho)Pier,surveying

damagefromthebattleofKwajaleinIsland.Onhis

backisaMarshallese-wovenbag.

ANavycorpsmantreatsawoundedMarineofficeronRoi-Namur.

Marinesgatherataburialservicefor

fallencomrades shortlyafter the

battlesofRoiandNamurislands.

November 2000 23

the battle for kwajalein

Documents