During the period 1-6 March 1945, the Sixth Marine Division was aboard
ship engaged in amphibious landing rehearsals for the Okinawa operation.
On the first day troops practiced debarkation and deployment of landing
craft; on the next two days the two assault regiments, the Fourth and
Twenty Second, landed on the beaches of Guadalcanal and practiced
limited maneuvers ashore. Then followed a critique and on the next day
there was a full-scale dress rehearsal. Although limited in their
extent, the rehearsals were quite satisfactory.
After breaking camp ashore, the division re-embarked to sail for the
staging area, Ulithi, on 15 March. At Ulithi, a little atoll in the
Caroline Islands, the division joined the enormous task force assembling
there for the invasion of Okinawa. Training was carried out aboard ship
and final preparations made for the target. By now the troops were aware
of their destination and the force designated to land there. They were
told that the Sixth Marine Division would land simultaneously with, and
on the left of, the First Marine Division, as a part of the III
Amphibious Corps. South of the Marines a corps of Army, the XXIV, would
land. Both of the corps were components of a larger force—the new Tenth
Army.
On the way to Ulithi, while there, and on the way to the target the men
were given a thorough briefing. General Shepherd made it plain that
every man should know not only his assigned task, but that of his own
unit, and of adjacent units, as well as the general scheme of maneuver.
In the briefing aboard ship the men learned that Okinawa had a
population of some 450,000 civilians; that there were roughly 70,000
Japanese soldiers on the island. They also learned something about its
geography, its towns, roads, rivers and terrain.
While at Ulithi the troops were taken ashore on the little island of Mog
Mog for rest and rehabilitation. During the staging period assault
troops were transferred to LST’s for the last part of the journey. On 27
March the Sixth Marine Division left Ulithi, loaded in 13 APA’s, 24
LST’s and one LSD, and encountered heavy rains and cooler weather as the
convoy moved north.