_Navy corpsmen lift a wounded Marine into the cabin of one of the
Grasshoppers of a Marine Observation Squadron on Okinawa. The plane
will then fly the casualty on to one of the aid stations in the rear
for further treatment._]
Extracting wounded Marines from Kunishi remained a hair-raising feat.
But the seriously wounded faced another half-day of evacuation by
field ambulance over bad roads subject to interdictive fire. Then the
aviators stepped in with a bright idea. Engineers cleared a rough
landing strip suitable for the ubiquitous “Grasshopper” observation
aircraft north of Itoman. Hospital corpsmen began delivering some of
the casualties from the Kunishi and Hill 69 battles to this improbable
airfield. There they were tenderly inserted into the waiting Piper
Cubs and flown back to field hospitals in the rear, an eight-minute
flight. This was the dawn of tactical air medevacs which would save so
many lives in subsequent Asian wars. In 11 days, the dauntless pilots
of Marine Observation Squadrons (VMO) -3 and -7 flew out 641 casualties
from the Itoman strip.
The 6th Marine Division joined the southern battlefield from its
forcible seizure of the Oroku Peninsula. Colonel Roberts’ 22d Marines
became the fourth USMC regiment to engage in the fighting for Kunishi.
The _32d Infantry Regiment_ died hard, but soon the combined forces of
IIIAC had swept south, overlapped Mezado Ridge, and could smell the sea
along the south coast. Near Ara Saki, George Company, 2/22, raised the
6th Marine Division colors on the island’s southernmost point, just as
they had done in April at Hedo Misaki in the farthest north.
The long-neglected 2d Marine Division finally got a meaningful role
for at least one of its major components in the closing weeks of the
campaign. Colonel Clarence R. Wallace and his 8th Marines arrived from
Saipan, initially to capture two outlying islands, Iheya Shima and
Aguni Shima, to provide more early warning radar sites against the
_kamikazes_. Wallace in fact commanded a sizable force, virtually a
brigade, including the attached 2d Battalion, 10th Marines (Lieutenant
Colonel Richard G. Weede) and the 2d Amphibian Tractor Battalion (Major
Fenlon A. Durand). General Geiger assigned the 8th Marines to the 1st
Marine Division, and by 18 June they had relieved the 7th Marines and
were sweeping southeastward with vigor. Private First Class Sledge
recalled their appearance on the battlefield: “We scrutinized the men
of the 8th Marines with that hard professional stare of old salts
sizing up another outfit. Everything we saw brought forth remarks of
approval.”
General Buckner also took an interest in observing the first combat
deployment of the 8th Marines. Months earlier he had been favorably
impressed with Colonel Wallace’s outfit during an inspection visit to
Saipan. Buckner went to a forward observation post on 18 June, watching
the 8th Marines advance along the valley floor. Japanese gunners on
the opposite ridge saw the official party and opened up. Shells struck
the nearby coral outcrop, driving a lethal splinter into the general’s
chest. He died in 10 minutes, one of the few senior U.S. officers to be
killed in action throughout World War II.
As previously arranged, General Roy Geiger assumed command; his third
star became effective immediately. The Tenth Army remained in capable
hands. Geiger became the only Marine--and the only aviator of any
service--to command a field army. The soldiers on Okinawa had no
qualms about this. Senior Army echelons elsewhere did. Army General
Joseph Stillwell received urgent orders to Okinawa. Five days later he
relieved Geiger, but by then the battle was over.
The Marines also lost a good commander on the 18th when a Japanese
sniper killed Colonel Harold C. Roberts, CO of the 22d Marines, who had
earned a Navy Cross serving as a Navy corpsman with Marines in World
War I. General Shepherd had cautioned Roberts the previous evening
about his propensity of “commanding from the front.” “I told him the
end is in sight,” said Shepherd, “for God’s sake don’t expose yourself
unnecessarily.” Lieutenant Colonel August C. Larson took over the 22d
Marines.
[Illustration: