Friday, February 10, 2012

Pickens with Fourth Division Marines head for Iwo Jima

 A few days from now will be the 67th anniversary of the first day of the invasion of Iwo Jima.  The Pickens had spent weeks in amphibious training with the 98th Division and Fourth Marine Division and now, along with other ships, we left Pearl Harbor on January 27 carrying units of the Fourth Marine Division en route to Iwo.  We were routed by way of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands  to take on fuel and supplies, and on to Saipan where we joined Transport Group Baker and headed for Iwo.

I don't know about others but in the radar shack we enjoyed listening to Tokyo Rose.  She told us we would have a real battle at Iwo Jima.  She gave us several dates, finally getting it right.  It was not a secret; the Navy had shelled the island for days and bombers had blasted it. I will comment further in a day or two.

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