A-1-7 on Peleliu, Sept 1944. Ike Smith standing, wearing helmet.
Charles Owens
in rear, second man on Bugler's right. |
by
MSgt Charles H. Owens, USMC (Ret) |
In WWII, the 1st
Bn, 7th Marines, was in the thick of things from the very outset of the
offensive campaign in the Pacific Theater.
Commanded by then
Lt./Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, 1/7 took its place in the forefront
of the Marine units of the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions engaged on
Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands. Besides its CO, "Chesty" Puller,
the 1st Bn, 7th Marines, provided other leaders in the Guadalcanal
Campaign and in subsequent battles in the Pacific Theater, two coming to
mind immediately, to wit: then Plt/Sgt. Manila John Basilone, who was
the second NCO in the Marine Corps to receive the Congressional Medal of
Honor during WWII. He had a Machine Gun Platoon on Guadalcanal and it
was there that he won the nation's highest honor.
The other was also on Guadalcanal, being then Captain Arthur M. Parker, Jr., the
CO of "B" Company, 1st Bn, 7th Marines, who proved himself to be a
fearless leader and who later, as a Major, distinguished himself, first
as XO and later as CO of the Third Armored Amphibious Bn (Provisional),
which said amphibious unit was attached to the 1st Marine Division at
Peleliu and Okinawa.
A number of articles have been written about Major Parker's leadership on the early
morning of 15 September, 1944, particularly as to his heroism on Orange
Beach-3 and the saving of the lives of a great number of A-1-7 men
thereon, not to mention his subsequent leadership/bravery, while his
amphibious unit served as artillery in support of those infantrymen
assaulting the Umurbrogols and, later on, in leading the successful
assault upon and taking of the adjoining Palau island of Ngesebus.
(Photo to left shows Maj Parker receiving the Bronze Star after Peleliu. Photo below shows Maj Parker's command tank with a hole in the side on the beach at Peleliu, 15 Sept 1944,
where it was knocked out in the landing. Marine on left is Cpl Howard T. Backous; on right
is Sgt Clifton E. Schneider, both members of the 3rd Armored Amphibian Tractor
Battalion).
Of course, it is well known that Plt/Sgt. Basilone, having refused to accept a
Battlefield Commission, following his exploits on Guadalcanal,
subsequently became a Gy/Sgt. in the 5th Marine Division, leading
another machine gun unit ashore at Iwo Jima, where he made the ultimate
sacrifice and was awarded a Navy Cross, posthumously.
Indeed, there were many, many heroes amongst those serving the 1st Bn, 7th Marines, on
Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester/New Britain, Peleliu and Okinawa, all too
numerous to mention in this article, which is being devoted to one of
their number, namely: Ivan Thomas Smith, a true hero amongst a number of
the officers/men of "Able" Company, all of whom displayed outstanding
leadership and heroic conduct, above and beyond the call of duty, as
members of the 1st Bn, 7th Marines, in each of the encounters with
Japanese enemy forces. First off, as a Private, then as a Private First
Class, and, finally, in December of 1944, as a Sergeant, Ike Smith
proved to his superiors and to those serving with him on New Guinea, New
Britain, Peleliu, and Okinawa what his true worth was to A-1-7 beyond
any shadow of a doubt.
In WWII, insofar as the participation therein by the United States Marine Corps, youth took over
and this was particularly true of those pouring into Parris Island and
San Diego for recruit training, following Pearl Harbor, throughout 1941,
1942, 1943, and well into 1944. Such recruits, for the greater part,
were mere boys, still in their teens and ranging in age from 13 to 19 -
for, although 16 years of age was the bottom rung for enlisting and,
then only, with parental consent, a good number of 13, 14, and 15 year
olds, by "hook or crook" made it into boot training and eventually into
combat units. (color photo shows author, aged 14, after recruit training, Dec 1942, Parris Island).
These young men were "naturals" for training in one or the
other of the Corps' recruit depots, being not only products of the
depression, but also of homes/schools of those days in which discipline
was a vital part of one's upbringing.
In the recruit platoons of the WWII era, each numbering about sixty "boots", I would dare say,
on the average, that 80% or better of them were teenagers, with men in
their early to late 20's usually making up the balance. That it was so
made it routine for a man 25 years of age to be known by his younger
platoon mates as "Old Dad", "Pop", "Granddaddy" and by other such
nicknames, usually one of endearment, with the youngsters having great
respect for their elders in those days. At the same time, it was out of
this small group of "older" men, with respect to the average "boot"
platoon, that came those who provided leadership in the platoon when, on
occasion, there was no Drill Instructor or other instructor present. And
there were times during boot camp, particularly after "lights out", when
some member or members of the platoon had to "step up" and take charge,
this being so of an evening when certain of the younger recruits were
"feeling their oats" and there was in the squad room lots of
"grab-assing" and "trash talking" taking place. It was then that a "take
charge" sort of man had to adopt the initiative to quiet things down
before they got out of hand, or else the whole platoon would suffer for
the few that were acting like the "yardbirds" that they were.
Into such an atmosphere of recruit training at San Diego, in late 1942, came a born leader, one
who first saw the light of day in Conway, Michigan, on 14 November 1917.
Ivan Thomas (Ike) Smith had joined the Corps at age 25 years on 19
November 1942. While I cannot speak to San Diego, where Ike was sent for
boot training, Parris Island, at that time, was still its old self -
nothing fancy whatsoever, either as to its physical setup or in the
training of its recruits. The drill fields were yet knee deep in sand
and it was not infrequent that a DI had to take "smart aleck" recruit
behind the QM Shed to "kick ass". And I can only assume that "training"
at San Diego was like unto that at PI and that such an event, as before
described, was as much a part of a day's training as any other. It
certainly made for better Marines, particularly as to those who, in a
few short weeks or months, would be facing a ruthless enemy on some God
forsaken island in the Pacific, never before heard of by the American
public, much less by Marines in line units, those who were being called
upon to assault and take enemy held islands/fortifications, routinely.
Not much is known by the writer about Ike Smith's duty stations or training, following his
completion of boot camp at San Diego in the early part of 1943, except
that he received advanced infantry training at the Training Center, Camp
Elliott, over the period 13 January to 8 June, 1943. Then, later in June
of 1943, he shipped out of San Diego in the 20th Replacement Draft for
Australia, joining the 1st Marine Division there in plenty of time to
make the New Guinea/New Britain Campaign, which, while it did not have
the "killing fields" that marked Guadalcanal, Peleliu, and Okinawa, many
a 1st Marine Division veteran have been heard to say, ones who made New
Britain and two of the others, that New Britain was the more brutal, all
because of the jungle like terrain and the adversity of the weather,
with particular reference to the incessant rainfall, along with the
wretched infestation of insects and diseases that accompanied such
conditions, leaving numerous men in line units with malarial stricken
fever, with aggravating/disabling skin diseases, and with ever present
dysentery and other far worse ills.
At all events, it is known that by the time the 1st Marine Division found itself on Pavuvu,
getting revitalized after New Britain and commencing its preparations
for the next "blitz", Ike Smith had so distinguished himself as a member
of the Machine Gun Platoon of A-1-7 in the New Britain Campaign that he
had been made Pfc. Smith - and it was in that capacity that he found
himself in the first wave, going ashore at Peleliu with other elements
of A-1-7 on Orange Beach-3, as of the early morning of 15 September
1944.
Enough has been written about that first morning on the beach at Peleliu that there is no need
in repeating it here, other than by saying that nothing on the beaches
at Tarawa, at Saipan, at Guam, or on Iwo could have been any more
dangerous a place to be than was that to which the assault units of the
1st Marine Division were exposed on Peleliu that first day. Upon the
other hand, however, there is a need to reiterate that which has oft
times been stated before - that Peleliu could have been called off and should have been, as the
need for such a campaign (to protect General McArthur's flank, as he
drove into the Philippines), was no longer a need - and it has never
been satisfactorily explained to those who fought on and lived through
the "hell" of Peleliu just why those who could have "called it off",
failed to so do. However, back to Ike Smith.
From 15 September to 30 September, Pfc. Smith was in every action in which A-1-7 participated,
first in its drive to the south and, thereafter, in the very intense,
assaulting actions against the "holed up" enemy in the Umurbrogols.
Then, on 30 September, while A-1-7 was still in the assault, leadership
having devolved to those in charge of squads and fire teams, Ike Smith
distinguished himself anew, his citation for the Bronze Star, with
Combat "V", reading, as follows:
"For heroic achievement while serving as a Member of
a Machine Gun Section of Company A, First Battalion,
Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in action
against enemy Japanese forces during the assault on enemy-held
Peleliu, Palau Islands, 30 September 1944. When the
platoon to which his machine gun section was attached
received intense enemy rifle and mortar fire, Private First Class Smith
maneuvered a bazooka into a position exposed to hostile fire.
Firing on the Japanese strong point, he completely destroyed two mortars and killed their crews. Later, he
courageously exposed himself to fire his weapon into caves which housed numerous enemy
snipers who had been responsible for a large number of casualties in his
platoon. By his courageous efforts, he contributed greatly to the successful seizure by his platoon of numerous enemy
positions, and his devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of
the United States Naval Service."
If I may digress for a
moment, in today's world, the performance of Pfc. Smith, on 30 September
1944, would have warranted his being awarded the Medal of Honor, but
such was not the case in WWII, particularly amongst Marines
serving the Fleet Marine Force in the Pacific. While the person "writing
up" Ike on this occasion had recommended his being awarded the Navy
Cross, it was reduced at the division level to a Bronze Star.
The fact that those in A-1-7, in 1/7, in the 7th Marines and in the 1st Marine Division
recognized the great leadership qualities and innate ability of Ike
Smith to handle men, following the division's return to Pavuvu, Ike
became Cpl. Smith on 19 December 1944 and no sooner had those stripes
been sewed on that he was, on 22 December 1944, elevated to Sgt. Smith,
being placed in charge of one section of the Machine Gun Platoon. It was
in this capacity that he went ashore at Okinawa on April Fool's Day of
1945. However, before I get to his heroics in the course of that
campaign, let me go back to 30 September 1944, having failed to mention
that amidst his heroism and conduct on that date, as described in the
citation above, Ike had suffered a rather severe gunshot wound to his
right leg and despite his protestations to the contrary, he was
evacuated to a hospital ship offshore for treatment.
Treatment aboard said hospital ship lasted but one day for on 1 October, Ike assumed the name
of another Marine and "jumped ship", so to speak, returning to A-1-7 and
to the front lines. The rolls of the hospital ship, thenceforward,
carried Pfc. Smith first as "missing"/later as KIA - and the fact of the
matter is that lack of medical treatment of this leg wound at that time
caused the leg never to heal back properly. Accordingly, this true hero
suffered greatly with it through the ensuing years to a point that much
later, more particularly on 11 May 1981, the leg had to be amputated.
In any event, the hospital ship "escapee" was back with his beloved "A" Company buddies
and remained in action with the company until it was decimated to the
point of its wholesale evacuation on 20 October 1944, returning to the
encampment from whence it had come on Pavuvu. The next several months
were spent in making preparations for the Okinawa Campaign - and it was
during this period that Ike, as aforementioned, was elevated in rank to
Sgt. Smith, going ashore as such in the first wave hitting the Hagushi
Beaches on 1 April 1945, 1/7 being assigned to Blue Beach II, which was
situated between Yontan Airfield to the north and Kadena Airfield to the
south. The Japanese defensive posture in this area was light and
casualties amongst elements of the 7th Marines and 5th Marines, the two
regiments which landed abreast, were at a minimum.
As to the Okinawa Campaign, it is common knowledge that the infantry regiments making up
the 1st Marine Division, that is, the 1st, 5th, and 7th Marines, played
little part in the offensive against the enemy held bastions to the
south during the month of April, whereas the division's artillery
regiment, the 11th Marines, was rather heavily engaged in support of the
96th and 27th Army Divisions during much of that thirty day period.
However, all of this changed on 1 May, when the 1st Marine Division was
called upon to relieve the Army's 27th Division as a part of Tenth
Army's continuing southward drive, in which said drive the 7th Marines
were to play no small part.
In actuality, the 7th Marines although one of the last elements of the 1st Marine Division to
move south, said regiment was set up in the vicinity of Uchitomari, the
1st and 2nd Battalions being displaced in defensive positions in
protection of Machinato Airfield. A-1-7 was still so positioned at the
time of the abortive counterattacks by the Japs on the evening of May
3rd, which followed in the wake of an attack by air that commenced at
about 1800 hours and was renewed by sixty enemy bombers shortly
following midnight on the 4th, these attacks concentrating on Tenth
Army's rear areas and the ships offshore. Also, on May 3rd, a great
artillery duel took place, which was followed by enemy infantry units,
transported mostly by sea, assaulting well to the rear of the positions
held by the 1st Marines, necessitating 2/7 to be attached to 1/1.
Meanwhile, 3/7 was attached to the 5th Marines, while 1/7 remained in a
blocking position, all of which helped to stem the tide of the Jap
counter-offensive and, more or less, left the opposing armies in a
position where it might have been said that the "battle lines were then
drawn."
From that point on, it would be the 1st Marine Division in the assault, day after day, the 7th
Marines having taken over the right coastal flank at the division's line
of departure. This was on 6 May and the orders were to sustain a full
strength drive into the heart of the enemy's defense, which would
necessitate destroying the main Jap held bastion at Shuri Castle, as
well as all of the intermediate and supporting defensive lines/strong
points leading up to Shuri.
At the outset of this offensive drive, Sgt. Smith again exhibited his heroism and his
leadership qualities, day after day in the assault, exhorting his men to
push, to push, to push, until it came 10 May 1945, on which date Ike
Smith exhibited extraordinary leadership/heroism before Dakeshi Ridge,
with A-1-7 being committed on the left of the assaulting units, all in
the face of exceedingly heavy mortar and machine gun fire from the
ridge, and which action is best described in the Navy Cross citation he
later received, reading as follows:
" For extraordinary heroism while serving as a Member of Company A, First Battalion, Seventh
Marines, First Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces
on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, on 10 May 1945. When intense hostile mortar and machine-gun fire halted the
advance of his unit, Sergeant Smith immediately contacted three friendly
tanks and led them into advantageous positions to fire point-blank into
enemy pillboxes and deeply entrenched Japanese soldiers. Continuing his
daring actions, he made several trips across open terrain under heavy
fire to carry four wounded men to positions of safety and supervised the
evacuation of two others. Returning to the tanks, he again directed
their fire on two enemy automatic weapons positions until both were
destroyed."
By his outstanding courage and initiative in the face of
enemy fire, Sergeant Smith served as a constant inspiration to others
and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
While this last citation makes no mention of it, on 10 May, Sgt. Smith
was severely wounded, so much so, despite his protestations, he was
eventually forced to leave the lines, and on 13 May he was evacuated by
air to U.S. Fleet Hospital No. 103. From there, he was sent stateside by
air to the U.S. Naval, Oakland, California, arriving there on 9 June.
Following his recovery from his treatment at that facility and,
subsequently, at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, the war having by
that time ended, he was assigned to a casual company, Marine Barracks,
San Diego, and on or about 30 September, 1945, he was honorably
discharged from service, thereafter receiving treatment at the Great
Lakes Naval Hospital in Chicago until 1947. (Photo shows Ike Smith
in 1946, probably at Great Lakes Naval Hospital.)
In addition to his
Bronze Star, his Navy Cross, his Purple Heart, with Gold Star, by reason
of his second wounding, Ike Smith wore four Battle Stars on his
Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon, being also entitled to wear the Presidential
Unit Citation, with Gold Star. The two latter citations had been awarded
to those serving in the 1st Marine Division/attached units during the
Peleliu and Okinawan Campaigns, respectively.
The writer was then and
is now most proud of having served in A-1-7 with this very brave and
competent Marine NCO, both on Peleliu and on Okinawa. Later on, in 1947,
as a reservist, Ike was elevated to the rank of Staff/Sgt., but, he
never again returned to active duty. It was saddening to learn of his
death on the 12th day of November, 1997, in New Port Richey, Florida.
The author having served
in WWII, in the Korea War, and again in the Vietnam War, it goes without
saying that Ike Smith was one of the finest/bravest combat Marines with
whom the writer ever had the opportunity of serving. He will certainly
be sorely missed at the reunions of the A-1-7 group of WWII/North China
Marines. These reunions are still held annually but the ranks of those
in attendance are dwindling nowadays.
In closing, it may be
interesting to note, with Ike Smith in mind, that during WWII,
approximately 485,000 served in the Marine Corps, about 250,000 of whom
were in the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, at one time or another - and of
this latter number, Navy Crosses were awarded to only 497 officers/men.
At the time of Ike's death, there were only about 125 of these
recipients still alive. Time does pass on, but the good memories of
A-1-7 men such as Ike Smith continue in the minds of his old buddies
with each passing day.
How could it be otherwise, with Ike's dear wife, Nettiebelle,
having written at the time of his death, as follows: "We had a full
military funeral for Ike. There were sixteen active duty Marines in
attendance, six (6) pallbearers and a gun salute. It was awesome!"
Charles H. Owens, M/Sgt. USMC (Ret)
10 October, 1999
(Charles H. Owens enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on 7 Oct. 1942 at the age of 14.
He retired on 20 years active service 1962, returned to active duty 1966
because of the buildup of U.S. Marine forces in Vietnam, and retired again
in 1968. He now resides in LaFayette, Georgia).
LtCol Arthur M. Parker USMCR Ret (left) and
MSgt Charles H. Owens, USMC Ret. Photo taken in Oct 1992 in LaFayette, Georgia,
where Parker came to meet Owens.
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