.
The area held by the 1st Battalion was heavily wooded when first
occupied in December and dotted with coastal artillery barracks and
other buildings. By early May the area was completely barren of
vegetation and scattered with the ruins of shelled buildings.
Sergeant Louis E. Duncan later remembered, "there was dust a foot
thick," covering the entire area.
On 1 May Beecher had reported
to Colonel Howard that the beach defenses on the eastern portion of
the island were practically destroyed by the Japanese bombardment
and that repair under the continuing fire would be impossible. Beach
wire had been repeatedly holed, tank traps filled in, and all the
heavy guns of the 1st Battalion were in temporary emplacements as
the initial ones had been spotted and destroyed by the enemy. The
Japanese fire was so accurate that the men could be fed only at
night.
Colonel
Howard told this to General Wainwright, who said only that he would
never surrender. When Howard told Beecher this, he replied, "I
pointed out to Colonel Howard that nothing had been said about
surrender; I was merely reporting conditions as they existed in my
sector."
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 115.07A |