The Other D-Day
Mention June 1944 and the immediate response will most likely be “Operation Overlord”, the invasion of France and the beginning of the final phase of the European War. This event has so monopolized the perspective of the war the it has even taken over the term “D-Day” as it unofficial name. “D-Day” actually means the day of an amphibious landing in the operation planning documents. There were dozens of “D-days” during the war but in June of 1944 the eyes of the world were on Normandy.
On June 6, 1944 on the other side of the world Tractor Division Baker of Task Force 52 was eleven days out of Pearl Harbor heading for the fleet rendezvous at Eniwetok Atoll. There were 41 ships in this tractor division including the seven LCI(G)’s of Group Seven and a single destroyer provided as their escort and defense against submarines. The SEVENTY-SEVEN performed a special task during this transit; it was a courier between ships in the formation. As the convoy moved along in formation she would speed up, go to the DD, pick up mail for ships in the formation, drop back, and deliver it. As the convoy moved along at it stately pace the SEVENTY-SEVEN moved among them making her deliveries. Now a-days when ships do this at sea they remain safe distance from one another and string various ropes and cables attached to pulleys and winches to do the job. SEVENTY-SEVEN didn’t bother with all this she just come very close to the other ships and handed the packages over.
Here the SEVENTY-SEVEN conducting a between ship transfer at sea while under way. If from time to time you feel a shaking motion that is the shuddering of a Navy safety officer who has just seen this picture.
On June 7, 1944 the ships entered Eniwetok Lagoon. The harbor was filled with hundreds of ships. This was the invasion force assembled for the Marianas Campaign. Task Force 52, the invasion force, contained over 500 ships with 127,000 troops embarked. Supporting them were the combatants of the FIFTH Fleet organized into 15 carrier task groups. This force may not have been as big as “Operation Overlord” but it was in the same league.
On the afternoon of the ninth the tractor divisions began leaving the harbor. Tractor Division Baker now numbered 66 ships. It took these ships another five days to reach Saipan.
The daily routine on a long sea voyage was more than standing watches. The engineers, the “black gang”, had a regular routine of preventive maintenance for the engines. The gunners, the “cannon cockers”, were continually checking and test firing their equipment. The boatswain’s mates and seamen, the “deck apes” had plenty to do keeping ahead of rust and corrosion. There was never an "off day" for the cooks, the “stew burners”, three meals were prepared daily without a variation of more than minutes.
Of all of these I was amazed at how the engine room gang performed preventive maintenance on our engines while underway. In good weather, they would disconnect an engine from the others in its quad, lift it by chain hoist, service it or replace parts, return it to its position, and start it so it would again be working properly. While doing this, they were inches away from hot noisy engines in full operation. They also spent hours reseating valves, a tedious meticulous job they performed routinely. These fine mechanical skills brought from civilian life, were what kept us running smoothly month after month. When we arrived at an operation, our power plant's overhaul had just been finished, preventive maintenance completed, and everything was in top running order.
June 15, 1944 was D-day for “Operation FORAGER” the invasion of Saipan. The invasion beaches were located on the southwestern corner of the island (click here for a map). Sunrise was 7:20AM and H-hour was set for 8:30AM. LCI Group SEVEN fired their rockets at beach until just before the marines landed then began firing at gun emplacement on Agingan Point. By 9:00AM with all rockets expended the group backed off the beach to await further assignment. While retiring from the beach, several LCIs received fire from inland. The SEVENTY-SEVEN came through this unscathed but others were not so lucky. The SEVEN TWENTY-SIX’s commanding officer was wounded and two men were killed. Since the SEVENTY-SEVEN carried the Group medical officer, she was soon visited by others with wounded to be treated.
General Sherman was Right
During all the talks I had with my father about his war experiences I never recall him discussing the Saipan landing. The first indication of the effect this operation had on him was his replay to a friend who ask him if he’d seen the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. I didn’t fully understand his comment until I read the following comments from his memoir.
On D-day, for an unknown reason, many Marine LVT's (amphibious tractors) capsized when they were on the reefs. After a few days, the bodies of the victims began to surface off shore. They were in bad shape, terribly bloated by the hot weather and immersion in the water. They were wearing clean uniforms since they had never gotten to the beach. Their cartridge belts remained intact but the rest of their uniforms had torn partly away due to bloating. The official word from shore was to retrieve their dog tags and/or wallets, only. They had enough bodies to care for already on the island and didn't want any more. We carried out these orders but it was a very poor way treat our dead.
One night, while standing OOD duty on the picket line off Agingan Point, I assumed the watch just as we were making the 180° turn at the seaward end. I had a "K-ration" bar, a chocolate bar full of all sorts of good things, to eat while on duty. As we sailed towards the beach, I became less inclined to eat it. Finally, I threw it overboard. The closer we got to the beach the stronger the stench of unburied bodies. The turn to go back to sea brought us close to land where it was unbearable. The island had only a few feet of top soil over nearly impervious rock. This presented great difficulty in burying the dead.
After the battle had been going on for weeks, clouds of large blue flies descended upon us. The doctor was ordered to protect the ship from this invasion. He obtained netting to put over all ports and hatches. Fly spray had little effect. They were breeding in unburied bodies, presenting a serious health problem. After burials began, they disappeared.
Through the long glass one day, I noticed Army personnel using heavy earthmoving equipment to dig a large hole, a city block or more in size, on a gentle rise about a half mile from the beach. They used jack hammers to make it well over six feet deep. When it had been completed, we saw columns of trucks loaded with, what appeared to be, shrouded bodies. They were placed in the hole. Bulldozers covered them with the dirt and rocks from the digging. A few days later, rows of white crosses were installed over an area of several acres with a flag pole located in the middle. Much later, we watched a ceremony which included a detachment of troops, the firing of rifles, and a bugler. I guess this was the best they could do to create a cemetery under these conditions. They could not provide individual graves due to the difficult terrain. After the War, a family could ask to have a body returned home for burial. What was sent back from Saipan? How could individuals be disentangled in that common grave?
The next day the ship had various assignments. Then in the evening the force conducted “retirement”. The Operations Order had all the details how ships would depart at prearranged times, speeds, formations, and courses. Before sunset, an observer on Saipan saw hundreds of ships around the island. After dark, they formed up and sailed away. This was a precaution against an attack on the ships supporting the landing force. An enemy approaching that night would find only a few ships present.
The ships stayed at sea until the 23rd of June. It was only after returning to Saipan that the support force learned that while they were away the Battle of the Philippine Sea, better known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" took place. This was the Japanese attempt to counter attack the invasion force. On the 20th the enemy lost three large carriers, three others were badly damaged. They also lost large numbers of trained pilots. Couple this with the airfields that would be built on the Marianas and “Operation Forager” was as important to the Pacific War as “Operation Overlord” was to the European one.
One of the darker moments of the Marianas campaign was the mass suicide of Japanese civilians on Siapian and Tinian. These were the first battles to take place in and around Japanese towns making them the first encounters with the civil population. No one expected to see entire families jumping to their death rather than submit to occupation.
Near the end of our time at Saipan, we went on an unusual assignment. We took aboard some Army personnel of Japanese descent. They brought along powerful loudspeakers. These were mounted on the bow as we proceeded North along the Western shore of Saipan. The further we went the steeper it became until we reached the near vertical cliffs of the island's Northern tip. We moved very slowly as close as we could to the cliffs. Soon we saw a large number of enemy civilians at the top. The Army people began calling to them in Japanese. They were trying to stop them from jumping. They had been told by their officials would be killed by U.S. Marines if they surrendered. These men and women, with children in their arms, were jumping to their death. Nisei we had onboard were trying to convince them they would be well treated if they surrendered. Obviously we were not successful, as the suicides continued.
Saipan surrendered on July 9, 1944 and the task force proceeded with plans to invade neighboring Tinian. In preparation for the invasion Army artillery observation parties came aboard. The SEVENTY-SEVEN then circumnavigate Tinian. The artillery spotters were in radio contact with their gun emplacements on Saipan. As we neared Tinian's North coast the teams began sending target coordinates. The SEVENTY-SEVEN sailed South along the Eastern shore. When we sailed beyond the range of the Army guns the ship fired her 40mm’s at targets of opportunity as they rounded the Southern coast and returned along the Western shore. Firing began from the Army guns resumed the ship got back within range.
When we took the artillery spotters around Tinian, their conversation with their gun emplacements was most informal. They would give the coordinates and call for three rounds. Saipan would say they could have two. The spotters insisted they needed three to cover the target followed by, "Besides we can afford it, we bought war bonds this month!" or something similar. They usually got the three.
The invasion of Tinian took place on July 24, 1944. It went much easier than the Saipian invasion. In the afternoon the SEVENTY-SEVEN returned to Tanapag Harbor on Saipian to continue routine patrol and anti-aircraft assignments. The next several days were spent restocking everything. Then the SEVENTY-SEVEN was ordered to Florida Island in the Solomon Group.