US Marines Disembark from LVT-1 Amtrac at Guam Landing Training

Image size: 1600 x 1267 pixel. 377 KB
Date: Friday, 12 May 1944
Place: Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Photographer: Unknown

US 3rd Marine Division leathernecks disembark on the beach from an LVT-1 of the 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion during training for the invasion of Guam on Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal during the week of May 12, 1944. The "alligator" was developed as a disaster rescue vehicle after a number hurricanes caused severe damage to Florida in the late 1930s. Developed and, in part, financed by its inventor, Donald Roebling, grandson of the Brooklyn Bridge builder, it came to the attention of the US Navy when it was featured in the October 4, 1937, issue of LIFE Magazine. After refinements paid out of his own pocket, and the refusal of the US Navy to purchase the available version, the US Marine Corps took over the project. A combat version was designed in 1940 and tested and accepted by the Marine Corps. This LVT-1 had welded steel instead of aluminum, a more powerful engine, and provisions for one or two .30 caliber Browning machine guns. The first of the production LVTs would roll off the Food Machinery Corporation's (FMC) assembly line in July 1941. LVT-1 Alligator Amtracs (Amphibious Tractors) were first used at Guadalcanal in August 1942 and made a combat landing under heavy fire during the invasion of Tarawa on November 21, 1943. Their last combat operation was the invasion of Cape Gloucester, New Guinea in December 1943. The 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion upgraded to the LVT-2, which had improved armor and could carry more cargo. The unit had 180 LVT-2 Amtrac when it landed the 3rd Marine Division on July 21, 1944 on the beaches of Asan Point, Guam. 

Source:

https://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/World%20War%20II/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=1130

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1083

Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi Displays Clothes to Guam Police

 

Image size: 1067 x 1600 pixel. 330 KB
Date: Monday, 24 January 1972
Place: Talofofo, Guam, Marianas
Photographer: Unknown

Shoichi Yokoi shows his clothes at a police station in Guam. Reporters who saw Yokoi's clothing were amazed. They were unable to determine from what sort of materials they had been made. He even had home-made buttons! His clothes were made by beating the bark of the pago tree into flat pieces of fabric. The pago tree is very common in the mountains of Guam. He then beat pieces of brass in order to create a needle shape, and gradually drilled holes in his sewing needle using an awl. His thread also came from the beaten bark of the island's pago trees. He wove cloth from the beaten fibre, and sewed the pieces together to make a total of three "suits" during his 28 years on the island. By the way, Yokoi had been a tailor before the war, a craft that served him well. His 3 sets of pants and shirts were hand-made and then he would constantly repair them to keep them serviceable. On each of his shirts, he made outside pockets for carrying things. His pants even had belt loops! And he took plastic from a flashlight and fashioned buttons, button-holes and all. He manufactured one belt by weaving the pago fibres, and onto the belt he had a hand-made buckle that he'd fashioned from wire. According to Yokoi, obtaining necessary food was "a continuous hardship." His diet included mangoes, various nuts, crabs, prawns, snails, rats, eels, pigeons, and wild hog. Though he had no salt for flavoring or as a preservative, he boiled coconuts in coconut milk. He built little traps and caught shrimp and eel from the river. He put grated coconut into the traps to serve as bait. He would then skewer the eel and shrimp and grill them over his fire. Yokoi had fashioned a rat trap from wire, based on a design that was formerly very common in Japan. Yokoi's trap measured about 10 by 6 by 4 inches, and just the slightest touch of the bait causes the lid to shut. He said he liked rat meat, especially the liver. However, he added that he could not afford to be concerned with whether or not he "liked" any of the food he obtained. He ate it all. Yokoi lived in different shelters during his 28 years. One of his shelters was a small house made from rushes he collected. He also lived in a hole that he dug under a bamboo grove. Yokoi said that he chose that particular site because it was well hidden and because the ground is more solid under a grove of bamboos. Officials had reported that it was nearly impossible to see the opening to his cave even when you were right next to it. The entire cave was dug with a trowel that Yokoi fashioned from an old cannon shell. He carried the excavated soil, handful by handful, to a nearby grassy area and scattered it so that no one would notice. After one month of digging, he was able to move in, even though he continually expanded the interior space. The opening to his cave was about two foot square, which he kept well-camouflaged. A bamboo ladder led eight or nine feet into the inside. The inside of this cave, even at its highest point, was still just slightly more than three feet tall, which meant that Yokoi always had to squat. Inside, he had a toilet hole so well designed that it would flow off naturally to the river below. Many other Japanese were hiding in islands formerly occupied by Japan. Yokoi was one of the last to be found. Many who returned to Japan had trouble adjusting to their surroundings; most of Japan was destroyed during the war, and the modern cities that rose form the ashes looked nothing like what they were accustomed to. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1018

3rd Marine Division Searches Agana for Japanese Survivors

Image size: 1600 x 1292 pixel. 707 KB
Date: Monday, 31 July 1944
Place: Agana, Guam, Mariana Islands
Photographer: USMC Corporal J.F. Andrejka

American Marine searches Agana for Japanese holdouts after its capture. The capital of Guam, Agana, was heavily shelled and bombed during the liberation of the island from the Japanese. US Marines spent July 29-30, 1944, in resting, reorganizing, and preparing for the coming attack. During this rest on Fonte Plateau the men witnessed one of the most unusual sights of the Pacific War. Decked in full combat regalia, Japanese marching in the town square made an impressive sight. Forward observers quickly called for an artillery concentration, but it fell too late to hit the formation that dispersed as rapidly as it had appeared. The III Corps launched its attack to seize the northern portion of Guam, starting with Agana, at 0630 Hours on July 31, 1944. On the left the 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Regiment under US Marine Colonel James A. Stuart moved out with three battalions abreast. The 3rd Battalion, along the coast highway, headed generally north to Agana. Little opposition met the forward movement of Colonel Stuart's forces. Although the thickly mined roads into Agana caused some casualties, Marines were in the Plaza of the former capital by 1045 Hours. The enemy did not defend the razed town, and the only Japanese encountered were wounded. After the capture of the capital, about 1500 the 3rd Marines sent its 3rd Battalion along the coast road north of Agana. As part of Guam's postwar reconstruction plan, the U.S. Navy constructed new straight city streets that passed through existing lots and created many plots of land with multiple owners. This has hindered the development of the city to the present day!

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1052

155mm "Long Tom" Fires at Japanese on Guam

Image size: 1279 x 1600 pixel. 478 KB
Date: Thursday, 3 August 1944
Place: Finegayan, Guam, Mariana Islands
Photographer: USMC Corporal A.F. Hager

III Corps Artillery of the 7th Marine 155mm Gun Battalion "Long Tom" M1 firing during the night of August 2-3, 1944, during operations to liberate the town of Finegayan. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John S. Twitchell; Executive Officer Major Dale H. Heely. 7th Battalion's "Long Toms" were initially set up in the open 500 yards from White Beach 2. The positions were in the shadow of the mountain range secured by the 4th Marines and the Army's 305th Infantry after heavy fighting. At the start of the campaign, enemy opposition might be fierce enough to contain the beachheads and prevent the planned link-up on the Force Beachhead Line, where 3rd Marine Division and 1st Provisional Marine Brigade would protect the beachhead. Successful employment of corps artillery presented a problem. The minimum effective range of the powerful 155mm guns and howitzers was so great that they might be limited to deep support missions should the assault move slowly. To meet this contingency, US Army Brigadier General Pedro A. del Valle and his newly-formed artillery staff planned to land two 155mm battalions in the south behind the brigade. This would permit the heavier guns of the 7th 155mm Gun Battalion, with only long range capabilities, to reinforce the fires of the 12th Marines in support of the 3d Division. All artillery battalions of the 12th Marines had displaced forward by 2 August in order to be in position to provide continuous support to regiments of the division. Corps artillery had also moved, so that its longer range guns could now be used more effectively. By nightfall, units had brought forward a good supply of ammunition in anticipation of the increased need for artillery support in the Finegayan area. During the night 2-3 August, the 12th Marines delivered 777 rounds of harassing and interdictory fires on roads and trails within the division's zone of action. On August 9, investigation showed that a Saipanese civilian report of 2,000-3,000 Japanese located in the northern cliff area had caused a sudden halt in the American advance. Corps artillery was notified to place all fire possible in that region. With the 7th 155mm Gun Battalion being the only corps unit that could reach the suspected enemy concentration, it received orders to cover the densely forested terrain. In two and a half hours of uninterrupted firing, the 7th hurled an unprecedented 1,000 rounds into the area from the 12 guns of its battalion. Division artillery batteries added 2,280 75mm and 105mm shells to the same target. No resistance met the 9th Marines when it moved in, but neither were there many Japanese bodies. As the Corps Artillery A-3 later wrote: "The intelligence information on which all the firing had been based was wrong, and we had made this great effort for nothing. However, it did provide a bang-up end to the campaign." The M1 155 gun has a range of 14.4 miles (23,221 meters) and can fire 6-inch shells at the sustained rate of 40 per hour. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1051