The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-04-19
77TH DIVISION
 UNITS TOOK 8
 KERAMA ISLES
By F. c. vALENS Limited Press War COrrespOndent)

| @eeS AAANe8AOAA OA bAAN AANA HtAA-A ANCbN' in the Okinawa Gunto six days be fore D-Day on Okinawa itself is tn story of the veteran 77th Division But is 1t the story of companie and platoons, of majors and ser geants and privates, not of armie and corps and generals.
 The invasion of the retto was al odd deal from the beginning. Eigh separate islands had to be invaded and secured within a few days Therefore each island was assigned to one company, battalion or regi
 ment. Each separate invasion consequently was completely undeI the direction of a captain, major lieutenant colonel or colonel. Eacl man had his own little invasion tt take care of. Each leader was ir complete charge of his relatively small body of troops.
 The 77th Division itself was tht New York metropolitan division O. World War l, famous for its Los Battalion" which pushed ahead SC fast that 1t became surrounded deep in German territory. The di. vision was reactivated three years ago and still includes many tax drivers from New York, coal miners from Pennsylvania and clerks from New Jersey.
 Co. K First Ashore
 The multiple invasion show here began when Aka island was ipvad- ed just after sunup March 26 by the Sd Battalion of the 305th In- fantry Regiment. This invasion was commanded by It. Col. Edward Chalgren, Jr, of Minneapolis Minn., and Q5OO Senate St. Columbia, s. c. The first com- panieS ashore were K and L. under the respective command of Capt. Allison w. Cooner of Batea- burg, s. c. and Capt. Louis c. Hin son of Scranton, s. c. The next day while Hinson had his boys up In the hills roofing out stubborn Japanese, Cooner said his company was first ashore in the retto, "al- though L company was only about 100 yards behind" Cooner agreed that actually the first man ashore III his company was Sgt. Fred A. M. CTS of Maybrook, N. Y., although close seconds were run by It. Rob- I ert M. Derr Q19 N. Monroe St. Decatur, H.; It. Louis c. Schnei- der of (2206 Hail Pl., N. W.) Wash ington, D. C., and Sgt. Howard Blehm of Halock, Minn.
 At the time of the initial landing was off shore in small boat with Maj. Gen. Andrew D. Bruce of Temple, Tex, commanding general of the 77th Division.
 There's really no need of my being here at all,' Bruce said. "All did, really, was to train these men. They're operating individu- ally and independently today. If the command went home they'd still do their job exactly as llan- ned"
 Next on the invasion schedule was the island of. Geruma, just south of Aka. This was Maj. Bar tons show. For the records, he's Maj. Claude D. Barton (RFD D, PittSboro, Miss, commanding offi- cer of the 1st Battalion of the 3O6th Regiment. Shortly afterward came the invasion of Geruma's twin island of Hokaji, under the direction of Maj. Marion G. Will Hams, Valdesta, Ga, commanding the 2nd Battalion of the 3O6th.
 Rush to Second Isle
 On March 27, while artillery moved in on Geruma to lombard unsecured territory in the retto, both Barton and Williams re-em- parked their battalions, shot across the two-mile strip of water east of Geruma and Hokaji, and landed on different beaches of TokaShiki, largest island in the retto. Williams on the southern beach, was re- inforced that afternon by the Sd Battalion of the 306th, commanded by Maj. William D. Cavness of (522 Williams St. Tallahasse, Fla. The regiment itself is commanded by Col. Aubrey D. Smith of (222 Cas- tano St. San Antonio, Tex.
 Smiths home state, incidentally, was well represented on Geruma, where It. Stanley Smith of Port Lavaca planted a Texas state flag upon landing.
 But meanwhile, other islands in this group were being invaded. It. Col. Joseph w. Hanna of (2O4 Park Ave0 Raleigh, N. C., led his 2nd Battalion of the 307th onto the beach at Yakabi, northwestern most island of the group. Gen. Bruce, always of the group. Gen. Bruce, always eager to see how his veterans of Guam and Leyte are coming along, got in on this one, piling into an amtrack full of sur- prised doughboys in the fifth wave.
 This was On the afternoon of March 26. The next day Hanna and his battalion re-embarked and steamed Southward to take Kuba island.
 This island of Zamami Shima was invaded March 26 by the 1st Battalion of the 305th under It. Col. James E. Landrum, Jr., of (41O Lucas St. Kosciusko, Miss. The 1st Battalion fought hard in the hills above Aka. The first night an entire squad of 13 was wiped out-with five killed and eight wounded. T-Sgt. Theodore Ry- charsH of (42 5th Ave) Bay Shore, N. Y, platoon leader, stepped into the hard-hit position midway in the fight with four of his men. Purely by chance, none of the five endorsements was hit, but 60 dead Japanese were counted in front of the position next morn inO