Evening star., 1945-06-10
HyottsviIIe Coptoin's
Unit Torn by Shells
In Drive to Ridge

By Serot Walter Wood of Sill
Der Spring. Nd, and Sergt. Leo
T. Bait OF East Chicago, Ind,
Marine Corps combat scorrespon-
dents.
OUTSIDE NAHA, Okinawa de-
laye0 This is the story of Ava
cha Pocket" where one of the
strongest bastions in the Jap de-
fense of Naha finally was broken.
Veterans of the 1st Marine Dl-
Visions famed 5th Regiment termed
the Awacha fight worse even than
Bloody Nose Ridge at Peleliu.
To form the pocket and wipe out
its 1,00O-plus defenders required
three days of furious, savage, day
and-night fighting. In the final "a
hours alone, $50 Japs were shelled,
burned, ana blasted out of caves,
bunkers and sacred Okinawa burial
vaults by assault platoons heavins
4O-pound satchel charges as hand
grenades and firing bazookas as
rifles
The Marines paid in blood for
their all-iinportant victory Many
times they charged small ridges
Walling the pocket only to find
themselves in carefully laid Jap
traps Cave concealed machine
guns and mortars ripped their lines,
but each trap eventually became a
Jap-litteled nc mans land.
Compressed Into Valley.
Key point of the Japanese position
was a high ridge. later called Will
sons Ridge" for lst 1t. Walter
r. Wilson. Lakewood, Ohio. whose
company won it in hand-to- hand
fighting. From the ridge the Japs
commanded all of the hilly terrain
below and on the fianks, as we'll as
the deep, single entrance valley
Into the death pocket of that valley
the Japs were compressed.
Wilson's Ridge was a honeycomb
of caves and tunnels in which the
Japs lived with machine guns. NOR
tars and even field pieces Near
its crest a 47-mm. antitank gun.
camouflaged as brush-covered
knob on the face of the cliff, was
fired like a snipers rife Nine
Marine tanks we're knocked out be-
fore its hiding place was found on
the third day of the battle by a
flame throwing General Sherman
called up to burn out suspected ma
chine gun positions on the ridge.
Flame pouring down over the
crest set fire to the antitank guns
and revealed its position. :
The Sherman burned out the spot
ano blasted the gun and its crew.
Turning Point. l.
Elimination of the gun was the
turning point. Thereafter. Marine
tanks could move freely. fire into
the positions on Wilson's Ridge and
open the way for Leatherneck in
fantrymen to push the main Jap
forces df wn in the pocket
1t was bloody fight all the way.
To the 5thS lSt Battalion went the
of frontally assaulting !
Wilson's Ridge. The I'd and Sd ,
3attalionS were to pivot on the left :
md right f1anks, respectively, FORM
ng the pincers. There was no
hoice among the three assignments;
.ach was to exact its toll in Marine |
lead and wounded
Jap artillery and mortar fire tore
p the earth as l, K and L Com
anieS, known as Item, King and
owe companies of the Sd Battalion,
dvanced. Gaping holes were torn
! the Marine attack line, but
ther men pushed on and filled in
le gaps Items commander was
apt. James P. OLaughlin, whose
arents live at Sill Forty-third
venue, Hyattsville. Md.
Captain Takes Prisoner. L
At one enemy strong point. 35
APPS manning a II NM mountain
un and 80 nm. mortar battery
we're annihilated. At another-a de
uxe cave with three entrances and
leeping and eating quarters-a
leavy machine gun firing from a
lole in the face of a low ridge
had to be overcome-and was.
Capt. R. P. Smith of Berkley,
Calf, commanding Love Company.
yrappled single handedly with one
Jap and took him prisoner-one of
he few enemy soldiers captured.
His company tackled Kids Hill.
named for a platoon leader, Second
1t. Robert Brundage of Dover, N. j.,
who observed his 21st birthday by
landing on this island and was
killed in the push up its she'll
oocked, powder burned coral face.
Two other officers were wounded
before Kids Hill was taken and 80
men of Love Company fell dead or
wounded. 1t was like that in Item
and King Companies, too.