Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-06-11
MarineVeterans
OF Two lima
Parade Here
Regulars Take Part
With 18th Division
In Reunion Feature

In Reunion Feature
With snap and precision, the
18th Division Marines, veterans Of
Two Jima, some in uniform and
some In civilian clothes marched
down Constitution avenue today.
1t was the first all-Marine
parade In Washington in Is years
and the Marine Corps made 1t a
big show with regulars from Camp
Lejeune, 8. c., and Quantico. Va.
as well as the troops from the
Marine Barracks here in the line
Of march.
ELITE corps Of the country, I"
Admiral William F. Bull" Halsey
Numbered in addressing them In
the Sylvan Theater on the Wash
ington Monument grounds after
the parade. That's a gross un-
reinstatement. You're the elite
corps Of the world"
Reviewed by Gen. Gates.
The veterans, here for their
second annual reunion, were re-
viewed by the man who COM
rnanded them at Two lima, Gen.
Clifton B. Gates, now Marine
Corps commandant. He led the
line of march in O jeep before
taking his place in the stand. In
q second jeep was Maj. Gen.
Franklin A. Hart, who was second
in command of the 4th in its final
and most costly campaign on the
little Pacific island.
There were about 500 Of them
IN the parade. one company for
nation In uniforms, a second in
civilian clothes. They were pre-
ceded by four open cars carrying
the men who could not walk. Two
of them were blind.
It was just little more than
four years ago, February 10, 1945,
that the Sd, 4th and 5th Marine
Divisions landed at Two Jima, an
island only 6 miles long, wanted
as an emergency landing place
for the B-29 raids on Japan. The
4th Marines were already veterans
of Kwajalein, Tinian and Saipan.
On Two the landing groups were
pinned down on the beach for five
hours by machine-gun and mortar
fire that first day.
The island was to be secured
In 10 days. It took almost a
month. There were 800 concrete
pill boxes in the area the 4th Ma
rines were to take over. The jap
anese had to be routed from caves
with flame throwers and hand
grenades. When the 4th wehL
back on ship more than three
weeks later. its strength Of 10000
had been almost cut in half with
p,098 casualties.
Col. Chambers Leads Group.
Col. Justin c. Chambers, now
adviser to the Senate Armed Serv-
ices Committee, led the uniformed
group. They passed the reviewing
stand to the stirring cadence OF
the Marine Corps Band playing
the Marine Hymn"
Six helicopters, each with fu-
selage as big as freight car, came
whirling overhead. They were
from the Marine Corps LIST He'll,
copter Squadron at Quantico-a
new development in attack.
Again and again the spectators
rose to salute the national en-
blem, carried with the standard
of the Marine Corps and the bat
tie streamers of the 4th.
After the uniformed group Of
veterans came the ID Division
Band from Camp Lejeune.
Priest Also Marches.
His Roman collar made the tall
figure of the Rev. Leslie j.
Whalen, Rochester IN. " priest
who administered the last rites to
so many at Two. prominent in the
non-uniformed group.
The group of veterans in bust
ness suits marched with as
straight ranks as the other. 1t
was led by Col. Melvin Kruliwitch.
now q New York lawyer. And
right UP in front marching
smartly was the 6-foot-5, 245-
pound figure of Joe Mccarthy.
It was Capt. Joe Mccarthy,
formerly tiller man on a Chicago
hook and ladder truck, who was
decorated with the Medal OF
Honor on the battlefield at Two
after he and his company had
taken Turkey Knob Hill on the
sixth try. He is now in charge
of ambulance service in the Chi
cago Fire Department.
A 50-ton amphibious tank. the
LVTA, was pulled along Graded
on a huge rolling platform. Six
"ducks" (amphibious personnel
carriers) followed.
After the parade the Marines
and spectators walked across the
monument grounds to hear Ad-
miral Halsey.
-. -