Photo #: NH 104215
Iwo Jima Operation, 1945
"Jeep in the Heart of Iwo -- One of the first Jeeps to roll
ashore as the Fifth Marine Division landed on Iwo Jima, met the
same fate as most of the other vehicles, when it sank into the
soft black volcanic ash on the beach. Until steel mats were laid
a large number of Jeeps and trucks were stalled in the quagmire
as they rolled from landing boats. Bogged vehicles were favorite
targets of Japanese mortarmen who fired down from flanking mountains
overlooking the beach." Quoted from the original photo caption,
released by Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, on 25 February 1945.
Photographed by T/Sgt. H. Neil Gillespie.
LCVP being unloaded in the center background is from USS Newberry
(APA-158). Note lines being used to keep it from broaching, and
the small (bulldozer-type) mobile crane assisting the work.
The original print came from Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison's
World War II history project working files. It was provided to
Morison by E.J. Long.
Official U.S. Marine Corps Photograph, from the collections
of the Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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