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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Rebecca Collier
Oct 26, 2018 7:57 AM
2 people found this helpfulDo you mean you want deck logs of the ship that brought them to Iwo Jima? If so, we need the name of the ship. Or are you seeking the command reports of the 5th Marine Division while they were on Iwo Jima?
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Rebecca Collier
Oct 30, 2018 9:30 AM
3 people found this helpfulDear Mr. Enders,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
Since you have not responded, we are going to assume that you would like to know if the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) has custody of the 5th Marine Division records during the Battle of Iwo Jima from 19 February to 26 March 1945. We searched the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127) and located two series that include records of the 5th: Records of Ground Combat Units, Support Units and Other Commands, 1939 - 1950 has War Diaries of the 5th for February and March 1945 (Box 80); and Correspondence of Marine Divisions, 1941 - 1946 has correspondence of the 5th for the entire war (Boxes 32-51). There are additional records throughout RG 127. For access to or copies of these records, please contact RDT2 via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Rebecca Collier
Oct 31, 2018 2:00 PM
3 people found this helpfulDear Ms. Enders,
After reviewing the War Diaries of the 5th Division for February 1945, the only ship listed that carried the 5th from Hawaii to Iwo Jima was the USS Cecil (APA-96). The diary also indicated that several LSTs assisted with the landing but no specific hull numbers were provided. We have deck logs of the USS Cecil if your veteran is interested in ordering them.
We hope this information is helpful.
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
What are the procedures for ordering the deck logs of the USS Cecil, APA-96?
It is unfortunate that it was the only ship recorded. There had to be more based on the gigantic number of Marines, 70,000, of the 5th who fought on Iwo. If I understand correctly the division trained at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii just before leaving for Iwo. Cecil accommodated about 1450 enlisted men according to its stats:
Troop AccommodationsOfficers 79Enlisted 1,423
From Unit History Details:
Parts of the division began to deploy overseas to act as the reserve force during the Battle of Guam where they were not needed. Because of this they were sent to Camp Tarawa near Hilo, Hawaii for further training. After more extensive training the division loaded ships and left Hawaii in January 1945. By mid-February they were sailing past Saipan headed for Iwo Jima. https://marines.togetherweserved.com/usmc/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=UnitHistoryDetail&type=UnitHistory&ID=1472
A film director, Leonardo Flores, has compiled a listing of ships in his blog http://marinesinforestgreen.blogspot.com/2012/10/list-of-ships-at-battle-of-iwo-jima.html. I'm just starting to examine it.
Thanks again,
Joan Enders
List of Ships At The Battle of Iwo Jima - Blogger
marinesinforestgreen.blogspot.com
This is my work in progress list of ship that participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima (Feb-March 1945). Over 600 ships participated in the invasion force and I could not find a master list of ships who took part in the invasion.
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Rebecca Collier
Nov 1, 2018 8:55 AM
2 people found this helpfulDear Ms. Enders,
Thank you for posting your follow-up request on History Hub!
For access to and copies of the deck logs of the USS Cecil (APA-96), please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
Do you have access to Mr. Robinson’s Official Military Personnel File? The specific unit of the 5th Marine Division that he was assigned to should be listed in his file. The unit’s muster rolls for February 1945 may indicate what ship he was on as the Marines traveled from Hawaii to Iwo Jima. Please provide us with that information so we may assist you further.
We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Yes, Lee has given me his information before, and while, in the 5th Division of the Marine Corps.
- 1943 1st Marine Corps Parachute Regiment; 2nd Par. Battalion, Company G, trained at Gillispie and Elliott in SDiego
- 1944 5th Division, 27th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company D, 2nd Platoon, Squad 3.
He was in the first wave, landing on Red Beach on D-Day, 9 AM, at Iwo. After Iwo he was promoted to Corporal and received the Medal of Honor. After Iwo they traveled to Camp Tarawa in HA for training to invade Japan. Of course the bombs were dropped instead, and he finally went to Japan as part of the occupational forces in Sesabo, Kyushu. He is still with us, 94 years old, and it is wonderful to talk with him.
Thanks for your help. I haven't been able to respond on the HH blog earlier due to some computer gremlins.
Joan Enders
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Rebecca Collier
Nov 14, 2018 3:09 PM
1 person found this helpfulDear Ms. Enders,
Thank you for posting your follow-up requests on History Hub!
We searched the Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1/1941 - 12/1945 (Roll 0794, Frame 395) and it indicated that PFC Walter L. Robinson and 2nd Battalion, 27th Regiment, 5th Marine Division sailed on the USS Highland (APA-119) from Hawaii on 17 January 1945 and disembarked on 19 February 1945 at Iwo Jima. We also searched the Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941 - 1983 for deck logs of the USS Highland for 17 January 1945 that listed Robinson as being on the ship and the deck log for 19 February 1945 indicated that the Marines began disembarking at 0710 for Red Beach. Other ships nearby were also listed.
The muster rolls are available via Ancestry.com. For access to and copies of the deck logs, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Thank you so much!
Access to the NARA files needs to be in person, for instance, at the Seattle Archives?
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
2 people found this helpfulMr Enders
This might help you in your quest
I am attaching the ship loading schedule of the for Troop
TransportsThese come from the Operational Plans
I am not an expert on Marine Corp Unit organization, but they
are listed for each of the transport ships.If you know the Marine Unit, you can find the transport ship
You can then request the deck logs of that ship for the specific
day.Respectfully
Robert E Wright
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Thank you!
Robinson was on the APA 119 Highlands, 2nd Battalion, 27th Reg, landing at D2, which I thought was interesting for a few reasons. 1. He claims that he was on Red Beach in the first wave attack, which still appears to be the case. 2. The first wave was to have been at 9:00 AM, but it looks like, from the table on 264 that the first wave was delayed 2 hours. Perhaps I am not interpreting it correctly?
Now to find out the LCVP# he rode to Iwo.
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
2 people found this helpfulJ Enders
I have attached the War Dairy page that includes the day of the Invasion. It appears that they dispatched landing craft for 2 waves from this ship, neither was in the 1st wave. So waves 6 and 16, which make sense since the landing craft had to make the round trip to the beach, disembark the Marines, return to the transport and reload for their second mission. I don't know if the Marines kept records of who was dispatched on which LCVP. That would have been a complicated situation conditioned of the correct LCVP showing up at the right time and cargo net as they went over the side.
There is a photo of Iwo on the day of the landings showing the landing waves heading to the beaches. If you have it you will notice that there is not much separation between the landing waves, which may be the reason for some of the confusion by those who were there of what wave that they were actually part.
I believe that the D+ columns on the sheet might relate to the cargo being dispatched on Day 1 Day 2 Day 3, etc. to support ground operations.
Respectfully
Robert
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Thank you so much! And your analysis of the confusion is well taken. Lee told me, and it is recorded in his life story, that it was sheer chaos. From a report I read, the Navy complained about the lack of order with all the vessels and equipment movements. Lee includes a photograph in his story of the beach litter of machinery, Chaos.
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
2 people found this helpfulJ Enders
Photo Referenced above:
There are 6 waves in the photo
Notice that they are not precisely spaced, but still organized.
If you will see in the picture, right hand side, that there are 3 small ships in front of the 1st wave that appear stationary.
These are LCI Gunboats and LCS(L)(3) that are providing covering fire to the approaching LCVP's
My Association represents the men on the LCI Gunboats
Robert
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Those gunboats... What can you say? So many losses on them. What Association is that?
I see what you mean about the waves. All of them could feel that they were in the first wave. I do know that my marine was on his way off the Highlands ship around 8:30 am.
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
That is great shot of the a LCI Gunboat during a pre-landing bombardment. If you look on the shoreline it appears that a salvo of 4.5 inch rockets from another ship has just landed. After the disaster during the landings at Tarawa the Navy decided that it needed close inshore fire support the continued right up to the actual landings. They modified some Landing Craft, Infantry with 40MM guns that could provide continuous fire on the beach and targets of "opportunity" up to the landings. They would then proceed to the flanks and provide called in fire support. Later they were armed with the 4.5 inch rockets. A single LCI(G) or LCI(R) could place up to 500 rockets in a designated target area.
The LCI Gunboats also covered that pre-invasion beach recon that was done by the Navy UDT "Frogman" to eliminate mines and underwater obstructions. On D-2, Feb 17 1945 a Flotilla of LCI Gunboats became engaged in a duel with the Japanese shore batteries and mortar positions. These ship were no match for the large caliber weapons that they were confronted, and ended up with tremendous casualties both in men and ships.
Our group is the US Navy Landing Craft Infantry Association which is comprised of Veterans of the LCI's and their family members. We strive to preserve their contributions to victory in WWII.
Robert
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Thank you President Robert. The photograph was taken from an online article about LCI gunboat LCI(G)-449. The story of one of the boat's crew was pretty horrible: https://www.armytimes.com/news/2018/02/17/gunboats-in-hell-battle-at-iwo-jima/
Thanks for all your help. I'm going to digest what has been given to me and perhaps clarify more after the holiday.
Joan Enders
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
I am documenting the sources. Could you please share the source of these documents?
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
2 people found this helpfulMy source for Troop Transports:
Official: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4697018
Document COMTASKFOR 51
Report of Operations for the Capture of Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands
Also available through Fold3 website
Robert E Wright
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
Thanks so much! My book is finished and all the information from you all helped so much.
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Re: Do ship logs exist for the Marines of Iwo Jima?
1 person found this helpfulMr Enders,
The US Navy V(Fifth) Amphibious Force transported the landing forces to Iwo Jima. The V Amphip Force was comprised of 495 ships, that included 43 APA's (Attack Transports) and 6 APD (Fast Attack Transports)
They are the ships that carried units of the 3rd 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. It might be difficult to determine which transport carried which Division, but not impossible.
You can get a detailed report on the amphibious operation from Naval History and Heritage Command at
The original report was intended for use by the Navy brass so there is a lot of use of acronyms which may be daunting to a reader who is not versed in these, but there is a lot of online help available on these.
Robert
