I was not surprised when I got the call to come to the Command Center for a briefing. The tumultuous battle fought by the 383rd signaled worse would be ahead. Command Center called the commanding and executive officers in for a briefing on what was ahead. I knew the issues would be tough and demanded significant discussion of what we were about to face. Once again, I drove myself down to headquarters. McQuiston would be needed if the cannons were abruptly called into action and he knew what to do. By now, the general had moved into a large cave that accommodated the gathering of the larger staff.
I parked my jeep and walked in expecting to recognize most of the participants. I already knew many of the men, like 321st Field Artillery Battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Robert Glenn and executive officer Major David Fierke. The 362nd Field Artillery Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Jaroslave Hiavac had been around quite a while, as had Major Don Alexander. Of course, my commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Avery Masters had been a close associate. Infantry regiment commanders and officers were also milling around, talking to each other, waiting for the general to show. All good men.
I saluted Avery Masters and he returned the gesture. “What do you think?” I asked. “Got a big one coming up today?”
Colonel Masters nodded. “Afraid so. This Kakazu Ridge business is a real bitch. There’s a gorge involved and that’s always bad news.”
Major General James Bradley walked straight to the front, and everyone snapped to attention. He saluted the group and told the officers to be at ease.
“You have made significant effort in confronting the Tombstone-Nishabaru-Kakazu corridor,” Bradley began. “You know that the 383rd prevailed in taking the Pirates’ Den and surrounding area. Please convey our profound gratitude to your men for their heroic efforts. These responses now bring us face to face with the Kakazu Ridge and an almost impossible task.”
The general turned and looked behind him at the blank backdrop. “You’ll notice that we do not have any maps to show you. Most unfortunately, we have not been able to obtain accurate maps and photos of the ridge. Gentlemen, we are going in blind.”
I sensed that an atmosphere of nervousness abruptly settled over the room. No one wanted to be part of an attack that lacked any sense of certainty about where we were going. Not a good deal!
“I have asked assistant division commander Brigadier General Robert Gard to detail what we are facing,” General Bradley said.
General Gard stepped to the front as two officers pinned up a makeshift map of the Kakazu Ridge. Picking up a pointer, Gard traced a line across the island. “We have a ridge that runs almost the width of Okinawa and is about one thousand yards long. The ridge is separated from Nishabaru Ridge only by a cut and on the west end slopes down to the ocean. You might think that the Kakazu Ridge doesn’t look all that formidable. Think again. The deep gorge which now separates the ridge from our forces is worse than anything we’ve seen thus far. The reverse side is infested with everything from pillboxes to mortars with tunnels and caves. The Japanese are determined to hold the gorge at all costs. Get the picture?”
General Gard looked around the room like a hawk scouting for its next prey. I could tell he was trying to make sure we understood that we were staring at an impossibility that we still had to surmount.
The leaders of the First and Second battalions began asking for clarification. I already knew that trying to climb a steep canyon with armaments and gunnery every five feet would probably prove to be murder.
I raised my hand. “Will reconnaissance be necessary?”
“Absolutely!” General Gard snapped. “This assault is going to require the best that we have to give. Since we lack accurate or virtually any maps of the gorge, we’re going to need all the input we can give.”
I shifted my weight. In the last few days, I’d taught myself a considerable amount about how to observe and report the unfolding battle scene. Sounded like what I’d picked up would be important in the morning.
The detailed discussion continued for another thirty minutes, and then we were dismissed. The big show would start at five in the morning and we’d be ready well before then.
I started back, thinking about what I had heard. Obviously, we had to cross the Kakazu Ridge to keep moving forward. Probably the Japanese had figured that one out several hundred years ago. They would be armed with everything from grease guns to Big Berthas. Our boys facing those machine-gun nests, I thought, better have their life insurance paid up.
* * *
I had the men up at around 4:00 a.m. and in position by 5:00 a.m. We wouldn’t be needed for a while, but I wanted to be ready. McQuiston had already taken his place by the telephone and the camp had become totally active.
“I think I ought to observe Kakazu Gorge,” I told the sergeant. “The fighting will probably be so close that the coordinates for cannon fire have to be right on the money. The front lines will be too congested for any errors.”
McQuiston nodded. “Yeah, I think we’re lookin’ at a hot one today.”
I looked at my watch. “A Company’s probably just stepped off about now. They’ll be on their way. I need to watch how the Japanese respond.”
McQuiston saluted. “Keep your head down!”
“You bet.” I took off.
Because the sun hadn’t come up, the sky remained dark gray. Broken tree trunks littered the terrain. Torn palm tree branches had been scattered everywhere. Mortar fire had severely blemished the terrain where fighting had occurred. Tropical plants had been trampled into the dirt, and bushes had been stripped of small branches and turned into toothpicks. Here and there, I could see small foxholes where men had once slept. The trail looked like a giant had walked through swinging a club at everything in sight.
Not too far down the road, I came to a hill with good observation of the gorge. The deep drop-off of Kakazu and steep climb up the other side made an ascent extremely difficult with armaments everywhere firing like crazy. Just as I crouched down, I heard steps behind me. An infiltrator might have gotten through the front line in the dark. More by reflex than thought, I whipped my rifle around and clicked off the safety. Flattening myself on the ground, I aimed at the bushes behind me.
The cracking of brush branches got louder. A shape creeping out of the ground cover broke through. An American soldier stepped out. When he saw me, the soldier nearly jumped out of his pants. His eyes widened with fear. “Don’t shoot!”
“What are you doing?” I barked.
“I’m doing reconnaissance for the 361st Engineer Battalion,” he said nervously. “Captain Albert Kaye . . . Kaye’s the name.”
I lowered my rifle. “Wandering around in the bushes can get you killed.”
“Don’t do this often,” Kaye said.
“Next time, I’d slip in more like Tonto does on The Lone Ranger. Walking around uncovered usually proves to be more than a little dangerous.”
“Yes, sir,” Kaye said, and sat down.
I adjusted the binoculars I’d brought with me. “Get ready. The show’s about to start.”
For several minutes we sat in the dark waiting to see what would happen next. Eventually, I noticed a group of soldiers starting up the side of the gorge.
“That’s probably A Company,” I said. “They are supposed to kick off the assault. C Company’s in there with them. Don’t seem to be running into much resistance. Looks like they are creeping up the hill.”
Suddenly a machine gun started blasting and I could see men hitting the ground. Immediately other artillery opened up. The whole side of the gorge burst into explosive firing. The soldiers started scrambling forward, but the two companies were getting separated.
“That’s heavy fire,” I said. “Looks like they are going to get pinned down between the gorge and the ridge.
The Japanese came rushing down from the top straight at both companies. I adjusted the binoculars to get as clear a view as possible.
“Good Lord! They are fighting in hand-to-hand combat,” I said.
Some men were wrestling on the ground while others swung bayonets back and forth. Riflemen kept firing at the Japanese, but that didn’t stop them from rushing forward. Our boys and the enemy both appeared to be standing their ground.
“What do you think?” Kaye asked.
“Looks like a lot of men are going to get killed on both sides. The Japanese are making a do-or-die defense, and our two companies are pinned down by rapid fire. Bad situation. I don’t see anything of B Company.”
“I’ve got an EE-8 field telephone. A walkie-talkie,” Kaye said. “Let me see what Command can tell me.”
“That’s a surprise. Sure. Call ’em.”
Kaye began ringing. After a few moments, someone answered. “I’m up here watching the attack on the gorge. Can you tell me what’s happening?”
For a few minutes Kaye listened and asked a couple of questions. Finally, he hung up.
“The A Company commander Captain Jack Royster just called in,” Kaye said. “Either he withdraws or fears being wiped out. Sounds critical.”
“Not good.”
“They’re trying to move B Company up as relief, but so far they are completely pinned down and can’t do anything. They tried to get across some open ground north of the gorge, but that’s where they got hit. Nobody’s going anywhere. What do ya think?” Kaye asked.
“Looks like a disaster.”