Conical Hill consisted of rambling spurs and ridges around a conically shaped peak. The top of the massive peak shot up almost five hundred feet and dominated the terrain around it. Anyone assessing the formidable sight knew this would prove to be a tough one to capture. Conical Hill certainly was strategic, because the port city of Yonabaru was only a thousand yards to the south. The third-largest city on the island faced the Chinen Peninsula across Yonabaru Bay. From that perspective, the Japanese had been able to see everything we did. The entire area would be highly important to whoever captured or lost it.
The hills approaching Conical had been labeled with code names Easy, Fox, Charlie, and King. The Second Battalion was sent to strike in the south, while the 763rd Tank Battalion came from another direction. In the shuffle, the commanding officer of the tank battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Harmon Edmonson, had gone out to check the forward movement of the unit. Mortar fire caught Edmonson and killed him. The loss shook everyone. Taking those hills and finally Conical was obviously going to be as difficult as suspected, but the race was on.
A Company was given the job of taking the crest of Easy Hill, where the Japanese had an excellent position at the top and could rain grenades down on anyone trying to make it up the hill. I had to listen carefully to understand where the artillery should fire.
Sergeant Ben Tlougan quickly sized up the situation for us. “We’re not going to be able to do much of anything till we clean out that hilltop.”
“I can see that,” the soldier next to him said. “But I don’t see what we can do about it.”
“I do,” Tlougan said. “Cover me.”
The sergeant jumped up and ran ahead of the platoon. He hit a grassy area and rolled under a fallen log. The Japanese opened up on him, but Ben was ready. When the rifle fire stopped, he started firing grenades at the top of the hill. The Japanese responded in kind.
Tlougan didn’t move but kept hurling grenades ahead of him. After several rounds were exchanged, he stood up and started firing. The Japanese appeared unready for such a bold move. A few enemy shot back, but most got up and started running. Almost single-handedly, the sergeant had taken Easy Hill.
In a short while, A Company moved on and took Fox Hill. What had been defended by twenty to thirty Japanese fell before the relentless drive of men like Tlougan. A Company had made a good start in sweeping toward Conical Hill.
While this action unfolded, F Company attacked the coastal side, aiming at the town of Gaja. Just short of Conical, they started up a draw when fire opened up. Three men fell immediately, and the platoon stayed pinned down for three hours before they were forced to retreat. The problem wasn’t new. The day before, F Company had encountered the same problem in trying to get up the rear slope of the Gaja Ridge. This time Command called in flamethrowing tanks. The killing machines immediately blasted the caves and hiding places. The enemy rushed to escape being roasted alive. Once they were in the open, they made an easy target. For once, our soldiers were on a ridge where we had a perfect vantage when the Japanese came running out of hiding; they were mowed down. By the time our attack was finished, we had cleaned out the area. However, heavy fire coming down from Conical Hill kept us from taking and occupying the town of Gaja. Time to bring in the big boys.
The tank flamethrowers had an awesome capacity. The operator could remove the machine gun and insert the flame gun in a minute or two. The flamethrower could fire one gallon of fuel per second to an effective range of 25 to 30 yards with oily fuel, 50 to 60 yards with thickened fuel. The flamethrowers with fuel capacity of 50 gallons were employed for M4 Sherman tanks. The weapon used compressed carbon dioxide gas to propel the fuel, had a fuel capacity of 290 gallons, a range of 40 yards with oily fuel and 60 to 80 yards with thickened fuel.
When the oily substance hit a cave or the enemy, the compound stuck, and the flames couldn’t be put out before they were finished burning. We knew the tanks would be particularly effective in such circumstances.
* * *
Company G had been able to take advantage of a draw between King Hill and the northern hogback of Conical. While the ground gain wasn’t large, the soldiers were in an excellent position to strike the next day. Colonel Ed May was directing the fight from the front lines and could see the advantage that had been gained. He reported that the new position should allow them to reach the crest of Conical the next day.
The Corps headquarters had set up in an ancient castle. Nakagusuku Castle became the working quarters of General Hodge, who carefully studied the report from Colonel May. Seeing the possibilities, he reached for the phone to call the top.
General James Bradley took the call.
Hodge thought the Second Battalion was in a position to really do some good. He wondered what the general’s opinion might be about Colonel May making the big push up Conical tomorrow.
Bradley chuckled because he believed if anybody could pull off an attack, it was certainly Colonel May. Bradley said to send him forward.
General Hodge hung up with a grin on his face.
Hodge turned to his chief of staff and said that he thought they just might have the key to unlocking the Shuri line, and they might have the right man to try. They would hit the enemy in the morning.
During the night the Japanese beefed up the town of Gaja. They must have figured we’d be coming that way. The job of breaking through went to F Company with Lieutenant Robert Muehrcke leading the charge.
Muehrcke told the platoon to see how fast they could clean out the area. They were on the move and he wanted to keep it that way.
The men nodded, picked up their rifles, and started down the road. They had not gone far when one of the scouts sent out ahead came running back with the report that the hills were covered with pillboxes. They had to knock them out before the unit could go further.
Muehrcke pulled out his field glasses for a hard look. He turned to the platoon and said that they were going to split up and take both sides of the trail. They had a truckload of pillboxes to knock out.
The soldiers moved quickly, firing rifles and mortars straight ahead.
Muehrcke’s walkie-talkie rang.
Colonel May reported they had platoons of tanks pounding the Japanese dug in on the north slope. He wanted to know, “How’s your platoon making it?”
Muehrcke reported that they were about the business of knocking out pillboxes. “Don’t know how many are left, but when they’re gone, we’re on our way.”
Colonel May said excellent and the phone went silent.
Muehrcke and his men kept pushing against the pillboxes, which fell quickly. The Japanese were on the run. The lieutenant called Colonel May and reported that they were ready to march on the town.
May asked, “How many pillboxes did you have to take out?”
“Eleven.”
* * *
At eleven o’clock, Colonel May decided the hill had been softened up sufficiently for the infantry and tanks to move out. The Japanese weren’t about to give up without a real fight. The artillery went back and forth, and soon the infantry came out on top of the crest of Conical. When the Japanese realized what had occurred, they sent an entire company to attack our new position. They came pouring in like wild animals.
Sergeant DuNiphin wasn’t going to relinquish this hard-fought-for new position. Grabbing his rifle, he boldly stood up and unloaded the clip at the Japanese charging at him only ten feet away. When he ran out of bullets, the sergeant picked up an M-1 and kept firing until he had emptied it.
The soldiers around him responded to such a brave example, and no one gave an inch. The Japanese weren’t able to dislodge DuNiphin’s men. The leader of the Second Platoon, Lieutenant Richard Frothinger, realized an assault was on to knock DuNiphin’s men off the crest. He immediately led his men in a hell-for-leather onslaught into the teeth of the machine-gun nest supporting the counterattack. The Japanese were so astonished that they turned and ran. Throughout the afternoon, Colonel May continued probing the defenses surrounding Conical Hill. His approach paid off handsomely.
The day’s assault had found the soft spot in the Japanese line and capitalized on the discovery. The Japanese had simply not used their dwindling manpower well. The battalions under May’s guidance had defeated them soundly in taking the Conical area.
General Buckner called the work of the Second Battalion a brilliant example of small-unit tactics. The Japanese would never recover from their losses that day. They were not yet beaten, but the fatal wound had been delivered.