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In late March 1945, the 77th ID made 15 landings and secured Kerama Retto and Keise Shima in preparation for the assault on Okinawa. In the first fifteen days of April while at sea, the Division suffered many casualties from Japanese enemy suicide attacks as they headed for their assault landing at Ie Shima. They landed on Ie Shima on 16 Apr 1945 and captured the airfield which enabled them to continue the air assault on Okinawa and the Japanese mainland. The 77th also engaged in a bloody battle for "Government House Hill" and "Bloody Ridge".
On 18 April, just a day before Arthur's letter, famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle who was embedded with Arthur's 305th infantry regiment on Ie Shima, and who had become very close to the men he served with, was killed when the jeep he was riding in with Lt. Col Joseph B. Coolidge, commanding officer of the 305th, came under heavy sniper fire.
In The Pacific
Dear May & Bill,
I hope you both are well, I am fine. Its happened again kids - we left the Philippines and have already gone through combat again, our third campaign.
I sure wish I was allowed to tell you where I am. If I could, you'd be ever surprised. Anyway, soon the news is to be broadcast over the radio, the newspapers have gotten it but aren't permitted to put our invasions in print till a certain day. Watch for it. Ruth tells me you have quite a snappy car. I'm glad and I know life for you is ever so better now. Sure wish I was able to come back soon. I miss that wonderful white civilization. If you don't hear from me for awhile, try to understand and bear with me. Fighting keeps me quite busy. Love to Joan for me.
Your Devoted Brother - Arthur
12/20/44 – WASP were deactivated, their records classified & sealed. As a juxtaposition, the following are excerpts from letters, from a Navy Ensign to his fiance:1/14/45 - "Leon writes that you wore Betty’s WASP coat to church Christmas. How about that? Gabardine in a brown-grey color. My detective agency has been coming thru with lotsa’ information, too. Little did you know that some of those men who follow you..."In a letter with a hand-written postmark, dated 2/7/1945 - “January 27th Sat. nite, I see. Everything is fine, honest. I hope I’m not getting in my old not-writing rut. I was doing quite well, I thought, until a coupla’ weeks ago. Our ship has been moving about a good bit of the time lately & things are a bit irregular. We haven’t got any mail for over two weeks—your last was Jan. 3rd-- & we haven’t been able to get it out much.“Lots of things have happened. I went through a submarine, saw the whole thing. They’re a good bit more crowded than we are [on an LCI, which had been assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns, Marianas Operation & had participated in the capture & occupation of Guam 8/44. When this Ensign boarded, unbeknown to him, it became part of the Iwo Jima Operation 2/17-19/1945].“It is currently [Jan.] Sunday, the 28th. Last night, Weber & Bales interrupted me with a can of lobster spread & the news that there was no use writing a letter, cuz another ship was going to get our mail for us today. They would not stop to pick up our outgoing, so I says What the hell & joined in a high-grade conversation about sex & other subjects. They did bring back something, though—2 letters & a box from you. It was as if I hadn’t heard from you in months. It was almost too much for me, honestly. They were recent, too. The experienced members say when you don’t get mail like this for a while, the old letters seep gradually in after the new. The time which I warned you about when I may not be able to write for a month or maybe two is coming up. Yes, yes! Always remember, though, no matter how few reminders you have, that I’m desperately in love with you."For original footage of the Marine Bomb Disposal Operation, who were transported by the Landing Craft Infantry (LCI), go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=telkxEQhIU4. For a 10 min. footage & commentary by survivors, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iqvrXenqTILater, the crew received a Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific (1 star) for service & Ensign M. received a Purple Heart, for moderate injuries received.
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