So I just picked up an interesting little book at the book store today -
Iwo Jima Recon - The US Navy at War February 17,1945.
From the back cover -
On February 17, 1945 - two days before the invasion - four US Navy Underwater Demolition Teams of about a hundred men each and twenty-two Marine observers scouted the waters around Iwo jima and went ashore to determine if the soil would support vehicles. the swimmers wore nothing more than their trunks, swim fins, goggles, and knives, along with some camoflage paint and a coat of grease to protect against the 59 degree water.
Supported by Battleships Tennessee and Nevada, a cruiser, several destroyers and aircraft, and twelve Landing Craft Infantry gunboats { LCI(G) }, they approached thye shore as the japanese opened fire. Nine of the thin skinned gunboats suffered heavy damage, one sank, and the rest survived with moderate damage. Forty-three seamen were killed and almost two hundred wounded, 40 percent of the men engaged. Of the twelve gunboat captains, nine received the Navy Cross and one the Medal of Honor. Using eyewitness accounts, after action reports, and more than one hundred photographs, Iwo Jima Recon brings to life this little known story of courage above and beyond the call of duty.
Skimming through the book this action prompted Rear Admiral WHP "Spike" Blandy to send in the Battaleships Tennessee, Idaho, Nevada, and New York and the heavy cruiser Vicksburg to pound the beach at point blank range on February 18, 1945....which finally significantly silenced the CD guns for the assault on February 19, 1945.
