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004 - SIDEBARS First Marine Utility Uniform Issued in World War II LVT 1The Amtrac General Vandegrift and · First Offensive- The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal

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  Speaker 1: Chapter two sidebars of First Offensive the Marine Campaign for
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  Speaker 1: Guadalcanal by Henry Shaw. This LibriVox recording is in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. First marine utility uniform issued in World War Two.
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  Speaker 1: The United States Marine Corps entered World War II wearing
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  Speaker 1: essentially the same summer field uniform that it had worn
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  Speaker 1: during the Banana Wars. The Marines defending America's specific outposts
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  Speaker 1: on Guam, Wake Island and in the Philippines in the
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  Speaker 1: late months of nineteen forty one, or a summer field
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  Speaker 1: uniform consisting of a khaki cotton shirt and trousers, leggings
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  Speaker 1: and a m nineteen seventeen A one steel helmet. Plans
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  Speaker 1: to change this uniform had been underway for at least
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  Speaker 1: one year prior to the opening of hostilities, as had
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  Speaker 1: the Army. The Marine Corps had used a loose fitting
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  Speaker 1: blue denim fatigue uniform for work details and some field
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  Speaker 1: exercises since the nineteen twenties. This fatigue uniform was either
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  Speaker 1: a one piece coverall or a two piece bib overall
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  Speaker 1: and jacket, both with USMC metal buttons. In June nineteen
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  Speaker 1: forty it was replaced by a green cotton coverall. This
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  Speaker 1: uniform In the summer field uniform were replaced by what
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  Speaker 1: would become known as the Utility Uniform, a proof for
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  Speaker 1: general issue on the Marine Corps one hundred sixty sixth Birthday,
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  Speaker 1: ten November nineteen forty one. This new uniform was made
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  Speaker 1: of sage green, although olive drab was called for in
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  Speaker 1: the specifications. Herringbone twill cotton, then a popular material for
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  Speaker 1: civilian work clothing. The two piece uniform consisted of a
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  Speaker 1: coat often referred to as a jacket by marines, and trousers.
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  Speaker 1: In nineteen forty three, a cap made of the same
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  Speaker 1: material would be issued. The loose fitting coat was closed
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  Speaker 1: down the front by four two piece riveted bronze finished
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  Speaker 1: steel buttons, each bearing the words U. S. Marine Corps
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  Speaker 1: in relief. The cuffs were closed by similar buttons. Two
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  Speaker 1: large patch pockets were sewn on the front skirts of
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  Speaker 1: the jacket, and a single patch pocket was stitched to
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  Speaker 1: the left breast. This pocket had the Marine Corps Eagle
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  Speaker 1: globe and anchor insignia and the letters USMC stenciled on
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  Speaker 1: it in black ink. The trousers worn with and without
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  Speaker 1: the khaki canvas leggings had two slashed front pockets and
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  Speaker 1: two rear patch pockets. The new uniform was issued to
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  Speaker 1: the flood of new recruits crowding the recruit depots in
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  Speaker 1: the early months of nineteen forty two, and was first
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  Speaker 1: worn in combat during the landing on Guadalcanal in August
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty two. This uniform was subsequently worn by marines
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  Speaker 1: of all arms from the Solomon's Campaign to the end
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  Speaker 1: of the war. Originally, the buttons on the coat and
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  Speaker 1: the trousers were all copper plated, but an emergency alternate
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  Speaker 1: specification was approved on fifteen August nineteen forty two, eight
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  Speaker 1: days after the landing on Guadalcanal, which allowed for a
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  Speaker 1: variety of finishes on the buttons. Towards the end of
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  Speaker 1: the war, a new modified utility uniform, which had been
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  Speaker 1: developed after Tarawa, was also issued, in addition to a
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  Speaker 1: variety of camouflage uniforms. All of these utility uniforms, along
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  Speaker 1: with Army designed M one helmets and Marine Corps designed
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  Speaker 1: corred and rubber soled rough side out leather boondocker shoes,
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  Speaker 1: would be worn throughout the war in the Pacific, during
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  Speaker 1: the postwar years and into the Korean War. Kenneth L. Smith,
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  Speaker 1: Christmas LVT ie the Amtrak. While the Marine Corps was
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  Speaker 1: developing amphibious warfare doctrine during the nineteen twenties and thirties,
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  Speaker 1: it was apparent that a motorized amphibian vehicle was needed
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  Speaker 1: to transport men and equipment from ships across fringing reefs
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  Speaker 1: and beaches into battle, particularly when the beach was defended.
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  Speaker 1: In nineteen forty, the Marines adopted the landing Vehicle TRACKED one,
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  Speaker 1: designed by Donald Roebling, more commonly known as the AMTRAK,
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  Speaker 1: short for Amphibian tractor. The LVT one had a driver's
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  Speaker 1: cab in front and a small engine compartment in the rear,
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  Speaker 1: with the bulk of the body used for carrying space.
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  Speaker 1: During the next three years, one thy two hundred twenty
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  Speaker 1: five lvt ones were built, primarily by the Food Machinery Corporation.
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  Speaker 1: The LVT one was constructed of welded steel and was
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  Speaker 1: propelled on both land and water by paddle type treads.
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  Speaker 1: Designed solely as a supply vehicle, it could carry four thousand,
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  Speaker 1: five hundred pounds of cargo. In August nineteen forty two,
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  Speaker 1: the LVT one first saw combat on Guadalcanal with the
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  Speaker 1: first Amphibian Tractor Battalion, First Marine Division. Throughout the Solomon
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  Speaker 1: Islands campaigns, the LVT one provided marines all types of
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  Speaker 1: logistical support, moving thousands of tons of supplies to the
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  Speaker 1: front lines. At times, they also were pressed into tactical use,
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  Speaker 1: moving artillery pieces, holding defensive positions, and occasionally supporting marines
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  Speaker 1: in the attack with their machine guns. They also were
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  Speaker 1: used as pontoons to support bridges across Guadalcanal rivers. The
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  Speaker 1: LVT one proved to be more seaworthy than a boat
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  Speaker 1: of comparable size. It was able to remain afloat with
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  Speaker 1: its entire cargo hole full of water. However, defects in
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  Speaker 1: the design soon became apparent. The paddle treads on the
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  Speaker 1: tracks and the rigid suspension system were both susceptible to
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  Speaker 1: damage when driven on land and did not provide the
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  Speaker 1: desired speeds on land or water. Although the LVT one
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  Speaker 1: performed admirably against undefended beachheads, its lack of armor made
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  Speaker 1: it unsuitable for assaults against the heavily defended islands of
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  Speaker 1: the Central Pacific. This weakness was apparent during the fighting
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  Speaker 1: in the Solomon Islands, but lvt ons with improvised armor
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  Speaker 1: were still in use at the assault on Tarawa, where
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  Speaker 1: seventy five percent of them were lost in three days.
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  Speaker 1: The LVT one proved its value and validated the amphibious
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  Speaker 1: vehicle concept through the great versatility and mobility it demonstrated
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  Speaker 1: throughout numerous campaigns in the Pacific. Although intended solely for
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  Speaker 1: supply purposes, it was thrust into combat use in early
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  Speaker 1: war engagements. In its initial role as a support vehicle,
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  Speaker 1: the LVT one delivered ammunition, supplies and reinforcements that made
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  Speaker 1: the difference between victory and defeat. Second Lieutenant Wesley L. Fate,
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  Speaker 1: USMC General Vandergrift and his First Marine Division staff. Whenever
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  Speaker 1: a work about the Guadalcanal Operation is published, one of
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  Speaker 1: the pictures always included is that of Major General Alexander A. Vandergriff,
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  Speaker 1: first Marine Division Commanding General, and his staff officers and commanders,
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  Speaker 1: who post for the photograph on eleven August nineteen forty two,
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  Speaker 1: just four days after the assault landings on the island.
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  Speaker 1: Besides General Vandergriff, there are forty Marines and one naval
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  Speaker 1: officer in this picture, and each one deserves a page
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  Speaker 1: of his own in Marine Corps history. Among the Marines,
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  Speaker 1: twenty three were promoted to general officer rank, and three
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  Speaker 1: became commandants of the Marine Corps, General Vandergriff and Colonels
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  Speaker 1: Kates and Pate. The Naval Officer Division Surgeon Commander Warwick T.
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  Speaker 1: Brown Medical Corps U. S. Navy, also made flag officer
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  Speaker 1: rank while on active duty and was promoted to vice
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  Speaker 1: admiral upon retirement. Four of the officers in the pictures
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  Speaker 1: served in three wars. Lieutenant colonels Gerald C. Thomas Division
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  Speaker 1: Operations Officer and Randolph mcc pate Division Logistics Officer served
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  Speaker 1: in both World War Wars one and two and each
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  Speaker 1: commanded the first Marine Division in Korea. Colonel William J.
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  Speaker 1: Whaling similarly served in World Wars one and two and
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  Speaker 1: was General Thomas's assistant division commander in Korea. Major Henry W. Busey,
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  Speaker 1: Junior Assistant Operations officer, served in World War Two Korea
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  Speaker 1: and the Vietnam War. Others served in two wars, World
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  Speaker 1: Wars one and two, or World War Two in Korea.
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  Speaker 1: Represented in the photograph as a total of nearly seven
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  Speaker 1: hundred years of cumulative experience on active Marine Corps service.
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  Speaker 1: Three key members of the division, the assistant division commander
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  Speaker 1: Brigadier General William H. Rupertess, the assistant chief of Staff
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  Speaker 1: G One, Colonel Robert C. Kilmartin Junior, and the commanding
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  Speaker 1: officer of the first Raider Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Etson,
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  Speaker 1: were not in this picture for a good reason. They
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  Speaker 1: were on Tulaggie, where rupert Is headed the Tulagi Command
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  Speaker 1: Group with Kilmartin as his chief of staff and Edson
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  Speaker 1: commanded the combat troops. Also notably absent from this photograph
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  Speaker 1: was the commander of the seventh Marines, Colonel James C. Webb,
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  Speaker 1: who had not joined the division from Samoa, where the
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  Speaker 1: regiment had been sent before the division deployed overseas. In
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  Speaker 1: his memoir Once a Marine, General Vandergriff explained why this
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  Speaker 1: photograph was taken. The division's morale was affected by the
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  Speaker 1: fact that Vice Admiral Frank J. Fletcher was forced to
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  Speaker 1: withdraw his fleet from the area, with many of his
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  Speaker 1: ships not yet fully unloaded and holding more than half
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  Speaker 1: of the division's supply still needed ashore, adding to the
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  Speaker 1: marine's uneasiness at seeing their naval support disappear below the horizon.
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  Speaker 1: Was the fact that they had been under almost constant
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  Speaker 1: enemy air attacks beginning shortly after their landing on Guadalcanal.
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  Speaker 1: In an effort to counter the adverse influence on morale
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  Speaker 1: of the day and night air attacks, Vandergriff began making
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  Speaker 1: two tours of the division perimeter every morning to talk
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  Speaker 1: to as many of his marines as possible and to
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  Speaker 1: keep a personal eye on the command. As he noted,
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  Speaker 1: by August eleventh, the full impact of the vanished transports
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  Speaker 1: was permeating the command. So again I called the conference
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  Speaker 1: of my staff and command officers. I ended the conference
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  Speaker 1: by posing with this fine group of officers a morale
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  Speaker 1: device that worked, because they thought if I went to
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  Speaker 1: the trouble of having the picture taken, then I obviously
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  Speaker 1: planned to enjoy it in future years. Recently, General Merrill B.
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  Speaker 1: Bill Twining on Guadalcanal, a lieutenant colonel and assistant D three,
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  Speaker 1: recalled the circumstances of the photograph and philosophized about the
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  Speaker 1: men who appeared in it. The group is lined up
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  Speaker 1: on the slope of the coral ridge, which provided a
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  Speaker 1: degree of protection from naval gunfire coming from the north,
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  Speaker 1: and was therefore selected as Division CP. There was no
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  Speaker 1: vital reason for the conclave. I think Vandergriff just wanted
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  Speaker 1: to see who was in his outfit. Do you realize
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  Speaker 1: these people had never been together before. Some came from
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  Speaker 1: as far away as Iceland. Vandergriff mainly introduced himself, gave
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  Speaker 1: a brief pep talk. I have often been asked how
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  Speaker 1: we could afford to congregate all this talent in the
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  Speaker 1: face of the enemy. We didn't believe we at the
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  Speaker 1: moment faced any threat from the Japanese. The defense area
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  Speaker 1: was small, and every responsible commander could reach his CP
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  Speaker 1: in five minutes. And after all, there were a lot
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  Speaker 1: of good people along those lines. Most of the fresh
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  Speaker 1: caught second lieutenants were battalion commanders. Two years later, we
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  Speaker 1: believed in each other and trusted Venice M. Frank. The
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  Speaker 1: Coast Watchers, a group of fewer than one five hundred
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  Speaker 1: Native Coastwatchers, served as the eyes and ears of Allied
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  Speaker 1: forces in reporting movements of Japanese units on the ground,
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  Speaker 1: in the air, and at sea. Often performed their jobs
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  Speaker 1: in remote jungle outposts. The Coast Watchers were possessed of
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  Speaker 1: both mental and physical courage. Their knowledge of the geography
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  Speaker 1: and peoples of the Pacific made them invaluable additions to
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  Speaker 1: the Allied war effort. The concept for this service originated
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  Speaker 1: in nineteen nineteen in a proposal by the Royal Australian
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  Speaker 1: Navy to form a civilian coast watching organization to provide
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  Speaker 1: early warning in the event of an invasion. By the
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  Speaker 1: outbreak of war in September nineteen thirty nine, approximately eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred persons were serving as coastwatchers, operating observation posts mainly
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  Speaker 1: on the Australian coast. They were at the outset government officials,
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  Speaker 1: aided by missionaries and planters, who, as war with Japan neared,
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  Speaker 1: were placed under the control of the Intelligence Section of
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  Speaker 1: the Australian Navy. By nineteen forty two, the system of
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  Speaker 1: coast watchers and the accompanying intelligence network covered an area
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  Speaker 1: of five hundred thousand square miles and was placed under
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  Speaker 1: the con control of the Allied Intelligence Bureau AIB. The
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  Speaker 1: AIB coordinated Allied intelligence activities in the Southwest Pacific and
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  Speaker 1: had as its initial principal mission the collection of all
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  Speaker 1: possible information about the enemy in the vicinity of Guadalcanal.
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  Speaker 1: Coastwatchers proved extremely useful to US Marine forces in providing
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  Speaker 1: reports on the number and movement of Japanese troops. Officers
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  Speaker 1: from the first Marine Division obtained accurate information on the
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  Speaker 1: location of enemy forces in their objective areas and were
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  Speaker 1: provided vital reports on approaching Japanese bombing raids. On eight
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  Speaker 1: August nineteen forty two, coastwatcher Jack Reid on Bougainville alerted
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  Speaker 1: American forces to an upcoming raid by forty Japanese bombers,
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  Speaker 1: which resulted in thirty six of the enemy planes being destroyed.
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  Speaker 1: The early warning system provided by the coastwatchers helped Marine
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  Speaker 1: forces on Guadalcanal to hold on to the Henderson Field airstrips.
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  Speaker 1: The coastwatchers also rescued and sheltered one hundred eighteen Allied pilots,
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  Speaker 1: including Marines, during the Solomon's campaign, often at the immediate
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  Speaker 1: risk of their own lives. Pipe smoking coastwatcher Read was
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  Speaker 1: also responsible for coordinating the evacuation on Bougainville of four
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  Speaker 1: nuns and twenty five civilians by the U. S submarine Nautilus.
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  Speaker 1: It is unknown exactly how many coastwatchers paid the ultimate
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  Speaker 1: sacrifice in the performance of their duties. Many died in anonymity,
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  Speaker 1: without knowledge of the contribution their services had made to
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  Speaker 1: the final victory. Perhaps they would be gratified to know
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  Speaker 1: that no less an authority than Admiral William F. Halsey
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  Speaker 1: recorded that the Coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the
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  Speaker 1: Pacific Robert V. Aquallina. The First Marine Division Patch, the
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  Speaker 1: First Division shoulder patch originally was authorized for wear by
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  Speaker 1: members of units who were organic or attached to the
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  Speaker 1: division in its four landings in the Pacific War. It
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  Speaker 1: was the first unit patch to be authorized for wear
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  Speaker 1: in World War II, and specifically commemorated the division sacrifices
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  Speaker 1: and victory in the Battle for Guadalcanal, as recalled by
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  Speaker 1: General Merril B. Twining, a Lieutenant colonel and the division's
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  Speaker 1: operations officer on Guadalcanal. For a short time before the
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  Speaker 1: First left Guadalcanal for Australia, there had been some discussion
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  Speaker 1: by the senior staff about uniforming the troops. It appeared
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  Speaker 1: that the Marines might have to wear army uniforms, which
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  Speaker 1: meant that they would lose their identity, and Twining came
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  Speaker 1: up with the idea for a division patch. A number
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  Speaker 1: of different designs were devised by both Lieutenant Colonel Twining
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  Speaker 1: and Captain Donald L. Dixon, adjutant of the fifth Marines,
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  Speaker 1: who had been an artist in civilian life. The one
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  Speaker 1: which Twining prepared on the flight out of Guadalcanal was
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  Speaker 1: approved by Major General Alexander A. Vandergriff, the division commander.
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  Speaker 1: General Twining further recalled that he drew a diamond in
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  Speaker 1: his notebook, and in the middle of the diamond, I
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  Speaker 1: doodled a numeral one, and I sketched the word Guadalcanal
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  Speaker 1: down its length. I got to thinking that the whole
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  Speaker 1: operation had been under the Southern Cross, so I drew
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  Speaker 1: that in too. About an hour later I took the
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  Speaker 1: drawing up to the front of the aircraft to General Vandergriff.
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  Speaker 1: He said, yes, that's it, and wrote his initials A
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  Speaker 1: A V on the bottom of the notebook page. After
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  Speaker 1: he arrived in Brisbane, Australia, Colonel Twining bought a child's
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  Speaker 1: water color set, and, while confined to his hotel room
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  Speaker 1: by about of malaria, drew a bunch of diamonds on
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  Speaker 1: a big sheet, coloring each one differently. He then took
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  Speaker 1: samples to General Vandergriff, who chose one which was colored
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  Speaker 1: a shade of blue that he liked. Then Twining took
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  Speaker 1: the sketch to the Australian knitting mills to have it reproduced,
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  Speaker 1: pledging the credit of the post exchange funds to pay
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  Speaker 1: for the patches manufacture. Within a week or two, the
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  Speaker 1: patches began to roll off the knitting machines and Colonel
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  Speaker 1: Twining was there to approve them. General Twining further recalled,
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  Speaker 1: after they came off the machine, I picked up a
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  Speaker 1: sheet of them. They looked very good, and when they
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  Speaker 1: were cut, I picked up one of the patches. It
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  Speaker 1: was one of the first off the machine. The division's
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  Speaker 1: post exchanges began selling the patches almost immediately, and they
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  Speaker 1: proved to be popular with marines, buying extras to give
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  Speaker 1: away as souvenirs to Australian friends or to send home
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  Speaker 1: to families. Before long, newly established marine divisions, as well
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  Speaker 1: as the raider and parachute units, and as the aircraft Wings,
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  Speaker 1: Seagoing Marines, Fleet, Marine fource pecific units and others were
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  Speaker 1: authorised to have their own distinctive patch, a total of
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  Speaker 1: thirty three. Following the lead of the First Marine Division,
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  Speaker 1: Marines returning to the United States for duty or on
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  Speaker 1: leave from a unit having a distinctive shoulder insignia were
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  Speaker 1: authorized to wear that insignia until they were assigned to
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  Speaker 1: another unit having a shoulder patch of its own. For
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  Speaker 1: many First Marine Division men joining another unit and having
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  Speaker 1: to relinquish the wearing of the First Division patch, this rankled.
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  Speaker 1: Shortly after the end of the war, Colonel Twining went
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  Speaker 1: to the now Marine Commandant, General Vandergriff, saying that he
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  Speaker 1: no longer thought Marine should wear anything on their uniforms
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  Speaker 1: to distinguish them from other Marines. He agreed, and the
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  Speaker 1: patches came off for good. Bennice M. Frank end of
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  Speaker 1: Chapter two. Sidebars read by Aaron Bennett