Warren Connell

Warren A. Connell was drafted and inducted June 16, 1944 after graduating from Kemper Military Academy.

Born February 19, 1926
Married June 14, 1947 

He was drafted and inducted June 16, 1944 after graduating from Kemper Military Academy.  He requested the Marines, (nobody who requested were ever turned down) and sent to San Diego Recruit Depot for Boot Camp.  Even though he had had 3 years of ROTC at Kemper, he remained a private until after combat in February, 1945. After graduation from Boot Camp, where he received an Expert Rifleman rating, he reported to Camp Pendleton for Infantry Training Battalion at tent camp #3.  Unfortunately, he arrived a day early, just in time to be sent on an emergency expedition to Cleveland National Forest, to fight brush fires with shovels and gunny sacks.  For three long days, they had only the clothes on the backs as all their gear was still back at camp.  At Infantry training they learned fire and movement, Judo, how to abandon ship in full pack, and to crawl under barbed wire, with live grazing machine gun fire using Jap guns for realism.

In November of 1944, he was assigned to the 24th Replacement Draft, boarded ship at San Diego and left for what turned out to be Maui, Hawaii.  The Draft was attached to the 23rd Marines of the 4th Division and as they had a full compliment of troops, the men in the Draft got garbage duty and guard duty and were extra troops to be carried until needed.  He had plush duty for awhile, assigned to the officers mess, helping the baker, where he ate like a king, gaining about 30 lbs. He was eventually displaced by a wise old non-com. 

There was exhausting training for shore landings and, after a short leave in Honolulu, more shore landings on the west side of Maui.  After a few rounds of this, the ship turned west  instead of east and headed to an Island called Iwo Jima (meaning Sulfur Island) .The assault was made by the 4th and 5th Maine Divisions on Feb. 19, 1945 (his birthday).  The 3rd Division was held in reserve until later.  The replacement draft troops stayed aboard the transport loading ammunition, food and water etc.  All the while the bombardment sections of the Navy were responding to calls for naval gun fire or "nan-george-fox" as they would call it on the radio. 

On the 4th day, the replacements went in on the black sand beach, by now badly torn up by constant shelling and by tank, half-track and equipment tracks.  The replacements were assigned where needed and he was assigned to "I" Company 23rd Marines, 4th Division.  Except for a few fellow replacements, he knew none of these people.  One day the squad was to take out a pill box with some assigned demolition men.  To take out a pill box they would crawl up close with flame throwers and "shape charges" but needed fire superiority to use them.  This was done by moving from shell hole to shell hole while some one else would supply covering fire.  Once, starting to crawl out of a hole, the first to rise up directly, in front of Connie, was hit in the upper body by several bullets-Connie could see and hear the impacts.  The man's name was Carpenter which was stenciled on his utility jacket. They got a litter and when there was a lull, Connie and 5 others would run with the litter from one hole to another leaving Carpenter exposed on the surface while they took cover.  There was no other way.  They finally got him back to the Corpsmen at the aid station. 48 years later at 4th Marine Division reunion, Connie saw the name Carpenter on the T Company roster, called his room and met this same Carpenter.  He had been hospitalized for long recovery, then married his nurse. He developed a friendship with this Marine, but in general, being a replacement, he usually was not close to the others who had been together all during training and battle. 

During the campaign, Connie first heard Navaho Indians communicating in their native tongue on the radio, as a battlefield code.  Once while passing through a group resting after an attack they were told "Hang on to that ridge. . .it took a lot of deaths to take it". 

It took about a month to take the island and Connie was struck by the difference in the view, crawling and running going over and standing and walking upright coming back to the landing beach for debarkation.  There were 5928 Marine dead and 209 Navy.  The wounded were 17272 Marine and  641 Navy.  Adding the 22000 Japanese dead, there were over 28000 dead on the 8 square miles of the island.  Connie felt very blessed to be untouched.  On March 22, 1945, he left Iwo returning to Maui for rest and further training, and to prepare for the invasion of Japan. After VJ Day, 2 September, 1945 the 4th Division including the 23rd Marines, were sent to the United States for disbandment. 

There was much discussion about the system of points to give priority for discharge and one lad wrote the Armed Services Newspaper that the only logical way was by alphabetical order.  The letter was signed "Alfred A. Aahrens".  Most of the veterans of the division were sent stateside for discharge while the replacements and other late comers would be assigned occupation duty to various Asian places, mostly as military police battalions.  In November he was assigned to the 8th Military Police Battalion and sent to Okinawa .  There would be problems with fraternization, stolen Jeeps and trucks along with equipment and supplies.  The MP's had their hands full keeping things under control and were even shot at a few times.  Most of the trouble was with paramilitary personnel especially Construction Battalions but also natives. 

At one time, about a third of the vehicles on the island were listed as stolen but where could they go?  He finely got much pleasanter duty as an orderly to an Admiral.  The first day of duty found Connie standing at attention outside the Admiral's door and he came to work, passed Connie turned and said "Get a chair".  The Admiral had to fly 4 hrs. a month to maintain flying status and he once took Connie to Shanghai for a day. Another time, Donald Reutlinger, a Grand Island native stationed, as a navy Corpsman with a Marine Photographic Squadron, got Connie a ride in a Grumman Tigercat  aircraft.

Finally the good times ended, and he was shipped to San Francisco for discharge on June 16, 1946 - two years to the day after his induction.  He graduated from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln on the GI Bill and married his wife Enid while in school.

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