Rereading IWO by Richard Wheeler. Forgot to dog ear a page when reading an account of a Japanese attack on some marines... If I recall, the Japanese had tunnelled under a marine position and deposited a great deal of explosive. The detonation killed 40[?] and wounded many. ..Had never heard the J's using tunneling and mass explosives before. Wondering if the trap had been laid before the marines had that position, or if J mined it first- because it looked like a place that would eventually be coveted considering its' location?
I haven't heard of this either, but there are so many tunnels on Iwo, I'm not surprised to hear that the Japanese did this. I have that book on my shelf, but haven't cracked it open yet. Given the relatively short length of the battle, I'd guess that the tunnel was initially part of the Japanese fortifications and was packed with explosives when the Japanese lost the position. A 'kamikaze'-type suicide attack is another strong possibility (ie: the tunnel served as an ammo dump, and a soldier volunteered to blow it up by hand).
Interesting...Thanks George...The book was published in '80...It is more of a stitched together account of many Iwo veterans letters to the author- who also fought and was injured on the island- rather than a comprehesive overview of the Iwo Jima battle...
