US Army ground units at Iwo Jima

Here's the first wave of stuff. I go on vacation with the family on Wednesday so Ill be out of the loop for about a week. So this will be a really long post. I need to find the history of the regiment he attached in one of his letters. It was a typed memo given to the men on their third anniversary of service in the Pacific. What I found most interesting was my Grandfather was drafted at 36 years old. He was from Texas (as were a decent amount of draftees assigned to the 2/147 INF from his letters) Which having served myself, for whatever reason we Texans seem to gravitate to one another.

Draft Notice


Reading Material







Souvenirs from Iwo Jima








Crossed the Equator



Awards
Everyone in 2/147 INF who earned the CIB on Iwo is listed in this awards memo. It is 24 pages long and broken don by comapnies

 

My dad must have served in that infantry division. He he was from Lynchburg Ohio and was discharged as a tech 4. He was a sharpshooter in World War II and marched in on the beaches at either Iwo Jima or or Okinawa with General MacArthur. He was also in the division that accompanied the bomb through the jungles, and though many may not believe the involvement of this division I do. I remember dad stories while sitting at home trying to come down from yet another flashback and it matches the information that was on wiki . At one point in time the division was under so much secrecy he could not be flown out to attend his mothers funeral, no one knew where they were, or what they were doing. That is probably why there is not an extensive record of their actions. He was in the thick of it, spent two days in a foxhole with another fellow with only a candy bar between them to eat and they could not make a noise. The enemy was camp right above. They survived I'm not sure about the enemy. He had adopted a monkey and it became his pet that accompanied him throughout the jungle as they move the bomb, and it would warn them of incoming enemy platoons or incoming anything. According to dad that monkey saved their lives quite a few times. If there's anyone out there that has any recollection of my father whose name was Harold RammeI, I would love to hear from you. He passed away in 1992. And I'm just now finding what kind of a father I really had. You don't appreciate something until it's gone. ♥️ Dad was transferred from one Company to another a few times because he had skills other than being one heckuva shot, he was also an excellent mechanic. I don't have much detail about that temporary transfer, many of the records were lost when the VA burned several years ago where the archives were held.

 

I really liked the article about the army involvement on I Iwo Jima & Okinawa. I put a lengthy post on the site about the 147th infantry from Ohio . It must've been the one my dad was in or transferred to. I do remember during some of our talks he told me he look sideways and saw a Generals' stars shining in the moonlight as they were invading the beach. He looked closer and it was MacArthur and he said 'damn general what are you doing marching in with us boys?' & the general (McArthur!) replied 'I wouldn't send my men anywhere I wouldn't go' That has stuck in my memory my whole life. After reading the record of that division, I am more than proud of what dad and his fellow soldiers accomplished. I'm 65 now dad passed in 1992 and I feel like I'm just beginning to get to know him. ♥️ 2nd post

 

My grandfather's brother was on Iwo and other islands in the 147th. He passed when I was 8, so I never got to talk to him. I'd like to see if his name is on the CIB memo. I do not know where any of his medal or citations went. His name is Maxwell Koprivsek. If you are able to help I would greatly appreciate it.

 

I found this site while researching my Dad's service in WWII, which included service on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Tinian as a soldier in the US Army's 147th Infantry Regiment. Interesting to see the orders above for the CIB, wonder if Dad's name was among the pages, or if he was awarded for an earlier action.

Also of interest may be this fairly recent article published in the Army History Journal of History on the 147th actions at Iwo Jima:

https://history.army.mil/armyhistory/AH105(W).pdf

 

Hi , can you descifre anything from my Father’s enlistment/separation papers
Copy of New document

 

Your Father was never on Iwo Jima.

 

She said that she believed that her Dad was in the US 147th Infantry, and that unit was engaged on Iwo Jima during the hostilities there.

 

He was Field Artillery not Infantry. He was with the 90th Field Artillery Battalion not the 147th Infantry. He was never on Iwo Jima.

 

Okie dokie.