elsie item issue 61 - USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association

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THE LAST ASSAULTOF LCI 373 (G)by Jimmie A. Prime, RDM 2nd ClassUSS LCI (G) 373Grand Terrace, CALCI (G) 373 steams past the USS Hopping on its way tothe Okinawa Invasion Firing LineOn the night of 25 March, 1945, we were en routeto Kerama Retto Nanse Shoto, Okinawa Shima, setto arrive at dawn for line of departure to assaulton Kuba Shima, an island of that group (March26). We made our fire mission using 40 and 20mm guns, at targets of opportunity. The actualtroop landing was canceled for the day.On 27 March we again went to the line departureand again used our 40 mm and 20 mm guns, plus4.5 inch rocket barrage. The troops were landed.This was to be the first of our many trips to thebeach in the nearly three month stay in theOkinawa Shima vicinity.We had made a number of troop assaults beforethese. That included the island of Saipan andthen Tinian, both in the Mariana Islands. We thenwere a part of Macarthur’s Navy for the assault atLeyte Island, and then Linguan Gulf at LuzonIsland in the Philippines.Between 24 March and 31 March, 1945, we wereto perform four fire support missions in supportof underwater demolition team swimmers(UDTs). I believe that we had eight LCIs lined upfor the UDT support. We had no way of knowingwhat to expect.This was the same support mission performed bytwelve ships from our flotilla at Iwo Jima, whichwere badly mauled by Japanese shore batteries inorder to do this. Eleven of them were hit andthey took many casualties.At Okinawa, it fell to our group to perform theseduties. In the picture are two old Battle Wagons(BBs) that were to support us if we encounteredheavy shore fire. We did not. We had just somesmall arms fire coming from burial vaults on thebeach.The Wagons were the New York (BB 34) and Idaho(BB 42). Also in the picture is the U.S.S. Hopping(APD 51) which served as Mothership for theswimmers and their small boats. The bow wavefor the LCI 373 shows that we were in a hurry toget to the firing line.On 1 April, 1945, we returned to our old functionof fire support for the assault wave, using 40 mmand 20 mm guns, and 4.5 inch assault rockets.This landing, at Okinawa Shima, served to securethe island before the possible assault of Japanproper. The battle for Okinawa Shima had begun,and we thought we would be leaving soon. Notso. Little did we know that our stay in this areawould be nearly three months.On 13 and 14 April, 1945, we again went to thebeach in support of UDT swimmers to clear thebeach for troop assault, at Ie Shima. This occurredon 16 April, 1945. We again used our 40 mm and20 mm fire, along with rockets, in support of theassault wave of troops. Some may recall that thiswas the same island where the very good friendof the “little guy” was killed while visiting thetroops. May the good Lord bless Ernie Pyle. Hewas shot by a sniper on Ie Shima.While at Okinawa, our time between beachassaults was used in almost continual patrollingfor small boat activity and dealing with Kamikazeactivity. This meant constant “General Quarters”.We were to finally leave Okinawa and the area inJune 1945, en route to Saipan. We were ready fora breather. This proved to be, unknown to us atthe time, the last assault by the LCI (G) 373.24
DID AN LCI ARRIVE AHEADOF SCHEDULE ON OMAHABEACH?The Puzzling Claim of a GermanHistorianA most interesting communication was recentlyreceived from Robert H. Wolf of New Orleans, LA,who has been translating several books aboutOmaha Beach by a German Historian Helmut vonKeusgen. Von Keusgen relates an incident reportedto him by a German soldier who was manning amachine gun on the beach defenses which, if true,would mean that an American LCI arrived atOmaha Beach at 0630 on the morning of June 6,1944, before the first waves of LCAs and LCVPsarrived.“It seems highly unlikely”, comments Wolf, “thatthis event happened at the time or quite in themanner described, but perhaps it bears someresemblance to an actual event”. Seeking to addsome clarification to the preface to the English editionof this German’s account, Wolf inquires if anymember of the LCI Association could shed any lighton the matter.The report is so interesting that we thought wewould share it with our readers and give you all achance to wonder at it along with us.The following is taken from “WN 62 –Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach, Normandie, 6 Juni1944” (WN 62 – Reminiscences of Omaha Beach,Normandy, June 6, 1944) by Hein Severloh, with theassistance of Helmut van Keusgen, a German historianand publisher, p55ff.At shortly before 0630, after the heavy bombardmentof their battleships had stopped, I noticed alarge, thin and tall boat in our bay coming fromthe northeast toward our wide ebb tide beach –directly in front of our sector and 600 metersfrom Strongpoint WN 62 (located just at theboundary between Easy Red and Fox Green sectors).It was a troop landing ship with a pointed bowand a shallow hull, next to which, on either sidetwo large gangplanks were lowered. An immensenumber of soldiers appeared at the railing whobegan to go down the gangplank loaded downwith weapons and equipment. One could see itclearly. Though we had, up until then, alwaysspoken of the “Tommies” we expected, I could seeimmediately from the shape of the helmets andthe large, white letters, US on the bow of thetransport that they were Americans. Theydescended the gangplanks calmly, in orderlycolumns and jumped into the cold, chest-toshoulder-highwater. Many went under for amoment and, half swimming, half wading; theybegan to move slowly toward the beach in frontof our strongpoint.At this time it was almost completely quiet inthe bay, and not a single shot was being fired.We had strict orders to wait until the GI’s wereonly about 400 meters from the upper beach, andin knee-deep water. I ran to the communicationsbunker about twenty meters distant, and calledback:“Now it’s starting; they’re landing!”The operators, who were busy constantly withthe telephone and the radio, couldn’t leave theirbunker, and for that reason they couldn’t knowwhat was going on outside. One of them said tome:“Hein, when you can, let us know what is goingon down there on the beach . . .”Then I ran back through the trench the few stepsto my machine gun. By that time more and moresoldiers had disembarked from the transport (anLCI(L) carried about 150 soldiers). After theAmericans got a footing, they waded in two longcolumns, one behind the other, through thewater, and each held on to the belt of the one infront with his left hand. Everything went in sucha cool and orderly way, as if they were merelyconducting an exercise. (The Americans had clearlythought, after the bombing and heavy naval barrage,that they could count on a complete absence25
Page 3: A Word from the EditorEditing your
Page 7: LETTERS TO THE EDITORWe’ve got an
Page 11: YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!The
Page 14 and 15: As the restoration took a more and
Page 16 and 17: JIM McCARTHY ON THE BINNACLE LIST;J
Page 18 and 19: “ON WATCH” MEMORIAL DEDICATEDAT
Page 20 and 21: Remember. His remarks were followed
Page 22 and 23: and fog generator at the stern of t
Page 26 and 27: of resistance from the German side.
Page 28: AGATHA CHRISTIE, NOTED MYSTERY WRIT

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