5th Marine Division

And, uh, so yes, he was the very first Jewish chaplain, and he landed on Iwo Jima along with the rest of the, the soldiers, uh, probably about two days later.

But he was, um, with the 5th Marine Division, and he was put in charge of their cemetery.

And they'd actually built a...

They were expecting to have about 700 dead, and so they planned a cemetery for 900.

And yet, that was not the case.

Uh, it was not, uh, 100% of the chaplains.

There were seven chaplains assigned to the 5th Marine Division.

Uh, and Gettelsón was actually number two on the list, uh, because he had to go from regiment to regiment.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Closing In Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima by Joseph H. Alexander Sunday, 4 March 1945 marked the end of the second week of the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima.

By this point, the assault elements of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions were exhausted, their combat efficiency reduced to dangerously low levels.

The thrilling sight of the American flag being raised by the 28th Marines on Mount Suribachi had occurred 10 days earlier, a lifetime on Sulphur Island.

The landing forces of the 5th Amphibious Corps had already sustained 13,000 casualties, including 3,000 dead.

Yes, there was Iwo, surprisingly close, just like the pictures and models we had been studying for six weeks.

The volcano was to our left, then the long, flat, black beaches where we were going to land, and the rough, rocky plateau to our right.

The commanders of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, Major Generals Clifton B. Cates and Keller E. Rockey, respectively, studied the island through binoculars from their respective ships.

Each division would land two reinforced regiments abreast.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Closing In Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima by Joseph H. Alexander Sunday, 4 March 1945 marked the end of the second week of the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima.

By this point, the assault elements of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions were exhausted, their combat efficiency reduced to dangerously low levels.

The thrilling sight of the American flag being raised by the 28th Marines on Mount Suribachi had occurred 10 days earlier, a lifetime on Sulphur Island.

The landing forces of the 5th Amphibious Corps had already sustained 13,000 casualties, including 3,000 dead.

Yes, there was Iwo, surprisingly close, just like the pictures and models we had been studying for six weeks.

The volcano was to our left, then the long, flat, black beaches where we were going to land and the rough rocky plateau to our right.

The commanders of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, Major Generals Clifton B. Cates and Keller E. Rockey, respectively, studied the island through binoculars from their respective ships.

Each division would land two reinforced regiments abreast.