KILLING GROUND ON OKINAWA: The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill.
Click the photo to buy the book.
Sugar Loaf Hill was a small, insignificant-looking mound, barely 50 feet high and about 300 yards long, situated on the southern end of Okinawa. It was part of a triangle of strongpoints set up by the Japanese defenders designed to delay and damage the attacking American forces. The other two points of the triangle were the higher terrain of Shuri Heights and an irregular-shaped set of hills that Marines called the Half Moon.
The Sixth Marine Division was given the task of taking the mound called Sugar Loaf, and it would prove costly. By the time the area was considered secure, 1,656 Marines would be dead and another 7,429 wounded. Regiments were reduced to company strength, and companies to platoon size. Platoons and squads simply ceased to exist in some cases. It took 11 tries during a 12-day period and ate up most of three regiments before the hill was taken. Why this was so, and how the hill was eventually taken, is the subject of James Hallas’ World War II book, “Killing Ground on Okinawa: The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill.”
Hallas interviewed a number of survivors of the battles and coupled their recollections with unit official accounts to come up with a story that graphically and explicitly describes the horrors of the battles and the courage and sacrifices exhibited by the attacking Marines. This book is not for the faint of heart. When Hallas writes of the battles, he includes descriptions of horrific wounds suffered by the casualties that make even calloused gunnery sergeants cringe. In doing so, he is merely passing on the sights and smells of the assaults indelibly imprinted in the memories of those who survived, and who passed on their recollections to the author. These stories are what make the chapters come alive for the reader.
Leathernecks of Company G, 22d Marine Regiment were the first to bump heads with the mound, and the first to feel the heat of the interlocking fires. By the end of its struggle to take Sugar Loaf, “George” Co would be down to 24 men of its original complement. When it was relieved, more units were ordered into the fight and were consumed one by one. Many times, Marines reached the summit of the mound only to be driven off or killed by the murderous fire. Eventually, the realization sank in, that the mound was an interlocking system of caves and tunnels with the firing ports so cleverly disguised as to be virtually undetectable. The tanks being used to support the assaults often fell victim to mines, artillery and antitank fire. Those who got through were ineffective in taking out the bunkers because of the camouflage.
The Japanese were so entrenched that many Marines fought the battles without ever sighting the enemy. The frustration they felt is summed up in one chapter that describes a colonel shaking hands with the Marines who returned from one of the fights. One Marine refused to shake hands, saying: “I don’t deserve any commendation. I took the worst licking of my life and never even got one of them in my sights.”
The stories Hallas tells are ones of bravery and devotion to duty. When officers and noncommissioned officers fell, privates stepped up and assumed command. The killing ground leading up to Sugar Loaf was littered for days by the dead, and it was only after the battle that they could be recovered. The war ended shortly after Sugar Loaf and Okinawa were secured. For some of the survivors, it has never ended.
KILLING GROUND ON OKINAWA: The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill.
By James H. Hallas. Published by Naval Institute Press.
272 pages. Softcover. Stock #159114356X.
$17.95 MCA Members. $19.95 Regular Price.
Related Content
- Key To The Castle (April 1972) (Magazine Page)
- Okinawa: The Final Great Battle of World War II (Article)
- Fighting For Okinawa, 1945 (Magazine Page)
- IWO JIMA: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific. (Book Review)
- "Sledgehammer" At War And At Peace (Article)
Subscriptions to Leatherneck Magazine are a benefit of being a Marine Corps Association & Foundation member. You’ll receive Leatherneck Magazine in print, have access to a number of other benefits and be supporting Marines. Membership begins at $35.00 annually. Join now.
Today in USMC History
1919 - The 15th Marine Regiment landed to help quell bandits in the Dominican Republic.
1991 - A Marine recon unit was the first U.S. force to enter Kuwait City and retake the American Embassy.
Related Article: Down in the Dominican Republic By Maj Edwin N. McClellan Marine Corps Gazette (May 1932)
Follow Us
Historic Leatherneck Magazine Covers
Leatherneck Staff Artist, Technical Sergeant Robert Fleischauer, felt that our July cover should be commemorative of the Fourth of July. Since the members of the missile units are probably the Corps' best rocketeers, he picked them to perform a standard Fourth of July action. Whether or not the "Honest Johnny" is useful as a combat piece is a matter for debate, but you can't beat it for morale." [July 1957.]
“The Join Up on the Nick” by Major Alex Durr, USMCR, a member of the History Division, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
Hospitalman Daniel T. Bobic, assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 3d Battalion, Second Marine Regiment, rappelled at the Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa, Japan, in late April, 2002.
The oldest post of the Marine Corps, Washington, DC, is celebrating 200 years of excellence. Posed near the Barracks main gate were members of the official Color Guard of the United States Marine Corps (left to right): LCpl Joseph N. Keough, rifleman; Sgt Blake L. Richardson, Color Sergeant of the Marine Corps; Cpl Gerardo A. Guajardo, organizational color bearer; and LCpl Gregory A. Serwo, rifleman.
Photo of Candidate Kenneth Williamson of Company C, Officers Candidate School Class 173.
GySgt Verlando Frazier, East Coast Food Service Management Team, looked ready to dig into some of the new items included in MREs.
This photo by Sgt Earnie Grafton of Marines from Fox Co., 2/4 shows varied emotions as they greeted the coalition forces outside Kuwait city.
A fleet of trucks was needed to transport Dr. Felix de Weldon’s original model of the Iwo Jima flag-raising statue from the sculptor’s home in Newport, R.I., to the grounds of the Marine Military Academy at Harlingen, Texas. After the statue’s arrival, a nearly around-the-clock effort by skilled workmen was required in order to have the memorial reassembled and ready for dedication ceremonies on April 16, 1982.
In April this year (1981), two squadrons of AV-8A “Harriers” sailed for the Mediterranean aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau. Purpose of the cruise was to demonstrate the Navy/Marine Corps team’s capability to augment naval forces in any area of the World on short notice and to provide at-sea training for Marine Harrier pilots.
The cover of Leatherneck’s Bicentennial issue is an oil painting by the late Colonel Donald L. Dickson, USMCR. The painting depicts General George Washington’s Colonial troops at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Va., during the French and Indian War.
Sightseeing tours for the men of the Marine Barracks, San Juan, Puerto Rico, include a trip to the El Morro Fortress. San Juan is now retired as a Post of the Corps.
The Marines in Vietnam have found that the programs which work best are those which operate close to the people. Our July cover is a mixed media (acrylic and charcoal) by Art Editor James L. Hopewell. It catches the spirit of Marines who enjoy their relationship with the Vietnamese around them.
In Naples, Italy, Marines are responsible for the internal security of the Headquarters of NATO’s Southern European Command, while the elite Carabinieri Corpa provides external security. PFC Robert M. Mallard’s NATO shield was admired by a Carabiniere as the two men prepared to take up their side-by-side posts at the entrance of the imposing NATO Headquarters, which appears in the background of this cover.
"We've Fought In Every Clime And Place": Stamping out the Caco Insurrection in the Republic d' Haiti.
"From Dawn To Setting Sun": Marine Occupation in Defense of Shanghai, March, 1927.
"Our Flag's Unfurled To Every Breeze": Punitive Expedition against Qhallah Battoo, February, 1832.
"We Are Proud To Claim The Title Of United States Marines"
"And To Keep Our Honor Clean": The fight to the finish at Bladensburg, August, 1814.
"First To Fight For Right And Freedom": The Marine expedition in Cuba in June, 1898.
"On The Land As On The Sea": The "Bon Homme Richard" encounters the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.
"We Fight Our Country's Battles": The fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in 1865.
"On The Land As On The Sea": The "Bon Homme Richard" encounters the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.
"We Fight Our Country's Battles": The fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in 1865.
"First To Fight For Right And Freedom": The Marine expedition in Cuba in June, 1898.
“To The Shores Of Tripoli”: Storming the fortifications at Derne, Tripoli, 1805.
"From The Halls Of Montezuma": The assault on Chapultepec Castle--Mexico City, 1847
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES: U.S. Marines And Miskito Indians: The Rio Coco Patrol Of 1928, published in the Marine Corps Gazette, November 1996.
“To The Shores Of Tripoli”: Storming the fortifications at Derne, Tripoli, 1805.
"From The Halls Of Montezuma": The assault on Chapultepec Castle--Mexico City, 1847
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES: U.S. Marines And Miskito Indians: The Rio Coco Patrol Of 1928, published in the Marine Corps Gazette, November 1996.
January 2002: The Marines engraved another mark in the rich history of the Corps when they came from more than 400 miles offshore to establish a forward operating base south of Kandahar in the war on terrorism. The Marine CH-46 helicopter on the cover, photographed by PH1(AW/SW) Greg Messier, USN, fought in the desert sand to land and resupply Marines such as the ones (inset) photographed by Sgt Joseph R. Chenelly.
January 2001: This firefight during the Frozen Chosin Reservoir Campaign of 1950 was painted by “Chosin Few” veteran Jack Cannon, who served with Company B, 1st Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment and resides in the warmer climes of New Mexico. The cover was part of Leatherneck’s 50th anniversary salute to the Korean War veterans.
January 1992: This cover photograph of runners during Marine Corps Marathon XVI in Washington, D.C., was photographed by Sgt Deirdre Hallett.
January 1991: This month’s cover by Ross Simpson captures the Marines’ waiting-but-ready posture in the Middle East.
January 1982: Participants in the Sixth Annual Marine Corps Marathon presented a colorful spectacle as they began the 26-mile, 385-yard run in Washington, D.C., November 1, 1981. The cover photo, by Tom Bartlett, was taken from a bridge overlooking Highway 50 about a half-mile from the starting line.
January 1981: Nearly 7,800 runners participated in the Fifth Annual Marine Corps Marathon held in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. The oldest finisher was 78; the youngest was 10. Leatherneck staffer Ron Lunn pre-positioned himself near the Nation’s Capitol to photograph runners during their 14th mile of the 26-mile, 385-yard course.
January 1972: This month’s cover, by Marine Combat Artist Peter Gish, shows members of the New Corps sightseeing in the Old World. While on liberty in Athens, Greece, the 3d Bn, Eighth Marines, were able to tour the Erektheon Porch and Cariatides. The water color is from the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Art collection.
January 1971: Happy New Years!
Originally Published December 2005 -- This cover always makes us smile. Merry Christmas!
Originally Published December 2004 -- Maybe she received better-fitting gloves?
Originally Published December 2003 -- That sums it up.
Originally Published December 2001 -- Cute.
Originally Published December 1999 -- Santa's been promoted!
Originally Published December 1984 -- Is he standing guard, or looking out over home?
Originally Published December 1983 -- Something tells us that we could date the cover without knowing when it was published.
Originally Published December 1982 -- Christmas Eve at the chapel aboard Quantico.
Originally Published December 1981 -- Is the dog singing the harmony?
Originally Published December 1979 -- Coming home.
Originally Published December 1975 -- A more traditional Christmas cover.
Originally Published December 1973 -- That's either a big tree or a small Marine!
Originally Published December 1972 -- We're not sure what's more interesting, Santa or the old style gas pump.
Originally Published December 1968 -- This cover expresses the wishes of Marines, both to their fellow Marines and to their families waiting at home, for a "Merry Christmas."
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Leatherneck Poll
Leatherneck FAQs
.gif)
This November 1992 article in the Marine Corps Gazette looked at the uniform regulations of 1859 and the attempt to standardize uniforms within the Corps. Read the story and see more pics.
Recent comments
| Noise | 4 hours 1 min ago |
| Noise | 4 hours 1 min ago |
| Unrealistic | 7 hours 32 min ago |
| Its about time | 7 hours 38 min ago |
| an interesting first hand account of marines in the civil war. | 9 hours 41 min ago |
| As the gas price is | 14 hours 35 min ago |
| Dewey Canyon | 17 hours 19 min ago |
| Operation Dewey Canyon research | 17 hours 36 min ago |
Advertising
Comments
Survivor of sugar loaf hill
I got a friend that still survives from that battle today. He was one of the men that over took sugar loaf hill and lived to tell about it. He, has told me many stories about how tough it was in that battle with Japan. He survives in East Prairie, Mo. His name is ( Tom Loomas).
Sincerely Claude Wheatley.
Sugarloaf
My dad was in Sixth Marine Division. Also survived. William Henry Horvath. I was stationed in Okinawa with Third Marine Division 74/75. My dad would never talk about the war but after I was discharged , we sat up late one night and he told me about some of the battles he was in. One was Sugarloaf, later he went to Korea and fought at the Chosin Resevoir. I am thankful for all these men who served. Semper Fi
that must have brutal
that must have brutal
sugar loaf
Do you know what the Japanese have done to Sugar Loft Hill?
Sugar Loaf Hill
Yes, while serving with 3d FSSG and living in Makimanato I stood on top of the hill in 1984.
There was no building on the hill only grass and schrubs.
S/f,
Tom Hayden
LtCol USMC (Ret)
My Uncle Died
My Uncle, Patrick W. Cremin was killed on Sugar Loaf Hill on May 23. His two best friends, Robert Klasen and Don Henderson survived. Don received a bad wound. He is still living in Amarillo, Texas. I was just a kid then, 10 years old.
Jim "Baldy' Cremin
Good to know your still above
Good to know your still above ground, Baldy. I was one. Tucker McHugh, BK '62
Jim's Uncle.
I was there, so he must have been killed on the 13th, battle ended on the 18th. Harry McKnight H 3 29th, Marines
Thank you.
Thank you.
Uncle Patrick
He must have died in the 13th. The battle ended on the 18th.
Harry McKnight, PFC, H-3-29th Marines
my Dad was in co g
he was wounded the 1st day of the battle Buster Smith of Sallisaw Okla
My grandfather, Kent "Red"
My grandfather, Kent "Red" Ferguson fought and survived that damn hill... He was later killed in a coal mining accident, saving another miner from being crushed by a runaway coal trolly. I never met my grandfather but heard stories of the horrors he encountered on Sugarloaf.
COAL
DAD ALSO WAS A MINER GOT WINGED ON SUGARLOAF. '' BAKERTON, PA ''
my dad was a medic at sugarloaf
my dad was a medic at sugarloaf...he is gone now, but lost a finger there...and also was buried alive from a granade...he told the story of how he could only move a finger, and proceeded to dig himself out with that finger until he could move his hand, and so forth.....i wish i talked with him more about his time there before he passed away.....
My Uncle was Captain Owen Stebbins
Remember Owen saying most of his company was killed or wounded on Sugar Loaf Hill. Owen was badly wounded and was carried off the field. One corporal Jim Day rose to rank of General and was later awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Sugar Loaf Hill...40 years later by President Clinton.
The Crucible
There is a station on The Crucible that is about General Day and his MOH. Amazing.
Semper fidelis
Capt. Stebbins was my dads CO
My dad never really talked to us about the battle of Sugar Loaf until after we (3 sons) joined the Marine Corps. We grew up with Corps values as he lived them. My Dad was a BAR man and one of the few in G, 22, that walked off the hill when they were finally relieved. Dad passed away 2 years ago, he became a teacher, coach and high school principal and passed on his values to many students and athletes. Dad spoke of Capt, Stebbins often and how he admired his leadership qualities. You Uncle was a good man
Brian Stephan , Sgt. USMC , son of Larry Stephan, Cpl. USMC, part of the greatest generation.
HUGO G. DONATELLI MY FATHER
DAD WAS A PFC. GOT WINGED IN THE RIGHT ARM. LOST MANY FRIENDS. RETURNED AND LIVED A LONG LIFE AND PASSED ONE MONTH SHY OF 90. DAD WAS A MARINE FOR LIFE ALTHOUGH DISCHARGED IN 1945. I'M A NAVY VIETNAM VET MYSELF. GOD BLESS AMERICA. GOD BLESS THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS. HUGO F. DONATELLI arkfromfreetown@comcast.net
PFC James ODea
My wifes Uncle PFC J.G. ODea was killed on May 17th trying to protect his wounded buddy from a sniper
Saleen
My grandfather helped take sugerloaf with the sixth marine division easy company.
PFC Richard Petroski - Buffalo, NY
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=70547877
When was this published?
When was this published?
Glenn Moore 6th Marines
My grandpa enlisted in the 6th Marine Division as soon as he was of age and took part in this battle. He doesn't talk about it very often but I researched and found his regiment. He was a mortarman I believe and almost was killed overnight in a foxhole. He had moved to another foxhole nearby because another Marine was having a night terror and screaming. My grandpa held on to the man, trying to keep him quiet and watched as the hole he had come from was blown up. He ran a Marine Family Newsletter for the past 15 years to keep in touch with buddies from his regiment and will be turning 90 this November.
Walter W. Gauer 6th Marine Division
My Grandfather passed away December 30, 2012 at the age of 90 and was part of the 6th Marine Division. He was a proud Marine and often spoke of Sugar Loaf Hill and what he saw, he had a lot of close calls with death and had a friend die in his arms. He was my hero but never looked at himself as a hero he always said there were a lot of people doing the same thing as him.
My grandfather lost touch with his friends from the Marines and would often say he wished he was still in contact with some of the guys, then about 10-15 years ago a fellow Marine contacted my uncle with the same name as my grandfather asked him he was in WWII my uncle then contacted my grandfather and my grandfather was reunited with his friends he had seen so many years before, they welcomed him and my grandmother and met on a yearly basis for as long as they all could. I only have had the privilege of meeting one or two of his former Marine friends but they all sounded like amazing people.
To all the Marines that had servered in that battle and every battle since. Thank you!
Semper Fi
6th Marine division association reunion.
For all members of the 6th Marine division. There is a reunion next August in Quantico VA. Any relatives or friends are welcome to attend. Go the website
and click on the Newsletter. All information is there.
Harry McKnight, Chaplain sixth Marine division Association.
Uncle killed on Sugar Loaf Hill
My Uncle Martin A. Tucker fought in the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill. He was a machine gunner. One of his buddies was injured and he went out to rescue him.Then another buddy needed help but my uncle was shot and killed trying to rescue him. He was buried at the cemetary on Okinawa. Later a military funeral was held for all of those who had fallen on Okinawa.The cemetary had a chapel and all the crosses were facing the China Sea. In 1949 his remains were to the states to the Golden Gate National Cemetary,south of San Francisco and there he was laid to rest. Years later I visited the cemetary with my little boys and found his grave site.
Golden Gate National Cemetery.
Tucker, Martin Allan, b. 11/20/1915, d. 05/15/1945, PVT USMC WWII, Plot: B 8, bur. 04/06/1949, *
My grandfather fought in that
My grandfather fought in that battle he was shot in the shoulder if he was shot 2 inch to the right I would not be alive
My uncle, Corporal Edwin Saxe
My uncle, Corporal Edwin Saxe was KIA on the 13th of May just as the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill was getting under way. He was CO G, 29th Regiment. He was only 18. Family never got over it.
David Fulenwider
Good friend of mine, Harry
Good friend of mine, Harry Kiziarian earned the Navy Cross there. RIP Harry
PFC Ralph W. Raby
I have the letters from my mom to her first husband...she was a War Bride and Widow before she was 18...
it was 3 months before she knew that he had been KIA at the Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill...
the red stripe on the Marine Uniform comes from this battle. Wow, lots of emotions just came back up.
I have the Western Union Telegraph that she received while working as a "Soda Jerk" at the Ute Cinema in Saguache, CO when the messenger arrived on a bicycle.
By the time his remains were brought home, my mom was married to my dad who was a Captain in the Army Air Corps, Retired.
I am going to publish these...the letters that were never opened are wrapped with a red ribbon.
Mom never really got over this.
Milton G. Parins WWII Memorial
My name is Patrick, and my father, Milton George Parins, was THERE.
On the last day of fighting, he was sent out to repair a line with another marine behind him. The Marine behind him went down, dead, and the Medic came out and my dad heard another "CRACK." Both soldiers went down, and somehow my dad survived, as he does to this day. He will be 90 on Feb 20th, and after that battle, has been on easy street ever since. Dad later saw the devastation of Nagasaki firsthand. I took him to Pearl Harbor in 1994. He saw the beginning and was there at the end. My dad's butt was saved on the 82 days of Okinawa, however, Mr. Truman saved his butt and many others.
The 6th Marine Division deserves GREAT respect. Semper Fi, Do or Die.
Way to Go Milton, You Made Your Mother (and many others) Very Proud.
P.S. My dad is listed on the WWII Memorial. It's free to list your Veteran, so please do as time is of the essence.
Post new comment