William Brooks AllenAllenWilliam BrooksTNWorld War, 1939-1945Marine CorpsRegimental Weapons Company, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Infantry DivisionSergeantParris Island, South Carolina; Roi Island and Namur Island (Marshall Islands); Saipan and Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific TheaterUnknownVeteran"When they fire those phosphorous shells there at night, you could hear the screamin.'"
(Video Interview, Part 3, 8:37.1)Iwo Jima was William Allen's fourth island invasion in the Pacific Theater and by far the
most horrible. Though he had been told the operation would last only 72 hours, the battle
to take the island lasted almost a month. He was supposed to be among the first off the
boat on the opening day of the battle, but he was held back by his commanding officer—
and his replacement lasted only ten steps onto the beach before he was killed. The
Japanese resistance was fierce, the island's terrain offered many hiding places, and the
enemy offered a new piece of artillery: phosphorous shells whose fragments burned
through clothing and skin. (Allen's account of Iwo Jima begins in Part 3 of the interview
at the 4:30 mark.)William Allen, 2002The WarThe invasion of Iwo Jima against a determined enemy with a horrible new weaponComing in to the island on the first morning; escaping death twice by being reassigned to different locations.How he was wounded and evacuated from Iwo Jima after eight days; raising two flags on Mt. Surabachi.Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congresshttps://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.09542/DLC-AFC2023-05-08loc.natlib.afc2001001.09542