Marines Training in Oahu, Hawaii

Personal Photo By: Andrew Bosko

 

The Marines who took part in the battle of Iwo Jima had plenty of training. They began their training at Bradley Field, Connecticut but most of the training was done in Oahu, Hawaii. Knowing that they were to be deployed to another island, working with similar conditions would help them to prepare for battle. While in training, companies would disperse into their platoons and work on tactics such at PT, marksmanship, combat water survival training (CWST), fixed bayonet, and obstacle courses. My grandfather, pictured to the far right, explained to me all that he endured while in Hawaii. He told me, “Our mission was to locate, close width constriction (move in on), and destroy the enemy by any means necessary. We acquired the knowledge to do this mission by our training in Oahu”. The PT was their training to prepare them for the rigors of battle. Every marine is a marksman (a shooter) so time in at the shooting range was important. Another training, fixed bayonet, was where “[the men] were taught to assemble [their] bayonet and use [their gun] for something more then a gun”. Most important to the marines was the CWST, and the obstacle courses. The CWST training was used to teach the marines to swim, and survival tactics such as making a life jacket out of their pants, while the obstacle courses taught them to maneuver around obstacles that they would encounter on the island.

 

Bosko, Andrew, Interviewed by Adrienne Bosko, March 2006, Tape Recording. Tampa, Florida.

 

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