U.S. FLAG RAISED

Grey River Argus, 16 March 1945, Page 5

U.S. FLAG RAISED

Over Iwo Jima ENEMY CONTINUES STRUGGLE. (Received March 15, 11.40 p.m.). WASHINGTON, March 15. Admiral Nimitz, in his latest communique from his headquarters, states: Advances of from two to four hundred yards were made on Wednesday by, the Fifth Division of Marines at the northern end of Iwo Jima.- rhe enemy has continued to resist from prepared positions the pressure of our attack. At nightfall on Wednesday the battle was continuing in this sector, and also in that of the . small enemy pocket in the Fourth Division zone. Because of a complex system of caves in which enemy, casualties were trapped and sealed, also because of difficulty in the combat conditions, an exact account of enemy losse's is impossible. Counted burials, plus a most careful estimate of numbers sealed in caves, give twenty thousand as a very close approximation of the enemy killed up to Wednesday. This number is less than that of detailed estimates by front-line commanders. The American flag was formally raised over Iwo J'ima on Wednesday morning, although some enemy resistance still continues. Navy, Army, and Marine planes are now operating from the island. Iwo Jima-based Army fighters on Wednesday bombed and strafed airfield installations on Chichi Jima, and Liberators bombed the airfield. Other Liberators bombed airfield facilities on Kurabusaki. in south Paramushiro. Corsairs and Hellcats attacked the Palau Islands. A correspondent of the Associated Pi-ess on Guam stated: Elements of the fourth and fifth divisions landed on barren rocks eastward of Iwo Jima in order to knock- out Japanese mortar positions which have been lobbing shells at Marines in the Kaitano Point sector. Lieutenant General Holland Smith, a Marine Commander, narrowly escaped death when a Japanese sniper, shot at him and three others standing on a' rock watching fighting in northern Iwo Jima. Genreal Smith said a bullet missed him by six inches. He added: “I looked for a hole in my trousers, it was that close.”