Illustration: Marine Corps Historical Center In the end, victory was achieved at Okinawa by well-trained assault troops on the ground, like this Marine flamethroweroperator and his watchful rifleman.
Illustration: A Marine flamethrower operator moves forward to assault a Japanese pillbox on Motoyama Airfield.
For weary flamethrower operators Pvt Richard Klatt, left, and PFC Wilfred Voegeli the campaign is just one cave after another.
McCahill Collection Flamethrower teams look like futuristic fighters as they leave their assembly area heading for the front lines.
Not only did the Marines have all the ammunition and flamethrower refills they needed, around the clock, but they also had many of the less obvious necessities and niceties which marked this battle as different from its predecessors.
The casualty rate for flamethrower operators was high, since they were prime targets for Japanese fire because of the profile they had with the flamethrowers strapped to their backs.
Illustration: During a break in the fighting, Marines of a flamethrower and demolitions team pose with the Japanese flag captured during action after the American landing.
Then I tried to maneuver our flamethrower man into a position where he could give the crevice a blast without becoming a sitting-duck target himself.
On the lower levels, the flamethrowertanks were spouting their napalm jets upward into other caves.
Illustration: Army soldiers lie warily on the ground as their flamethrower pours a sheet of fire on a Japanese pillbox.
While the most of the men are carrying M1 rifles, the flamethrower in their midst may well prove crucial.
Most adult American males who can remember their teenage years will recognize that the notion of building a flamethrower in your garage is an incredibly neat-o idea.
Bonnyman stepped forward, emptied his flamethrower into the onrushing Japanese, then charged them with a carbine.
The backpack flamethrower won universal acclaim from the Marines on Betio.
Flamethrower tanks were sent up against these positions, but the Japanese held on.
