It is said that General Kuribayashi had led that final charge, but his body was never found on the battlefield. In the attack 262 Japanese died, 18 captured, and for US forces 52 died and 119 injured. The two charges were both repulsed with considerable losses. Martin, who helped to organize a line of defence, was himself killed in the second wave of attacks, for which he received the final Medal of Honor for Iwo Jima. A mix of Marine shore parties, Air Force crews, AA gunners, and African/American shore details and Seabees all rallied to repulse the attack. In the early light of the 26th, they mounted a coordinated three-pronged attack against the Airfield, taking the American forces by surprise.
Under the cover of darkness around 300 Japanese soldiers slipped through the US lines moving south and then turned from the west towards Airfield No 2. Marines had been pressing the Japanese Forces back into the northern hills of the island for two weeks, and by the evening of March 25th, there was just a small pocket of Japanese defenders left. This officer's sword was recovered after the last banzai charge on Iwo Jima on the morning of March 26th, 1945. No Japanese soldier survived this attack." The photographs of the sword at the time of its capture both show the unsheathed sword in the hands of victorious US servicemen in their base camp, with other captured items spread out around them.Īn exceptional Japanese sword, a fitting tribute to one of the hardest and longest battles fought by the Marine Corps throughout their 4 year campaign in the Pacific Islands. Grenades and swords were the principal weapons used in the attack. One hundred and ninty seven Japanese officers and men staged a Banzai (to the death) charge against our positions. The sword was captured on Iwo Jima in the early morning of 26 March 1945. The official tag reads: "This is an authenticated Japanese officer's samurai sword. A leather woven lanyard is attached to fixture alongside a contemporary brown paper tag detailing the circumstances of the sword's capture. The scabbard is wooden with a brass fixture and a heavily worn dark leather cover, identifying it as late-war issue. The guard incorporates a habaki with push button catch. The cherry blossom insignia of the Imperial Japanese Army is present on the guard, pommel and ornament (menuki).
The visible grain and wave pattern on the blade and the lack of any serial numbers indicate that it was handmade, while the hilt is likewise constructed in the traditional manner with ray skin, but has a non-traditional leather wrap. A Japanese Officer's steel Type 94 Shin-Gunto with scabbard,the brown and blue tassel attached to the hilt indicating that the sword belonged to a company or warrant officer.