The extremely bitter and protracted assault on Iwo Jima imposed
a tremendous burden on supporting medical units. From the first
bloody days, when doctors and corpsmen clung grimly to fireswept
beaches, to the end of the battle, a stream of wounded men
passed along the chain of evacuation to receive excellent
medical attention in spite of the difficult military and supply
situation. Hospital LST's lying 2,000 yards offshore played an
important part during the first nine days, receiving casualties
from the beaches and distributing them to APA's and hospital
ships for further treatment. Initially, casualties were carried
from the beach to LST(J)'s in landing craft, LVT's, and DUKW's,
but as surf conditions grew worse and small landing craft could
no longer approach the beaches, amphibian vehicles assumed the
entire burden. The DUKW's proved most satisfactory as they
handled well in the surf and alongside ships and provided
greater comfort for the patients than the wet, bouncing LVT.1
The LST Ozark operated effic