Grevich carried the A&M2 standard machine gun maintenance manual in his bag. He hoped that would suffice if any questions arose. The convoy headed west, toward the Japanese archipelago. Grevich wondered if his illegally acquired machine guns would prove effective in combat or if they would betray him when the Marines needed them most.
The convoy stopped at Wakato on February 5. The Marines conducted equipment checks. Grevich inspected all six weapons. He carried out test firings at an improvised range on the island. All six functioned. The overheating problem persisted, but the weapons fired reliably in short bursts of 5 to 10 rounds, followed by a pause, then another 5 to 10 rounds.
This firing pattern was effective in neutralizing enemy pillboxes. On February 13, the convoy conducted a training landing at Tinian. This was the final rehearsal before Ewoima. Grevich landed all six guns during this exercise. He wanted to test their performance in a real amphibious assault. The guns withstood the landing, but the ammunition crates were badly damaged.
The salt spray corroded the metal. Sand jammed the feeding mechanisms. Gravich and Little spent two days cleaning and waterproofing the crates. They wrapped the weapons in canvas tarpaulins for the assault. On February 16, the convoy arrived off the coast of Euoima. The island, with an area of 21 square kilometers, was composed of volcanic rock.
Mount Surabachi dominated the southern tip. Intelligence services estimated the number of Japanese defenders at 21,000, most of them entrenched underground. The island had been under bombardment for 74 consecutive days. Battleships and naval cruisers had fired thousands of shells at the beaches, but reconnaissance photographs showed that the defenses were still intact. The plan called for the landing of the 28th Marine Regiment at Green Beach.
This beach lay at the far left of the landing zone, just below Mount Surabbachi. The regiment’s mission was to cross the narrowest part of the island, cut the mountain off from the remaining Japanese defenses, and then storm and capture Surabbachi. The terrain was unforgiving: black volcanic sand that absorbed mortar and artillery impacts, steep terraces that channeled attackers into deadly firing positions, and pillboxes and bunkers covering every approach.
On February 18, Gravich assembled his firing team. He explained how the modified weapons would work: short bursts only, never sustained fire. The barrel would overheat and the weapon would jam. The Marines would therefore fire, pause, fire again, then pause. Each gunner would carry 200 rounds in crates. Additional ammunition carriers would transport spare belts.
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