Devil’s cauldron seethes on Iwo
Sulfur fumes stem from crevices
By Lisle Shoemaker, United Press staff writer
WITH U.S. MARINE ASSAULT TROOPS ON IWO (March 3, delayed) – This volcanic terrain in Iwo’s mining district is the most horrible, grotesque and devilish ever imagined. It is what one would think the entrance to Hell looked like.
White clouds of sulfur fumes steam up from every crevice in the twisted crags and depressions of the nightmarish landscape.
Setting for ‘Macbeth’
This northern end of Iwo would make a perfect setting for the witches’ scene in Macbeth. It makes you think that all the witches in the world are crouched over a pot of devil’s brew on the other side of the next hill.
Half-obscured figures of Marines creeping through the evil-smelling clouds of sulfur fumes look like weird figures in a bad dream.
There are many dead Japs scattered around this fantastic spot just past captured airfield No. 2. Only a few sticks of charred, shattered wood mark the site of the house and sulfur mines of Motoyama.
Earth is warm
The earth is warm because of the sulfur boiling and bubbling underground. The troops who fight here merely dig down a little deeper when they are cold during the night.
There are a few dead Marines in sight, too. It takes only a glance at their bodies to realize that this hellhole is real and not a ghastly nightmare.