Survivor donates Japanese machinegun
Submitted by: MCAS Yuma
Story Identification #: 20053412628
Story by Pfc. Kamran Sadaghiani



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. (March 03, 2005) -- A former Marine donated a Japanese Type 99 7.7 mm medium machine gun to the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, Va., Feb. 7.

Kenneth H. Stevenson, 80, a Yuma, Ariz., native and a former platoon sergeant with the 27th Regiment, 5th Marine Division, who fought through the bloody battle of Iwo Jima, seized the machine gun on Mount Suribachi Feb. 19, 1945, before returning home.

Stevenson said he felt after holding his souvenir for 60 years; he wanted to give it back as a piece of history.

"The reason I donate this machine gun now is to give it back to the Marine Corps, where it belongs," said Stevenson. "It makes me happy that it's going back to the Marine Corps."

According to his wife, Evelyn S. Holl, he is giving the machine gun back to the Marine Corps because he loves the service so much.

"Ken is very proud of his years in the Marine Corps, and he often speaks of how proud he is of it," said Holl. "For a long time he would dwell on how (the Marine Corps) affected him personally. This is the first time that I can think of that he has come forward."

Stevenson said he was with the first wave of troops to hit the beach at Iwo Jima. Looking back at the past, Stevenson recalled how tough the battle was to survive with the mass casualties his Marines faced.

"We killed about twenty-five thousand Japanese," said Stevenson. "About eight thousand Marines were killed and about twenty thousand wounded."

"We lost fifty percent of the Marines on that invasion," said Stevenson. "The battle itself was quite a sight, with the dive bombers and all the shooting going on. It was a heck of a battle. (The Japanese) fought inch by inch all the way. They fought to the very end.

"All of the Marines on that island knew why we were there," said Stevenson. "Being Marines, we did the job. Were we scared? Yes. The Japanese were shooting at us, and we were shooting at them. It was a typical Marine battle, but every Marine that I knew did the job they were supposed to do."

Stevenson said that after storming the beaches they received enemy fire coming from a cave, which they took out with a flame thrower and explosives, killing three Japanese.

"That morning on the fourth day, we were going up toward the first air strip, and there was some enemy fire from Mount Suribachi," said Stevenson. "So we went over to where the enemy fire was coming from. We ran up on the side of the cave and shoved a flame thrower in there and then threw a satchel charge in the cave."

After clearing the cave, Stevenson and his platoon retrieved the machine gun with other weapons.

Before returning from his deployment, Stevenson made an agreement with his platoon to bring the weapon home and sell it to fund a party. Stevenson said before that could happen, he lost most of his men in battle, so the weapon was left to him.

"We were going to bring the machine gun down and we were going to sell it so we could have a big party. But most of the guys (in my platoon) got killed or wounded, so I ended up with this machine gun for sixty years," said Stevenson.

"Now that it's all over with, (the machine gun is) something the Marine Corps can be very proud of. But it was very costly to us," he added.

"I'm proud of that gun and I'm proud of the Marine Corps. (The museum) is where I want the gun to be. That is part of history, its party of (Iwo Jima) and it's part of the Marine Corps," said Stevenson.



Kenneth H. Stevenson, 80, a Yuma, Ariz., native and a former platoon sergeant with the 27th Regiment, 5th Marine Division, donated to the Marine Corps Museum, Quantico, Va. Feb. 7, a Japanese Type 99 7.7 mm medium machine gun. Stevenson and his platoon retrieved the machine gun from a cave they torched with a flamethrower on Mount Suribachi Feb 19, 1945. Photo by: Pfc. Kamran Sadaghiani

Ellie