1925 - 1994
Corporal US Marine Corps
Corporal William J. "Bill" Muhlbauer - United States Marine Corps.
William Muhlbauer
William J. "Bill" Muhlbauer was born on his parents' farm
between Manning and Halbur on March 18, 1925. He went to St. Augustine School
in Halbur and worked on his home farm after graduation. He drove a truck for
the Halbur Creamery and worked for a packing plant in Omaha, Nebraska.
In February of 1944 he was drafted into the service. Bill recalled that they lined up the draftees and the recruiter said that the Marines needed two men. Bill loved the democratic way they were chosen. The recruiter pointed at Bill who was probably the smallest guy there at 5' 5" and 140 lbs. and at the biggest, broadest guy and said, "You two are Marines!" He trained at Camp Pendleton, CA and was then sent to Hawaii. They were there to get acclimated to the tropical weather and trained on terrain that simulated the conditions on the islands in the Pacific- the ruggedness as well as the heat. Near the base in Hawaii there was the Parker Ranch that had a huge herd of horses. The G.I.s were told they could not leave the base at night and they were not to ride the Parker horses. Of course they did. They probably could have been court-martialed if caught but then again the brass probably looked the other way.
They were trained in skilled warfare, the use of rifles, bayonets, flamethrowers and hand to hand combat. They were not told where they were going when they boarded the ships in February 1945, nor did they expect to be. Bill recalled the troops being very hyper the night before the invasion. They were finally going to see battle. The older Marines were awfully quiet. They'd seen it before. They were then fed one of the biggest meals they'd ever had.
Although the day itself, February 19, 1945 had started clear and calm, the island seemed to disappear in the smoke and explosions. One correspondent wrote, "No one could live through this." But they did.
As they got nearer to Iwo the sea was crowded with battleships, aircraft carriers, medical and personnel transport ships. Over a quarter of a million men were involved in the attack although the lion's share of the assault was taken on by the just over 70,000 Marines of the 4th and 5th divisions and one reserve unit-the 3rd. Off shore huge transport ships unloaded the men. They went over the sides in huge cargo nets and from there were lowered to smaller boats that took them to the island. Each Marine carried a hundred pounds of gear. Bill came in with the 5th Division, 2nd battalion on the first day of the battle. The Japanese had expected them to come in on the smooth beaches but Bill recalled they came onto Iwo on a side with a coral reef that went straight up. The B29s had bombed all night so that by morning it was a flat beach head.
Kuribayshi and his men were ready. On some beaches they sprayed the Marines with continuous machine gun fire as they waded ashore. On others they let the Marines come ashore with relatively little trouble. They waited until the beach was crammed with men, tanks, trucks and supplies. Then they let loose on the body jammed beach with withering fire, mortars and bombs. They were sure to hit something. Those who did make it off the beach were hit by the artillery fire that came from deep within the crevices dug into the island.
Kurobayshi had over 800 pillboxes or blockhouses on the island. These were built of thick concrete with steel reinforcing rods. The walls were three feet thick, the ceilings six feet. They were camouflaged with sand and had slits that exposed only the muzzles of the artillery.
Bill's unit, as well as many others, was to go forward and clear out these pillboxes. They were to approach from the flank, some armed with machine guns, others with flamethrowers or grenades. The casualties were high. Bill and his squad noticed a rhythm to the firing from the concrete bunkers. Rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 would fall in the front and rounds 5, 6, and 7 would fall further back and between the first 4. Once running toward a box Bill realized after the first few rounds that shot number 7 would hit right in his path. Suddenly another Marine came from behind the pillbox, threw in a grenade and shot number 7 was never fired.
By the third day of the battle, torrential rains fell on Iwo. Rain mixed with the volcanic ash and sand clogged the Marines' rifles. Still they moved forward. Climbing Mt. Suribachi the marines going up the mountain could hear the Japanese talking deep inside under them. On the 5th day, February 25, 1945, five Marines and one Navy corpsman mounted the flag atop Suribachi. Bill witnessed the event recalling "I saw the flag go up." His unit was probably a little too preoccupied that day to give it the attention the rest of the world did. A photo taken of this was one of the most dramatic of WWII.
Bill's luck did not hold out forever. On February 26, eight days after they had landed, the foxhole Bill was in was being strafed by machine gun fire, mortars and artillery fire. Shrapnel tore into his right arm and leg. Nineteen year old Bill was carried by fellow Marines back down through the lines and onto the beach to one of the field hospitals to await evacuation to a hospital ship. Here he expressed his one complaint about the Marine Corps - their coffee. It was terrible. A young corpsman stuck a cigarette in his mouth handed him a cup and told him to "drink this." Bill took one look at it. It was coffee heavily laden with awful looking cream. He didn't want it. The medic insisted. Bill still didn't want it. The medic was persistent saying that it would make him feel a lot better. Bill once said, "I think I drank it to keep him quiet." It was horrible and he promptly threw it up. In the years that followed he did drink coffee, but black, always black. He never drank coffee again with cream of any kind in it.
Aboard the hospital ship, Bill and others that were able, helped the overworked medics with the more critically wounded. He was taken to Guam and there transferred to another hospital ship and taken to Hawaii where he was hospitalized for the removal of the shrapnel much of which remained in his body his entire life.
Seven months later in September of 1945, one month after the dropping of the two atomic bombs, he was sent to the then occupied Japan and assigned as an orderly and a driver for Colonel Antonelle. He witnessed first hand the destruction at Nagasaki and wondered at the almost total annihilation of the civilian population there.
As his tour of duty was drawing to a close, the Marine Corps wanted him to re-enlist, extolling the virtues and opportunities of the Marines. Bill knew all about the "creature comforts" and the joys of being a Marine, the "cushy" jobs they offered and the chance to travel to "exotic" locales. Besides, the war was over now and he knew what he wanted to do. On the 18th day of May 1946 he was honorably discharged from the Naval Training Center at the Great Lakes. He received a Purple Heart for his wounds on Iwo. Then he hitchhiked home. He was 21.
Bill Muhlbauer returned to his parents' farm. On March 30, 1948, he married Iola O'Tool. They raised six sons and one daughter on the farm where he was born.
He was a life-long member of the American Legion and later joined the V.F.W. For many years he served on the Legion's burial honor guard from WWII. "We went to an awful lot of funerals," Iola said. He seldom mentioned Iwo Jima and many people who knew him weren't aware he'd been there. There were times though when he'd wake up at night and hear the Japanese coming through the grove on the farm.
He enjoyed fishing, hunting and card playing. He had his own deck of cards, the backside emblazed with, "Make checks payable to William J. Muhlbauer." He had a life long love of horses - "Beauty" being a special one to him. He was also part of the fictitious Halbur University, the mythical college in Halbur, Iowa where he once served as Brewmaster.
In the spring of 1979, Bill was hit suddenly with a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. It did not respond to typical treatments although his doctor assured him he'd be able to go dancing at the Five Mile House in a matter of weeks, which Bill doubted as he had never danced there before. Despite the positive attitude he was forced to retire in the fall of 1980. He and Iola moved to Manning. He went to the farm when he could and they traveled in various parts of the country when he was able. The disease was relentless.
On a frigid January day in 1994, following a packed funeral Mass that ended with The Marine's Hymn, Bill was laid to rest with full military honors at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Manning, Iowa.
THE RITE OF CHRISTIAN
BURIAL FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1994, 10:30 AM SACRED HEART CHURCH, MANNING, IOWA
CELEBRANT REVEREND FATHER RALPH REINHART
MUSIC SACRED HEART CHOIR
LECTOR JEFF MUHLBAUER
LAY MINISTER LARRY MUHLBAUER
MASS SERVERS ROSS MUHLBAUER, RYAN MUHLBAUER
GIFT BEARERS JACKIE MUHLBAUER, KATE MUHLBAUER, ALISSA MCCARTY
INTERMENT SACRED HEART CEMETERY, MANNING, IOWA
CASKETBEARERS: CHAD MCCARTY, MATT MUHLBAUER, BRYAN MUHLBAUER, NICK
MUHLBAUER, RICHARD MUHLBAUER, PAUL MUHLBAUER, PATRICK MCALISTER, STANLEY O'TOOL
MILITARY HONORS EMIL EWOLDT POST 22
OF THE AMERICAN LEGION, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 3517 MANNING, IOWA
PRAYERS THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1994
ROSARY, 3:30 PM
PRAYER SERVICE & ROSARY, 7:00 PM OHDE FUNERAL HOME, MANNING, IOWA
THE FAMILY WISHES TO EXPRESS THEIR GRATITUDE FOR YOUR KINDNESS EVIDENCED IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED, AND INVITES YOU TO JOIN THEM FOR LUNCH AND FELLOWSHIP AT THE CHURCH FOLLOWING THE COMMITTAL SERVICE.
Funeral Services for Mr. Muhlbauer will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, January 7, 1994, at Sacred Heart Church in Manning. The celebrant will be the Rev. Ralph Reinhart. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Manning.
Friends may call after 3:00 p.m. Thursday at Ohde Funeral Home in Manning. A rosary will be recited at 3:30 p.m. and a prayer service followed by a rosary will be held at 7 p.m.
He was born near Halbur on March 18, 1925, the son of Charles and Mary (Stoberl) Muhlbauer. He attended St. Augustine School in Halbur.
During World War II, he served with the United States Marine Corps in Iwo Jima and the occupation of Japan. Mr. Muhlbauer was awarded a Purple Heart. He was discharged in 1946 at the rank of corporal.
On March 30, 1948, he married Iola O'Tool at St. Joseph Church in Carroll. He farmed near Halbur until 1980 when illness forced his early retirement. The Muhlbauers moved to Manning when he retired.
Mr. Muhlbauer was a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Manning, where he had served as parish director. He was also a member of the American Legion and VFW posts in Manning. He served as a member and as president of Halbur University. He enjoyed playing cards and maintained an active interest in farming.
Mr. Muhlbauer was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Henry, Joseph and Anthony; a brother, Joseph in infancy; infant twin daughters in 1955; a brother-in-law, Wayne Kuhse; and a sister-in-law, Ruby Muhlbauer.