Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Set. This is an outstanding and unprecedented Battle of Iwo Jima grouping, belonging to U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Atherton Stevens, who participated in the planning and execution of the Iwo Jima operation, went ashore on D-Day, and was wounded by mortar fire on February 20, 1945, the second day of the battle. He later served as Chief of Staff of D-4, 5th Marine Division from July 2nd, 1945 until the end of the war. The group includes several one-of-a-kind hand-cut aerial photograph overlays of Iwo Jima, a fantastic October 1944 Nanpo Shoto Volume One Confidential information bulletin book, a tremendous collection of original images, some being hand-cut overlays of the Island of Iwo Jima, a binder filled with a confidential list of known Japanese officers serving in the 109th Division and some outstanding confidential photographs, and a myriad of maps, documents, and an extraordinary large officer’s trunk which is UNIS-stenciled for the Headquarters Company, Divisional Headquarters, 5th Marine Division. The trunk shows evidence of overpainting with similar markings underneath, so this trunk saw heavy service with Stevens in-theater.

The trunk measures 46 x 21 x 11” and is stenciled on all sides, named to F.A. STEVENS, LIEUT. COL., U.S.M.C.. The UNIS stencil is the number 111 inside of a hatched rectangle, which specifically denotes the Headquarters Company, Divisional Headquarters, 5th Marine Division. This large-size trunk has two doors, one shorter that opens at the short end, and one wider door that opens on the wide end, with functional latches that are meant to be secured with a padlock. There are several compartments inside as shown, with an address sticker attached inside that reads:

F.A. Stevens
33 Standish Road
Melrose 76, Massachusetts

The trunk retains both rope carry handles at the ends, and this was certainly a trunk meant to be carried by two men. This trunk of its own is already a magnificent artifact of a Marine Corps officer integral to the success and planning of the Invasion of Iwo Jima, but it is only one part of this breathtaking group.

The other items in this group consist of:

- An incredible selection of HAND-CUT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OVERLAYS TAKEN OF IWO JIMA, one of which is a view made up of pieces from FIVE DIFFERENT PHOTOGRAPHS, labeled “Overlay #1” on the back. There are then three smaller overlays made up of two photos, and in the later-mentioned binder is an additional overlay made up of two photos.
- Outstanding large CONFIDENTIAL Iwo Jima Map showing “MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND ESTIMATED TROOP DISPOSITIONS” based on a study of aerial photographs taken from September 2-December 3rd, 1944. There is a red ink chart giving a breakdown of troops from different Japanese regiments and battalions, based on both reported and observed data. This map was printed by the “64TH ENGR. TOP. BN. USAFCPBP MAP REPRODUCTION PLANT” and is serial numbered “NO. 1234” and dated 1945. The map has heavy creasing to both the left and right side because of how it was framed. It measures roughly 28 x 32” and has punched holes along the top. This was absolutely issued and used directly in the planning and invasion of Iwo Jima.
- Original CONFIDENTIAL “UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET AND PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS INFORMATION BULLETIN, NANPO SHOTO VOLUME ONE KAZAN RETTO VOLCANO IS.”, published by CINCPAC-CINCPOA on October 10th, 1944. This large 26 page booklet has tearing to the covers as shown but contains outstanding confidential maps, studies on navigational information, geography, logistics, potential airfields and other facilities, distance tables, and much more. The booklet measures 13 x 14” and has some tearing in the covers, the back cover has detached, and the front cover is only held on by one staple. Thankfully all of the content pages are in great condition without serious damage. 
- Folder of seven fantastic aerial photographs of Iwo Jima, some of which are cut along the edges as pieces of the photos were used to make overlays. Outstanding material.
- Binder filled with pages of CONFIDENTIAL “ESTIMATED LIST OF OFFICERS, BONINS SECTOR”, a very rare list of known Japanese Officers serving with the 109th Infantry Division along with their ranks, units, and FORMER units. This is 31 pages long including each side of each page as its own page. Also in this binder is an aforementioned aerial photograph overlay along with twenty more aerial photographs and photographs of Iwo Jima from far away, all in different sizes and all originals. Then there are some Japanese postcards and a collection of 15 different printed illustrations showing guns, artillery pieces, and other weapons used by the Japanese, drawn with surrounding context for instruction. Some of these are inscribed on the back, for example an artillery piece is inscribed on the back with the gun’s range and rate of fire. Outstanding material.
- Extraordinarily Rare SECRET “ESTIMATED TABLE OF ENEMY ORGANIZATION ON IWO JIMA” with a detailed chart of command starting with Lieutenant General Kuribayashi, Bonins Sector Commander and commanding general of the 109th Division. This is the only example of the extremely scarce document we have ever come across, and was likely issued alongside other confidential materials surrounding Iwo Jima before the battle. This chart corresponds to the list of officers found in the binder!
- January 10 1945 CONFIDENTIAL Iwo Jima Map of “Nearshore, Beach, and Soil Conditions”, marked in corner L-41209-8.
- RESTRICTED March 1944 Japanese Infantry Weapons diagram by the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. Produced by the FMF Pac. Reproduction Section. 
- RESTRICTED October 1944 Japanese Artillery diagram by the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. 
- Various captured Japanese monies, one of which is inscribed “10 SEN OR ABOUT ⅔ CENTS, KYUSHU, JAPAN OCT 13, 1945. 
- 12 x 13” Rising Sun Japanese flag, likely a rifle flag carried by an individual Japanese soldier.
- Several other original photographs of Iwo Jima along with reproduced photos of reenactors in Japanese uniforms, different equipment used by the Japanese, etc, used for the display of this group long ago. 

Frederick Atherton Stevens was born on February 6th, 1898 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Field Artillery upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on 1 November 1918. He joined the Army of Occupation in Germany in 1919, and in 1920 resigned his commission as a 1st Lieutenant. In 1927 he had the honor and pleasure of presenting to Governor Byrd of Virginia the flag which had last flown over the capital of that Commonwealth on 3 April 1865. The flag had been captured by his grandfather, who led the first Union troops into Richmond on the day it was evacuated by the Confederates.

In 1939, when he realized that it was only a matter of time before our country would be drawn into conflict, he sought and received a commission as major in the Marine Corps Reserve, and began to re-familiarize himself with military subjects. Called to active duty in February, 1942, he was first a student and then an instructor at the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia. Later, he completed the short course at the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. 

In February, 1944, having requested duty in the combat zone, he was assigned as Assistant G4 to the 5th Marine Division, and the unit shipped out from Camp Pendleton, California, in August 1944. After training on the island of Hawaii, the Division participated in the assault on Iwo Jima. Steve went ashore on the afternoon of D-day as a member of the staff of the Assistant Division Commander. On the morning of D plus 1, while on his way to the beach to coordinate supply and evacuation, Steve received a mortar wound which required minor surgery aboard ship. After about a week, refusing further evacuation, he returned to duty.

When Iwo Jima was declared secure, Steve coordinated plans for the return of his division to Hawaii and shortly thereafter was made Assistant Chief of Staff G4. He served as G4 when the Division moved to occupation duty at Sasebo, Kyushu, until the deactivation of the Division in February 1946. During his service Steve was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V (Navy), the Purple Heart, a Gold Star in lieu of a second Bronze Star and, by special designation, was made eligible to wear the Presidential Unit Citation which was awarded to the assault elements of the Division.

Upon release from active duty, Steve returned to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, and in 1959 became treasurer. The same year he was placed on the retired list of the Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of brigadier general. It is believed that he thus became the first graduate of the Military Academy to attain flag rank in the United States Marine Corps. Frederick Atherton Stevens passed away on January 22nd, 1977 at the age of 78.

This is an outstanding and unprecedented Iwo Jima Marine officer’s grouping that far surpasses any group solely made up of maps and documents. This group contains an enormous UNIS-stenciled officer’s trunk carried to Iwo Jima and back with Stevens, some one-of-a-kind aerial photograph overlays, and some truly unprecedented documents about the makeup of Japanese units and troops thought to be stationed at Iwo Jima. 

Taken as a whole, this is far more significant than an assortment of unrelated Pacific maps and documents. The archive combines the named and UNIS-marked trunk of a 5th Marine Division staff officer wounded on Iwo Jima with original aerial reconnaissance photographs, hand-cut working overlays, confidential troop-disposition and terrain maps, Japanese officer and order-of-battle intelligence, weapons-identification material, captured occupation-period items, and Stevens’ personal effects.

Most importantly, the individual pieces reinforce one another. The named Headquarters trunk establishes the ownership context; the photographic overlays and reconnaissance imagery demonstrate the practical analysis of Iwo Jima terrain; the officer lists and SECRET organization table document American efforts to understand Kuribayashi’s command structure; and the maps and CINCPAC-CINCPOA intelligence bulletin place the collection squarely within the planning environment surrounding the assault. Few surviving groupings preserve this much of the intelligence and logistical preparation behind one of the defining Marine Corps operations of WWII while remaining associated with a single identifiable divisional staff officer. This group will quickly become the centerpiece of any Marine Corps or WWII collection!