Today we honor the Men of Iwo Jima

Coach is Right ^ | 2/19/15 | Kevin "Coach" Collins

[Oldpuppymax]

Seventy years ago today the United States Marine Corp sent waves of teenaged men onto the black foreboding beaches on a Japanese held island called Iwo Jima. Capturing Iwo Jima was essential to the American war against Japan as it offered a place for battered bombers to safely land and save the lives of hundreds of airmen returning from sorties over Japan in barely flyable planes.

The average age of these men was just under nineteen. They knew what was at stake and charged up Iwo’s beaches sometimes straight into enemy machine gun fire that would have stopped lesser soldiers. They kept pushing and killing and getting killed, but never stopped; never whined; never “protested” and never thought of disgracing themselves. They were the finest America had and they did a job that simply had to be done. They fought to keep us from being the slaves of the Japanese. They made sure the Marine boast that “If it wasn’t for the United States Marines we’d be speaking Japanese,” was backed up not by words but by their blood.

Today the great grandsons of the Men of Iwo Jima are largely an embarrassment to themselves and their country. Their blue spiked hair gold ringing and proud ignorance of how and why America works make them pale shadows when juxtaposed with their hero great grandfathers.

Many of the Men of Iwo Jima had not finished high school when...

[Nifster]

And some gave all....

[Eric in the Ozarks]

There was a retired high school teacher from my hometown who had “IWO” as his personalized license plate. He was a Captain in the USMC...

[fatnotlazy]

Sad thing is if you asked most young people about Iwo Jima, they'd probably tell you it's a new Japanese dish.

[Don Corleone]

I have been to Iwo.(Long after the war). It is an awe inspiring place. To try to imagine the carnage in that battle is to tax the mind to its limits.

[Old Sarge]

Today the great grandsons of the Men of Iwo Jima are largely an embarrassment to themselves and their country.

Yea, verily yea.

[clintonh8r]

It’s Marine Corps, not Corp.

[PROCON]

To try to imagine the carnage in that battle is to tax the mind to its limits.

Well said; to think of the bravery of the WWII fighting man makes one proud to be an American again.

I hope those days come again.

[Chainmail]

Don’t some on this forum. It’s just like any other battle to them.

[Chainmail]

That was, don’t ask some on this forum - they don’t think that Iwo was any worse than any number of other battles.

That damn thing was annihilation, pure and simple.

[skeeter]

Each of the pacific campaigns was a hell unique to itself, and they got consecutively worse.

Thank God I never had to endure anything like them. I am as grateful as I can be to those that did.

[iowacornman]

To Honor the day — ask a product of our educational system what war that battle was in. My Son is a history Teacher down in Texas. They are not permitted to teach American History beyond 1900. It is statewide policy to prohibit the teaching of the contribution of the American White Male to our liberty. Ask your high school principal if they are teaching World War 1, world war 2, Korea, Viet Nam , Enduring freedom or any real history in the 20th century. The answer is “no”. Ask why and he will say “Its not on our curriculem” Ask “Why” !!?? Ask any student who did we fight in World War 2 and you will be shocked. — The French— The South —China—

[ConservativeInPA]

Many of the Men of Iwo Jima had not finished high school when ...

I have a great uncle that was 17 when he enlisted in the Marines. (big family battle over that one) He fought on that Jap infested island and was wounded. (A single bullet through the forearm) He spent over a year in hospitals due to infections. He's still kicking today and I am reminded by this post to call him and say thanks.

[llevrok]

I was in Tokyo 20 years ago and at the Haneda (City) airport waiting for a flight to Kobe. In the waiting area were a few old Japanese veterans and some Shinto priests waiting for a flight enroute to Iwo for the 50th anniversary. I was the only gaijin in the waiting area.

I looked at this one old boy, who looked like he could have been in the American VFW complete with similar cap. “50 years ago, you would have tried to kill me and likewise the same in return.”, I thought. “And here we are, today, waiting for a plane south”. He gave me a courtesy bow and I only a acknowledging smile back.

God Bless our Devil Dogs on this day and every day.

[Chainmail]

Me too. The men who fought at Iwo and all those battles will always have a special place in our memories and our hearts.

[CrazyIvan]

I had the honor of having one of the 27 M.O.A. Iwo Jima recipients as a family friend. I sat at the same table at Rotary with him for years. A kind soft spoken gentleman. I can't imagine what kind of he'll he went through.

[CrazyIvan]

A good essay by P.J. O’Rourke about Iwo.
http://m.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2004/06/orourke.htm

[stylin19a]

22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima. 216 captured.
The rest ? made the acquaintance of United States Marines.

[central_va]

There are only two kinds of people that understand the US Marines, other Marines and the enemy.

[Fiji Hill]

My Son is a history Teacher down in Texas. They are not permitted to teach American History beyond 1900. It is statewide policy to prohibit the teaching of the contribution of the American White Male to our liberty.

If he is a high school teacher, the school where he teaches must be ignoring the Texas Essential Knowledge standards for history, which cover the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.