Posted on 02/19/2018 8:09:54 AM PST by Oldpuppymax
Seventy three years ago today the United States Marine Corps 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 which would 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 by demanding a “safe space.”
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 they stepped forward to fight for their country. Many of them had volunteered after the terrible beating the Marine Corps had sustained in battles like Gradual Canal and Peleliu.
Yet they still came. They didn’t have to be told what they had to do. They were men at the age of 16 and 17 and many were handling man size responsibilities before they were sweating it out in Marine Boot Camp.
Now there are only a few of these warriors left. Those who are still with us are frail and not what they once were physically but just as strong in their love of America as ever. Should you have the honor meeting one of these heroes thank him because God knows he deserves our tanks and recognition.
3 Years ago today, the 70th Anniversary . . .
My wife (who lost a 17 yr old uncle on Mt Suribachi the day before The Flag raising) spoke with two Marines who knew her uncle.
WOW is all we can say afterwards. Stunned silence, chills, by the heroism the stories they told, their recollections, their professionalism, their kindness to share.
One of the greatest moments we’ve ever had. These men were ones we met online via a newsletter, they invited us to call, and we did. How they were so willing to talk to us and share their memories, just incredible.
I cannot say enough. I pray today, they are still with us and as alert and healthy as that memorable day
SEMPER FI
“the terrible beating the Marine Corps had sustained in battles like Gradual Canal and Peleliu. “
Huh ?
.
If war is Hell then Iwo Jima was their Hell. How will we ever fight and win battles and a war like that again? The idea that wars and battles won’t be fought like that in the future is only so much wishful thinking.
So Nimitz sacrificed 7,000 Marines to save the lives of hundreds of pilots? MacArthur would have found a way to bypass Iwo Jima.
“Last year it was kill Japs. This year it’s make money.” —Al Stephenson, “The Best Years Of Our Lives”
The Greatest Generation. Thank you, All.
As I recall reading history, the field at Iwo was a stepping stone for the attack on the Japanese.
Aircraft needed closer bases so they could carry less fuel and more munitions.
Being handy for emergency landings would have been icing on the cake.
Years ago, before the National Museum of the Marine Corps opened in Quantico, the Marine Corps museum was in a tiny two story building at the Washington Navy Yard, a couple of blocks away from 8th and I.
I visited that small museum once upon a time, and on the second floor were both flags flown over Suribachi. I remember thinking they both seemed kinda small.
BLOODY IWO!
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And I remember my friend Sgt Ray Jacobs who was (now deceased) the radioman (radio strapped to his back) in the pic of the first flag up on Iwo.
GunnyG@PlanetWTF!
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Will always be very proud of those boys.
My dad wasn’t involved in the Iwo Jima campaign.
However, he was a 17-year old PFC lugging a BAR in Uncle Sam’s Marine Corps. He was in the very first wave of Marines to hit the beaches of Okinawa.
He passed 2 years ago...with full military honors.
FWIW, take a good look around at 17 year-olds today, and most of em couldn’t even pick up a BAR, let alone carry or use one. Have doubts? Skip the ads at the beginning of this and check out what it’s like firing one: https://youtu.be/g2jRwp19csA
Yeah. I’m damn PROUD of those boys. God bless em and their families. Semper Fi.
FiL 28th Marines 5th Mardiv and he went thru the whole campaign without a scratch.
“The Best Years” is one of my top five favorite movies...
FIL was on the Saratoga during Iwo Jima. He’s gone now, but he lived a very good life after the war.
“They were men at the age of 16 and 17 and many were handling man size responsibilities before they were sweating it out in Marine Boot Camp.”
Today’s young people look at photos taken during WWII and often marvel that the 18-19 year old men in uniform looked already thirty.
When “Memphis Belle” was filmed in 1990 the actors playing B-17 crews looked to me like boys dressing up in their fathers’ uniforms. No comparison to the originals.
Great post!
“And when he goes to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell,
“Another Marine reporting, sir; I’ve served my time in hell!”
God bless the WWII vets; O God, do bless them so.
Guadalcanal (correct spelling) was at the time seen as having "saved" Australia. And it demonstrated that an outnumbered band of surrounded Marines could beat well supplied and continually reinforced with imperial naval support "invincible" Japanese in jungle combat. So it was one of the great turning points of the Pacific war. Peleliu was nearly as rough as Tarawa and Iwo Jima but turned out to be an unnecessary sacrifice when plans were changed and the island lost its strategic significance. The Japanese generally fought to the last man and were as vicious and brutal an opponent as any of any age.
That supposedly soft teenage Americans could whip them island by island, absorbing horrible losses along the way, is one reason why the Japanese, who are ever conscious of superior vs. inferior status, bowed down en masse per the command of the Emperor after surrender. They were whipped and they knew it.
Staqrs and Stripes on Iwo Jima--The Sons of the Pioneers (1946)
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