I play cornhole with a army vet who served on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. He was a BAR guy. Told me the Marines did all the fighting, and the Army cleaned up afterwards. He’ll be 103 in September. He got a pacemaker at 100. Over his lifetime he and his wife raised 75 foster kids. Really nice man and a very good cornhole player.
You are extremely fortunate. The man I knew was a Marine. The battle lasted over 20 days. The flag raising in the picture was the 2nd flag. I believe the 1st is in the USMC museum. Cherish your time with your friend. Not many of those men from WW2 left.