Battle of Iwo Jima -- 19 Feb 1945 - 26 Mar 1945

World War II Database ^ | Last Major Update: Sep 2006 | C. Peter Chen

[SunkenCiv]

The Allied forces suffered 25,000 casualties, with nearly 7,000 dead. Over 1/4 of the Medals of Honor awarded to marines in World War II were given for conduct in the invasion of Iwo Jima.

The island of Iwo Jima was declared conquered by Chester Nimitz on 14 Mar 1945, noting that "all powers of government of the Japanese Empire in these islands are hereby suspended." However, he made the declaration too early, for that fighting had by no means ceased on the island. "Who does the admiral think he's kidding?" yelled Marine Private Bob Campbell. "We're still getting killed!" On 16 Mar, General Schmidt declared the island secure; fighting still did not end by then, but Kuribayashi knew it was approaching the end. On the same day as Schmidt's declaration, Kuribayashi radioed Tokyo that "[t]he battle is approaching its end. Since the enemy's landing, even the gods would weep at the bravery of the officers and omen under my command." On 21 Mar, Kuribayashi reported that "[w]e have not eaten or drunk for five days, but our fighting spirit remains high." A day later, as his last soldiers were falling around him, he radioed what would become his last words on official record: "The strength under my command is now about four hundred. Tanks are attacking us. The enemy suggested we surrender through a loudspeaker, but our officers and men just laughed and paid no attention." Kuribayashi was likely to be killed on that same day, but his body was never found. The United States officially declared the island secure on 26 Mar, twelve days after Nimitz's initial declaration.

[SunkenCiv]

The rest of the keyword, sorted:

• Virginia school official taking heat for saying Battle of Iwo Jima set record for 'human evil' [02/27/2023]
• Controversial member of woke Virginia school board slams Battle of Iwo Jima as 'evil': Previously moaned that moment of silence for 9/11 attacks 'caused harm' [02/26/2023]
• Last remaining WWII Medal of Honor recipient dies at 98 [07/04/2022]
• Underwater Volcano Fukutoku-Okanoba Explodes [08/29/2021]
• Retired marine whose troops planted US flag on Iwo Jima dies [08/06/2021]
• Taliban celebrates Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan by recreating iconic Iwo Jima photo [08/02/2021]
• This Day in History: Feb. 23, 1945, U.S. Marines raise the Flag on Mount Suribachi on the Island of Iwo Jima [02/23/2021]
• President Trump meets World War II Iwo Jima veterans at the White house (great photos) [03/04/2020]
• On Point: Remembering Iwo Jima [02/28/2020]
• Presidential Message on the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima [02/19/2020]
• A 104-year-old Marine vet wants people to send him Valentine's Day cards [01/15/2020]
• The Boys of Iwo Jima were men and so much more than the snowflakes of today [02/19/2019]
• USMC Hollywood Best Ever - two minutes [11/11/2018]
• Hershel W. Williams turns 95 today [10/02/2018]
• Famous Veteran : Ira Hamilton Hayes USMC Corporal [07/27/2018]
• On this day in 1945, one of the most reproduced and parodied photos in history was taken [02/23/2018]
• Today we honor the men of Iwo Jima [02/19/2018]
• In His Own Words: Jack Lucas, Youngest Recipient Of The Medal of Honor During WWII [02/25/2017]
• Oldest surviving officer in Battle of Iwo Jima dies [02/23/2017]
• 72nd Anniversary of Flag Raising on Mt Suribachi [02/23/2017]
• Today we Honor the Men of Iwo Jima [02/19/2017]
• Marine Corps admits it misidentified man in iconic Iwo Jima photo from World War II [06/23/2016]
• Marine Corps investigating possible misidentification in iconic Iwo Jima photo [05/02/2016]
• February 23, 1945 - the raising of the American Flag on Iwo Jima: quotes, history, and a documentary [02/23/2016]
• World War II 'Hero of Iwo Jima,' John Keith Wells, dies in Arvada [02/18/2016]
• PBS Documentary: Former Foe Pays Amazing Tribute to American Veterans [11/11/2015]
• The Greatest Generation - Why America needs them more than ever [11/06/2015]
• 70 years after Iwo Jima, veterans, families to honor lives lost [02/19/2015]
• World War II vet, 90, closer to getting Marines to fix AWOL error in war record [07/01/2014]
• Today in U.S. Military History - 3 March 1945 [03/03/2014]
• Iwo Jima Anniversary Remembered Across The Nation [02/23/2014]
• Today In U.S. Miiltary History 20 February 1945 - Pfc. Jack Lucas, USMC (MOH) [02/20/2014]
• The American Flag Daily: Iwo Jima [02/19/2014]
• Outrageous: Russian TV Anchor Mocks Iwo Jima Memorial As Homoerotic In War-Statue Spat With CNN [02/16/2014]
• Corpman! Mother! Jesus! A Marine remembers Iwo Jima for the last time [11/06/2013]
• Iwo Jima Memorial Closed, Barricades Erected [10/05/2013]
• Japanese flag captured at Iwo jima [07/15/2013]
• World War II vet who provided flag on Iwo Jima dead at 90 [04/28/2013]
• Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima": The Most Reproduced and Parodied Photo in History? [02/23/2013]
• For Sale: Original Iwo Jima Monument [02/08/2013]
• US May Lose Original 1945 Iwo Jima Monument at Bonhams Auction: [01/27/2013]
• Quantico's Iwo Jima Memorial defaced [12/11/2012]
• Looking Back At Iconic Iwo Jima (67 years ago today!) [02/23/2012]
• "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima": The most copied and parodied image in history [02/23/2012]
• For Michele Bachmann, A Pattern of Getting Facts Wrong [makes Palin look like Count Metternich] [03/12/2011]
• Marines To Mark 66th Anniversary Of Iwo Jima [02/19/2011]
• Iwo Jima memorial needs rescue mission [01/07/2011]
• Archaeologist to Recover Japanese Soldiers on Iwo Jima [12/20/2010]
• Happy Birthday Marines! [11/10/2010]
• Happy Birthday, Devildogs (11/10/1775)! [11/10/2010]
• Brookline man's Iwo Jima mementos bring closure to Japanese family [10/28/2010]
• Brookline man's Iwo Jima mementos bring closure to Japanese family [10/28/2010]
• Bodies, mass graves found on Iwo Jima [10/22/2010]
• FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: John Basilone ~ June 21, 2010 ~ [06/20/2010]
• A Memorial Day Tribute [05/30/2010]
• Iwo Jima Medal of Honor Citations [03/04/2010]
• Military relents, agrees to fly vets to Iwo Jima for ceremony [03/03/2010]
• As clock ticks, WWII veterans need help to get back to Iwo Jima [03/02/2010]
• US Marines land on Iwo Jima to mark anniversary [03/02/2010]
• 65 year ann. of Iwo Jima, the rest of the story.(Vanity) [02/28/2010]
• 'I Was in the First Wave.' [02/24/2010]
• Feb 23, 1945 [02/23/2010]
• On This Day in History:..Star-Spangled Banner Waves Atop Mt. Suribachi (65th anniversary) [02/23/2010]
• Iwo Jima Vets Observe Battle's 65th Anniversary [02/19/2010]
• Iwo Jima Vets Observe Battle's 65th Anniversary [02/19/2010]
• Iwo Jima Marines: is still showing today's "youth voters" what real patriotism means [02/19/2010]
• Comehander in Chef [02/13/2010]
• VIDEOS-Fox NFL Sunday crew in Afghanistan-God bless + protect our troops!+Found Iwo Jima footage [11/11/2009]
• WWII vets, this is for you. [08/18/2009]
• Some background on the murdered 83-year-old World War II hero, Clair Chaffin [06/10/2009]
• Iwo Jima hero shot to death in motel parking lot [God Bless Clair C. Chaffin, 83] [06/09/2009]
• Millard Kaufman, 92, a Creator of Mr. Magoo, Dies [03/19/2009]
• This Week in American Military History [03/19/2009]
• Flag still flying high after 64 years [02/24/2009]
• 1945: US flag raised over Iwo Jima [02/23/2009]
• Closing a chapter on Iwo Jima [09/13/2008]
• Iwo Jima flag-raiser posthumously gets citizenship document [07/29/2008]
• DIRTY HARRY COMES CLEAN [06/06/2008]
• Time Magazine Admits Its Climate Change Bias [04/28/2008]
• Time Editor Defends Doctoring Iwo Jima Photo, Calls Objective Journalism 'Fantasy' [04/21/2008]
• Time Magazine Still Unrepentant Despite Veteran Complaints [04/19/2008]
• Time Magazine: WWII Vets Angered Over Cover Photo [04/18/2008]
• Time Magazine Exploits Iwo Jima Photo for Global Warming Alarmism and Angers Iwo Jima Vets [04/17/2008]
• Time Tramples Iwo Jima Image to Push 'War on Global Warming' [04/17/2008]
• Last man in iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photo dies [02/04/2008]
• Last Marine in Iwo Jima photo dies at 82 [02/04/2008]
• Tom Reilly is Piped Aboard the Good Ship Eternal Rest [11/18/2007]
• Thanks and Praise (Iwo Jima-Iraq Tribute?) [11/08/2007]
• Ken Burns Affirms Truman's Judgment and Humanity [10/13/2007]
• Farewell to a Hero (Marine,Chuck Lindberg) (MN) [06/29/2007]
• One of first Iwo Jima flag-raisers dies [06/29/2007]
• Iwo Jima flag raiser Lindberg dies at 86 [06/26/2007]
• Last survivor of Iwo Jima flagraising dies in Minnesota [06/25/2007]
• 'Last Flagraiser' Dies At 86 (Iwo Jima) [06/25/2007]
• Eastwood films spark Iwo Jima name change [06/22/2007]
• US search team on Iwo Jima looking for Marine who filmed iconic flag-raising [06/22/2007]
• A Marine will reenlist tonight at the Iwo Jima Memorial [05/25/2007]
• Mr. Nick Naccarado on Iwo Jima [05/01/2007]
• A U.S. Marine veteran recalls Iwo Jima [03/05/2007]
• Clint's New Hat [02/23/2007]
• Japanese Iwo Jima eyewitness tells it in his own words [02/21/2007]
• IWO JIMA HERO HURLS GRENADES AT SHAMEFUL POLS [02/20/2007]
• The Battle For Iwo Jima Video Footage Feb 19-Mar 26 1945 [02/19/2007]
• French president makes Eastwood's dayAFP [02/19/2007]
• A Bataan Death March Survivor's Review of Clint Eastwood's film, "Letters from Iwo Jima" [02/15/2007]
• EASTWOOD TURNS HIS MAGNUM IN FOR A KIMONO [12/31/2006]
• Michael Medved gives "Letters From Iwo Jima" 4 stars [12/22/2006]
• Letters From Iwo Jima Trailer online (vanity) [12/16/2006]
• Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima film resonates in Japan [12/09/2006]
• Iraq invokes memories of Iwo Jima [11/05/2006]
• Ernesto Portillo Jr. : Ads for movie stir memories of Iwo Jima for Tucsonan [10/29/2006]
• Sulfur Island [10/24/2006]
• Where have all the black soldiers gone? African-Americans not in Eastwood's new WWII film [10/22/2006]
• "Flags of our Fathers" mini-review [10/20/2006]
• Flags of Our Fathers-Print the Legend-Eastwood strips away myths surrounding Greatest Generation [10/19/2006]
• Clint Eastwood on Flags of Our Fathers [10/15/2006]
• WWII vet doesn't need movie; he lived it [10/13/2006]
• Just saw Flags of our Fathers...(Vanity) [10/12/2006]
• FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS [10/11/2006]
• Movie version of "Flags of Our Fathers" is coming out in October [09/26/2006]
• Pulitzer Prize Winner Joe Rosenthal Dies [08/21/2006]
• Joe Rosenthal, photographer who shot Iwo Jima flag-raising, dies [08/21/2006]
• Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima Movies Combi-Trailer [08/18/2006]
• Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group Transits the Suez Canal [07/05/2006]
• Famous photo was of 2nd flag raising [07/05/2006]
• Six Young Boys: The boys who raised the flag at Iwo Jima [07/04/2006]
• Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group Enters U.S. 6th Fleet [06/15/2006]
• Iwo Jima Strike Group Deploys [06/08/2006]
• Sons Of Iwo Jima (Excellent Haditha "massacre" article) [05/30/2006]
• The League of Grateful Sons - Return to Iwo Jima - WWII [05/29/2006]
• Eastwood attacks Japan war myths [05/27/2006]
• Marines, sailors observe 61st anniversary of Iwo Jima battle [03/17/2006]
• Iwo Jima battle veterans pay tribute to war dead [03/10/2006]
• The View From Suribachi [01/21/2006]
• Iwo Jima, If Covered By The Media Today ... (Very Graphic Heavy) [12/10/2005]
• Press Outraged Over Staged Flagraising [10/16/2005]
• Happy 94th birthday to Joe Rosenthal! [10/09/2005]
• Radio Address by the President to the Nation, 09-24-05 [09/24/2005]
• Another side of the Katrina Relief Effort [09/12/2005]
• A day in the life of President Bush (9/11/05): photos [09/11/2005]
• T.R. Fahrenbach: One V-J observation: Suicide missions don't work [08/21/2005]
• Every August the Ghouls Come Out [08/08/2005]
• Mike Rosen: Fireproofing the flag [07/08/2005]
• Japan: Water vapor column shoots 1 kilometer into air over Pacific Ocean: Report [07/03/2005]
• Worst Generation Refuses to Follow Greatest Generation's Winning Template (Rush) [06/14/2005]
• Gitmo In, Gitmo Out? [06/13/2005]
• The Past Meets the Present on the Black Sands of Iwo Jima - fiercest and most memorable battles [04/07/2005]
• Japan and U.S. have distant views of Iwojima [03/21/2005]
• Rethinking the Iwo Jima myth on the battle's 60th anniversary [03/15/2005]
• New HOF Display Honors Packers War Hero. Smiley Johnson. (a WWII Pat Tillman story) [03/14/2005]
• Back on Iwo Jima [03/13/2005]
• Iwo Jima - A stupid Mistake? [03/10/2005]
• Six Brave Soldiers - (truth and rumor; photos of real Marines in Iwo Jima picture) [03/06/2005]
• 60th anniversary honored with battle of Iwo Jima re-enactment(Photos) [03/04/2005]
• Marin woman reflects on impact of her father's historic World War II photo (Iwo Jima) [02/23/2005]
• Guest Column: History Overlooked Iwo Jima's First Flag By Raymond Jacobs [02/23/2005]
• Remembering Iwo Jima [02/23/2005]
• IWO JIMA AND THE FUTURE OF THE MARINE CORPS [02/23/2005]
• Remembering Iwo Jima [02/22/2005]
• Iwo Jima revisited 60 years later [02/20/2005]
• Remembering heroes, agony of Iwo Jima [02/20/2005]
• Iwo Jima vet seeks recognition for role at flag raising [02/20/2005]
• Patriotic Fervor and the Truth About Iwo Jima [02/20/2005]
• Iwo Jima veterans honored at Quantico [02/19/2005]
• Iwo Jima re-enactment heads to fields of Texas [02/19/2005]
• Remembering heroes, agony of Iwo Jima [02/19/2005]
• Taking Pride in the Past(Marines invade Iwo Jima 60 years ago today! Semper Fi, Devil Dogs!) [02/19/2005]
• 1945: Marines Invade Iwo Jima(60 years ago today) [02/19/2005]
• Iwo Jima...Lessons [02/19/2005]
• "throwing human flesh against reinforced concrete" [02/19/2005]
• Restored battle tank readied for restaging of Iwo Jima conflict [02/18/2005]
• Memory strands of Iwo Jima (60th Anniversary) [02/18/2005]
• The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Iwo Jima - February 18th, 2005 [02/17/2005]
• Longview man remembers Iwo Jima [02/17/2005]
• Ray Jacobs and That First Flag On Iwo Jima [02/15/2005]
• B-29 Radio Project, remembering Iwo Jima and the B-29 [02/14/2005]
• Remembering Iwo Jima and the B-29 Bomber Feb 19-20 2005 [02/14/2005]
• Hell on Earth [02/13/2005]
• The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Navy Corpsmen - Unsung Heroes of Iwo Jima - Jan. 8th, 2004 [01/07/2005]
• Eyewitness Account Of Iwo Jima Flag Raising By Ray Jacobs [01/07/2005]
• PATRIOTIC HOLLYWOOD STARS OF YESTERYEAR - GREATEST GENERATION [11/30/2004]
• Museum to celebrate Iwo Jima anniversary(Fredericksburg, Texas) [11/22/2004]
• Update: More KerryEdwards yard signs being taken down by homeowners! [10/26/2004]
• Iwo Jima, If covered by media today (Long read, but well worth it) [10/18/2004]
• Zell Miller: Iwo Jima, If Covered by Media Today [10/11/2004]
• US carrier jet crashes near Japan, 4 crew missing [08/10/2004]
• U.S. carrier-based aircraft crashes off Iwojima Island [08/10/2004]
• Spielberg to film story of Iwo Jima soldiers (Flag raisers, Clint Eastwood) [07/10/2004]
• Spielberg, Eastwood raise 'Flags' (Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima) [07/08/2004]
• The Value of Death -- Civilian, 'Senseless,' and Combat Deaths [06/20/2004]
• Survivors Reunite at Iwo Jima on Anniversary of Key World War II Battle [03/12/2004]
• The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Suribachi Flag Raisings (2/23/1945) - Feb. 25th, 2004 [02/25/2004]
• Veterans Should Politically Banish Kerry for Disgracing The Marine Corps Memorial [02/11/2004]
• The Devil's in the Details of a Hellish Account of War FLYBOYS: A True Story of Courage [10/23/2003]
• The FReeper Foxhole Remembers MOH Recipient 1st Lieutenant Jack Lummus - October 19th, 2003 [10/19/2003]
• "Rivals The Second Flag Raising On Iwo Jima Photo" [10/14/2003]
• Amazing story about George H.W. Bush [09/30/2003]
• Well, Is He Or Isn't He...<br> recognized officially....??? [07/25/2003]
• LONG AFTER FADING AWAY, A FORGOTTEN MARINE REEMERGES [05/17/2003]
• I need some help figuring out "Who raised the flag on Iwo Jima" [04/30/2003]
• Congressional Record: The Flag Raising On Iwo Jima! [03/07/2003]
• The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Iwo Jima - Feb. 19th, 2003 [02/19/2003]
• How Much Did Japan Know (about nuclear weapon placement after WWII)? [09/10/2002]
• The original Iwo Jima flag raisers honored in Long Prairie [08/10/2002]
• The Making Of A Memorial [07/10/2002]
• Sgt Ray Jacobs Searching For Survivors of E-2-28th Marines Iwo Jima! [04/08/2002]
• LEST WE FORGET! [04/08/2002]
• Arnold Shapiro's "Heroes Of Iwo Jima" (minus one) to Sgt Ray Jacobs.... [04/03/2002]
• Iwo Jima Marine Recognized After 57 Years! [03/27/2002]

[Alas Babylon!]

The last Japanese soldiers to surrender on Iwo Jima did so on January 6, 1949, nearly four full years after the start of the battle and 3 1/2 years after the war ended.

[PeterPrinciple]

Over 1/4 of the Medals of Honor awarded to marines in World War II were given for conduct in the invasion of Iwo Jima.

---

Read it slowly and let your lips move.

My uncle Sam was injured on 2/28 with a sniper bullet. In a wheel chair until he died in 67.

Had a large stump in the basement to test his rifles. A few made it through to the cinder blocks. Always showed curtesy to my aunt by yelling “fire in the hole” before pulling the trigger.

[ComputerGuy]

I have a small plastic bag with some of the sands of Iwo Jima. The ‘sand’ is actually black volcanic glass beads which are somewhat flattened. It was given to me by an old veteran at a reunion in about 2012/2014. He picked it up himself when he went back to the island.

[SunkenCiv]

• between 70,000 and 80,000 US Marines participated in the battle.
• in all theaters in WWII, the USMC endured nearly 87,000 casualties, including 24,511 killed (either in action or of their wounds).
• at Iwo Jima, the USMC endured 6,102 killed (either in action or of their wounds), or nearly 25% of all US Marines killed in WWII.
• in WWII, US servicement earned 472 Medals of Honor, 82 by US Marines.
• at Iwo Jima, Marines earned 27 Medals of Honor, nearly 6% of the WWII total, and nearly 33% of the WWII total by US Marines.
• 407,316 US servicepeople died in WWII, the USMC losses on Iwo Jima account for nearly 1.5% of that total.

[SunkenCiv]

I’ve heard it described as like trying to walk in coffee grounds.

[SunkenCiv]

WWII USMC Medal of Honor (alpha order)

• Private First Class Harold Christ Agerholm
• Private First Class Richard Beatty Anderson
• Major Kenneth D. Bailey
• Sergeant John Basilone
• Lieutenant Colonel Harold William Bauer
• Corporal Lewis Kenneth Bausell
• Corporal Charles Joseph Berry
• First Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman, Jr.
• Staff Sergeant William James Bordelon
• Major Gregory Boyington
• Corporal Richard Earl Bush
• Private First Class William Robert Caddy
• First Lieutenant George Ham Cannon
• Corporal Anthony Casemento
• Lieutenant Colonel Justice Marion Chambers
• Sergeant Darrell Samuel Cole
• Major Henry Alexius Courtney, Jr.
• Corporal Anthony Peter Damato
• Corporal James L. Day
• First Lieutenant Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc
• Captain Robert Hugo Dunlap
• Lieutenant Colonel Aquilla James Dyess
• Colonel Merritt Austin Edson
• Captain Henry Talmage Elrod
• Private First Class Harold Glenn Epperson
• Corporal John Peter Fardy
• Captain Richard Eugene Fleming
• Captain Joseph Jacob Foss
• Private First Class William Adelbert Foster
• Major Robert Edward Galer
• Private First Class Harold Gonsalves
• Sergeant Ross Franklin Gray
• Private First Class Henry Gurke
• Private Dale Merlin Hansen
• First Lieutenant Robert Murray Hanson
• Sergeant William George Harrell
• Corporal Louis James Hauge, Jr.
• First Lieutenant William Deane Hawkins
• Private First Class Arthur J. Jackson
• Private First Class Douglas Thomas Jacobson
• Platoon Sergeant Joseph Rodolph Julian
• Sergeant Elbert Luther Kinser
• Private First Class Richard Edward Kraus
• Private First Class James Dennis La Belle
• Second Lieutenant John Harold Leims
• Private First Class Jacklyn Harrell Lucas
• First Lieutenant Jack Lummus
• First Lieutenant Harry Linn Martin
• Private First Class Leonard Foster Mason
• Gunnery Sergeant Robert Howard McCard
• Captain Joseph Jeremiah McCarthy
• Private Robert Miller McTureous, Jr.
• Private First Class John Dury New
• Sergeant Robert Allen Owens
• Private Joseph William Ozbourn
• Platoon Sergeant Mitchell Paige
• Private First Class Wesley Phelps
• Private George Phillips
• Captain Everett Parker Pope
• First Lieutenant John Vincent Power
• Private First Class Charles Howard Roan
• First Lieutenant Carlton Robert Rouh
• Private First Class Donald Jack Ruhl
• Private First Class Albert Earnest Schwab
• Colonel David Monroe Shoup
• Private Franklin Earl Sigler
• Private First Class Luther Skaggs, Jr.
• Major John Lucian Smith
• Private Richard Keith Sorenson
• Corporal Tony Stein
• First Lieutenant James Elms Swett
• Sergeant Herbert Joseph Thomas
• Sergeant Clyde A. Thomason
• Sergeant Grant Frederick Timmerman
• Major General Alexander Archer Vandegrift
• First Lieutenant Kenneth Ambrose Walsh
• Gunnery Sergeant William Gary Walsh
• Private Wilson Douglas Watson
• Corporal Hershel Woodrow Williams
• Captain Louis Hugh Wilson, Jr.
• Private First Class Robert Lee Wilson
• Private First Class Frank Peter Witek

[zeestephen]

My Dad was at Saipan and Iwo Jima.

U.S. Army - how's that for a surprise?

He was a specialist Sergeant who constructed and manned battle field radar units - went ashore on D+1 at both battles.

He was training with new radar equipment in Hawaii for the invasion of Japan when the War ended.

He was big fan of the atomic bomb!

[Rummyfan]

"The strength under my command is now about four hundred. Tanks are attacking us. The enemy suggested we surrender through a loudspeaker, but our officers and men just laughed and paid no attention." Kuribayashi was likely to be killed on that same day, but his body was never found.

Were they insanely brave or simply insane? I don't know.

[SunkenCiv]

Nearly 33% for USMC, nearly 6% for entire war:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4140970/posts?page=5#5

[SunkenCiv]

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/iwo-jima-fact-sheet.pdf

[SunkenCiv]

I don’t blame him. :^) By August 1945, 45 cities in Japan were turned to smoking ruin by incendiary bombing. Japan didn’t surrender. The first atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. Japan didn’t surrender. It took a *second* atomic bomb to bring about surrender, but even that almost didn’t work.

https://time.com/5877433/wwii-japanese-surrender-coup/

[SunkenCiv]

• Kyujo Incident [Brave search] [Google search]

[ComputerGuy]

My Dad was in arty on the beach. He said his gun jumped two feet each time they fired it. He didn’t get to go back with the others. That’s why I inherited the sand.

[telescope115]

One of by uncles was wounded at Guadalcanal, and recovered.
Another was at Iwo Jima, but surprisingly wasn’t injured. He saw the initial flag-raising on Mount Suribachi.

[rdl6989]

I wonder where they got food and water?

[SunkenCiv]

There are four ways to go for the old-school Asian warriors:

1 — go to battle and win
2 — die in battle
3 — go to battle, realize you’re beaten, and run for it (still honorable, but you don’t brag about it)
4 — dishonorable options are surrender and capture

about 99% of Japanese on Iwo died there (and good riddance).

Regarding option #3 (and #2), Chinese military thinker Sun Tsu noted that it was necessary to always leave the enemy an avenue of escape, otherwise the adversaries would fight to the death.

[SunkenCiv]

Sneaked out of their spider hole and stole it.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

One of by uncles was wounded at Guadalcanal, and recovered.
Another was at Iwo Jima, but surprisingly wasn’t injured. He saw the initial flag-raising on Mount Suribachi.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
I had two uncles who fought the Germans. Uncle George was in the Army and fought in the horrific battle of Monte Casino. His brother, my uncle Joe, was a Seabee, and was on a ship that was sunk in the Atlantic. He survived and was rescued after two days in the water. He passed away three years ago. He was 100 years old.

[SunkenCiv]

https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2051094/marines-landed-on-iwo-jima-75-years-ago/