Posted on 04/06/2025 12:58:43 PM PDT by DFG
I’m 71 and I don’t even want to drive into town.
The number of World War II vets that are still alive is becoming exponentially smaller every year
Not many of them left
I used to do business in Japan. One of my most memorable experiences was a few days before a the 50th anniversary.
While I was in a waiting area of Tokyo’s Haneda airport, an elderly Japanese man was there with a Shinto priest. He was wearing a hat that looked much like our VFW style hats. He also had military ribbons on his suit jacket.
It was obvious to me he and the priest were en route to Iwo for the anniversary memorial.
We looked at each other and made a courtesy acknowledgment. I could not help to think had this been 50 years before,we would have been in a mortal fight.
I was surprised to learn that the last Civil War veteran widow made it all the way to 2020. Her husband wanted her to get his Civil War pension but she never claimed it.
It’s hard to go there. Unexploded ordinance. Might not even let anyone walk around. Helicopter flights only.
When my Dad’s group went back, they brought home some of that black volcanic sand from the beach.
I inherited it.
He’s from Bristol. Home of ESPN and Lake Compounce.
Back early 2000s, I came across the number of people receiving gov payments from all wars. Found it on the internet on some VA site. There was 1 from the Civil War. A spouse. I looked into this and found when the Civil War vet was in his 70s, he married a young woman. She was still alive then. Your post makes me wonder if this wasn’t the same person. But you said she never claimed his benefits (survivors benefits I guess). Still intriguing...to say the least.
A good read (historical fiction) I recommend
Allan Gurganus's Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All became an instant classic upon its publication. Critics and readers alike fell in love with the voice of ninety-nine-year-old Confederate widow Lucy Marsden, one of the most entertaining and loquacious heroines in American literature.
Caminiti reportedly took a 23-hour flight to Guam, then traveled to Iwo Jima and laid one of three wreaths at the site where the American flag was raised in March 1945.
IOW, after two long flights, he climbed up the mound that is Mt Suribachi, carrying a wreath. At age 100.
It's no wonder that, when they were in their late teens and twenties, all those brave soldiers, sailors, and aviators kicked the ever-loving **** out of the Japanese.
The 100-year-old Marine is now back home in Connecticut...
Well done.
My father passed in 2019, just shy of his 99th birthday. He had been in 7th Army from North Africa until war’s end.
He felt pity for Marines, he thought that the gung ho ethic of their officer corp often put Marines at needless risk. Marines by their nature are a light, quick strike force. Not moving with all of armor and artillery of the Army.
God Bless him. He fought the “Desert Fox”....Erwin Rommel, one of the Greatest Generals of the modern era....and won.
I was Army as well, and fought in Ramadi under the command of a Marine Corps Division, with a couple Marine Corps Infantry Battalions who also operated in our AO with us.
I noticed the EXACT same thing with them that your father mentioned. One day in particular, there was a platoon of Marines that were really in the thick of it just north of our battalion, they had a few wounded and I think one or two KIA.....and were still in it. We attempted to send two M1 Abrhams tanks up to help, but their battalion kept turning down our help.
The speculation is, they didn’t want the Army bailing them out.
Stupid...and it cost them worse than it should have.
There were also a couple occasions when they got into firefights with themselves, because of poor command and control.
Indeed
Exactly
Thanks n. I remain in bewildered awe of those US fighters who served in WWII, and everywhere and everywhen for that matter.
Iwo's 4 miles n-s and 2 miles e-w, but is well short of eight square miles.
The neck of land that connects to Mt Suribachi is something like 500 yards wide, yet it took five days to secure that span. This idea was hatched before it was realized that the whole island was undermined with tunnels. The Japanese had the equivalent of a seven storey HQ inside the mountain.
Navy shelling had cleared all tree cover, making nice clear lines of fire for the J snipers. That wasn't in the plan, and no doubt made sense at the time. Started out very rough. As the battle turned, it was more of a help than a hindrance.
John Basilone, probably the best-known Marine of the war (MH for Guadalcanal, then during recuperation was brought on as an important personality for the bond tours), got back to battle at last, rallied the boys as he stepped ashore, helped get a stuck tank unstuck, crawled up to a hidden bunker, tossed in a grenade, and used his machine gun to blast every enemy combatant who rushed out of the door. The aftermath led to a remarkable photo. But JB was flesh and blood, and lasted something like eight hours on Iwo.
The other method for dealing with the bunkers was to send a flamethrower volunteer with a couple of other volunteers to help with cover fire, and blast the 70 seconds worth of gasoline into the sniper openings. Generally no one emerged from those bunkers.
The Japanese wound up shooting themselves down to near-zero ammo during perhaps the first third of the battle.
The reason for taking the island was for use as a shorter route to landing for the B-29s under distress after their bombing runs on Japan. During the 36 days of combat, IOW, during the fighting, that capability was used for the first time. Prior to that more than 100 B-29s had been lost during their return trips. The Japanese had thoughtfully built three airfields on the island that were used for this.
KIAs and those who died from wounds received in battle? Of all Marines in all theaters of WWII, nearly a quarter at or due to combat on Iwo. Of all Marines to win the Medal of Honor for service in WWII, nearly a third earned it on Iwo.
[disclaimer -- if memory serves]
Bristol Ct., home of a lot of criminal activity! Davis Drive always in the news.
thanx...
heck of a history lesson...some i knew(Some of the Basilone Bio), most at that detail I didn’t.
picking a minor\major nit....one doesn’t “win” the MOH.
thanx again
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