Posted on 06/15/2012 5:08:13 PM PDT by moonshot925
Great pics, thanks.
My wife's grandfather was one of the invasions transport commanders and he would not talk about it.
The Marines did everything they could to prevent the suicides.
My Dad’s best boyhood friend was a Marine killed on Saipan.
Dad was in India at the time.
Japanese propaganda told them about all the horrible things the Marines would do to them. Now imagine what may have happened had we not used the Bomb and instead invaded Japan....
An especially haunting series of pictures from the suicides was published years ago in Time-Life’s “World War II” series. A family was pacing on the beach, unsure of what to do, as Marines and other civilians were calling out to them not to kill themselves. Out of nowhere, a Japanese sniper shot and killed the two parents as the children ran from the scene (where they were later led to safety by other civilians).
Not mentioned (I read about it elsewhere) was the aftermath...a moment later, the sniper stood up from his position, and was ripped to pieces as every Marine within range opened fire on him.
My father was in the 4th Marine Division. He was at Saipan and witnessed the suicides off the cliffs. It upset him greatly. He said the women would throw the children off first, then they would jump.
Of course, that was nothing like the absolute Hell he witnessed on Iwo Jima.
My Dads friend who was killed on Saipan was in the 4th Marine div.
Iwo Jima had no civilians, as you know.
Sorry to hear that.
Iwo Jima had no civilians, as you know.
Yes, I know. My father would never talk about, except near the end. Even then he only told us so much. It left us speechless. He was only 20 when he hit the beaches of Iwo on Feb 19, 1945.
My dad was there, went in off the carrier to assist the SeaBees at the airstrip. He didn’t talk about it much either....
Those that survive combat seldom do.
God bless our Dads and all who fought in that horrible war and all the other wars since.
Wow, your Dad saw two bad ones and a lot in between.
I think the loss of Saipan made it clear to the Japanese that they were going to be defeated.
Saipan was only 1,460 miles from Tokyo and the B-29 had a range of 3,200 miles.
The Japanese home islands were now vulnerable to air attack.
Now imagine what may have happened had we not used the Bomb and instead invaded Japan....
My dad was involved in the initial Occupation of Japan and he said they thanked God for the bombs.
Well said. They risked it all in the cause of Freedom.
Then I think of the Marxist sitting in the White House, I feel sick to my stomach.
I am also sickened knowing that some of the Brave Men that survived Hell on Earth actually Voted for the Traitor In Chief, letting themselves be influenced by the lies and distortions perpetrated by the same people they swore an Oath to protect.
The Press is nothing but Complicit in our downfall.
I feel the same way. I’m a Mayflower descendant. I had relatives in the Revolutionary War. I’ve lived on Saipan. I went from there to the Philippines, where I visited the grave of an uncle who died in WWII. I’m sick to my stomach every day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.