US Marines land on Iwo Jima to mark anniversary

Seattle Times ^ | 03/02/10 | Eric Talmadge

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Hundreds of U.S. Marines landed on the remote island of Iwo Jima on Tuesday to prepare for the 65th anniversary of one of World War II's bloodiest and most iconic battles. The Marines flew in trucks, water and food from Washington to support Wednesday's commemorations of the 1945 battle that was a turning point in the Pacific theater. It claimed 6,821 American and 21,570 Japanese lives in 36 days of intense fighting. A drill team also arrived on the island. The commemoration was to be attended by about 1,000 people, including Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Conway, members of Japan's parliament and representatives of the Iwo Jima survivors' association. Only about two dozen American veterans of the battle are expected to attend the "reunion of honor" ceremony because few of the survivors - now in their 80s and 90s - are able to make the trip. It was not known if any of the fewer than 1,000 Japanese who survived the battle would be able to attend.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Keep this countries proud history alive and teach it in the classroom again!......

[Dr. Ursus]

HBO is doing a series called The Pacific starting on March,
14th about the Marines.

[GeronL]

how could this article not have included pics?

[TSgt]

God Bless the Greatest Generation

[oneamericanvoice]

Because the ceremony has taken place.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Yuo want pics?.....

[oneamericanvoice]

Oops! Meant to say that the ceremony had not taken place yet. It’s tomorrow, March 3rd.

[andy58-in-nh]

I’m sure our President will be sure to mark the anniversary... with an apology to Japan.

[Pajama Blogger]

Better men than I.

[Mr. Jazzy]

Semper Fi.

[stormer]

My dad was at Iwo - I’d better give him a call.

[Da Coyote]

I’m retired USAF, but d*mn, I love the marines.

Except dead Murtha - but then again, I’m sure that the marines have written that slug out of their records anyway.

[GoldwaterChick]

Please pass our heartfelt thanks on to him for his service. Reading Flag of our Fathers gave me a miniscule idea of what the invasion was like; very, very difficult to read. God Bless him and all those who served.

[Da Coyote]

“My dad was at Iwo - I’d better give him a call.”

Your dad carries his cojones around in a wheelbarrow.

He’s da man!!

[ETL]

Note John Kerry's name at top right of The New Soldier

John Kerry, from his book, The New Soldier
"We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small [American] flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the 'greater glory of the United States.'..."

"The John Kerry quote comes in the epilogue to "The New Soldier," the book put out by Vietnam Veterans Against the War [VVAW]. The book's cover features a group of not-particularly sober-looking anti-war protesters (vets, presumably) flying the American flag upside down [while mocking the historic flag raising event at Iwo Jima]":
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1203164/posts
___________________________________________________

Click here for info about the book and the event:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/jamesbradley/index3.html

[luvbach1]

Yes, the great photo of the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi is a glaring omission.

[brickdds]

My uncle earned a Bronze star on Iwo

[luvbach1]

Whoops, there it !

[ken5050]

Most stories about Iwo fail to mention that the capture of the island, and its use as an emergency landing base for the B-29's that were bombing Japan daily, saved between 15,000-25,000 USAAF lives. Some 2,500 planes made emergency landings there. Indeed, the first plane to take advantage of Iwo landed in the water just offshore from the Marine beaches on te 3rd day of the invasion..

BTW..great tag line..

[AngelesCrestHighway]

http://www.stripes.com/articlephoto.asp?section=104&article=68415&photo=1&count=1