FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops! ~ 23 February 2017

Serving The Bestest Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[ConorMacNessa]

Seventy-Two Years Ago Today
February 23, 1945, Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima
From This Day in U.S. Military History:

During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag.

"Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi’s slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a motion-picture cameraman. Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won for him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March. In early 1945, U.S. military command sought to gain control of the island of Iwo Jima in advance of the projected aerial campaign against the Japanese home islands. Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island located in the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan, was to be a base for fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. On February 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed onto Iwo Jima’s inhospitable shores. The Japanese garrison on the island numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched men. Their commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had been expecting an Allied invasion for months and used the time wisely to construct an intricate and deadly system of underground tunnels, fortifications, and artillery that withstood the initial Allied bombardment. By the evening of the first day, despite incessant mortar fire, 30,000 U.S. Marines commanded by General Holland Smith managed to establish a solid beachhead. During the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under heavy fire from Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from the Japanese infantry. Many of the Japanese defenders were never seen and remained underground manning artillery until they were blown apart by a grenade or rocket, or incinerated by a flame thrower. While Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet around Iwo Jima, the Marines on the island continued their bloody advance across the island, responding to Kuribayashi’s lethal defenses with remarkable endurance. On February 23, the crest of 550-foot Mount Suribachi was taken, and the next day the slopes of the extinct volcano were secured. By March 3, U.S. forces controlled all three airfields on the island, and on March 26 the last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima were wiped out. Only 200 of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders were captured alive. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000 were wounded."

[PROCON]

Hi Kathy, yes, grrr..FR is very slow lately.

The sun has been out today and the snow is almost gone! WOO-HOO!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...any melting going on?

Did you do your “regular” pub night last night?

It’s thinking about snowing again here. At least it is getting a little lighter later each day.

[yarddog]

Does anyone know what kind of helicopters those are?

[oldteen]

Evenin’ folks!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And rounding out the top three....Pro bags the bronze!!

[givemWatts]

Thank you and bless you for the encouraging message.

[Soaring Feather]

Hey Tennessee Woman, how is you? Got snow or do you have daffodils in bloom?

Lovely weather today. No flowers around here, dang.

HUGS

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mac...*HUGS*...do you have your new garden all planned out and ready to go?

Weather still nice?

[ConorMacNessa]

Teenie!

*HUGS*

It's great to see you this evening! How have you been doing lately?

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...enjoy your time at home.

[PROCON]

Attention, Attention, trouble-maker in the Canteen!

Just sayin'

[oldteen]

Thank you kind sir! *hugs*

Just trudging along like most I know! And you and Mrs. Mac?

[ConorMacNessa]

I started some cleanup in the Garden yesterday. A lot of work to do this Spring. The weather is beautiful this week.

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

[left that other site]

It’s MELTING bigly, like the wicked witch of the west in a swimming pool! LOL!

I LOVE a Good February Thaw! :-)

Last night was a really good pub night. My nephew showed up and did a few songs, as well as the usual suspects. :-)

[Kathy in Alaska]

KIOWA COVEY

Thirty-two OH-58D Kiowa Warriors conduct a flyover above Fort Bragg, N.C., 2016,
during the final stateside flight of the aircraft, April 15, 2016. The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
has been a mainstay in the skies over the area for more than 25 years. DoD photo by Kenneth Kassens

[oldteen]

You’re such a gentleman!

[luvie]

Yeah, but you’re ALways here, PRO! What else is new!? ;)

[Kathy in Alaska]

TEEN!!!! ((HUGS))

I’ve been thinking about you a lot!!

How are you and all the flooding? Are you high even if not dry?

[Kathy in Alaska]

I’m going home. I can be frustrated in comfort.