Survivors Reunite at Iwo Jima on Anniversary of Key World War II Battle

AP ^ | Mar. 12, 2004

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Survivors Reunite at Iwo Jima on Anniversary of Key World War II Battle

Mar 12, 2004

By Eric Talmadge/ Associated Press Writer

IWO JIMA, Japan (AP) - Elderly American and Japanese veterans who fought at Iwo Jima placed wreaths before a monument on the tiny island Friday to mark the 59th anniversary of the battle that turned the tide against Tokyo in World War II. Nearly 7,000 Americans and virtually all of the 22,000 Japanese troops deployed here died during 36 days of fierce fighting in 1945. The 25 Americans and three Japanese, most in their 80s, were joined Friday by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Gen. William Nyland, deputy commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The island, which is about 700 miles southeast of Tokyo, has been inhabited only by soldiers in the decades since the end of the war, and is off limits to civilians. It can be reached only by military aircraft, navy vessels or other official transport.

Though Iwo Jima is ringed by pristine beaches of black sand and capped by the picturesque Mount Suribachi, site of the famous flag-raising that for many Americans symbolizes the Pacific War, the scars of battle are never far from view.

Tank turrets - rusted and weather-worn - jut out from the foliage. Waves beat against the hulks of landing crafts and weeds cover the windows of concrete bunkers. Rifles, hand grenades and spent shells of every size are common.

"It's amazing how many reminders are here," said veteran Abe Richardson, 85, of Cape May, N.J. "But when we came ashore, everything was dead. Now it's all overgrown."

Iwo Jima, used by Tokyo as an advance warning post for Allied bombing raids, was considered key to efforts to break through Japan's defenses. After its fall, Japan's main island was increasingly vulnerable to raids, and to attacks by fighters flying out of Iwo Jima itself.

Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Gordon Ward, 80, of Kensington, Md., has come back for three anniversaries here but said this will be his last.

Before Friday's ceremony, he walked around the island with his 15-year-old great-grandson, Anthony Ross-Sapienza, explaining his experience of the historic battle, where he earned a Purple Heart for being seriously wounded the day after fighting began.

"It's indescribable," Ross-Sapienza said. "He's told us about it, but to be here is very powerful. I've learned a lot."

[nuconvert]

Pong

[Petronski]

[SAMWolf]

[RushLake]

An outstanding book about the battle was "Flags of Our Fathers". The son of one of the (5) flag raisers in the second flag raising wrote a book about those (5) men and their experiences. His dad was a medical corpman from Wisconsin. I was finishing the book as I was flying into Oahu a few years ago. I could see the Missouri and the Arizona memorial out the window at that point as we flew over Pearl Harbor, and tears came to my eyes. God bless those men.

[Soaring Feather]

nuconvert, Thank You for posting this article.

Sam, thanks for the ping.

[nuconvert]

Inscription:

"Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue."

[Soaring Feather]

(((((Ping)))))

[nuconvert]

[SAMWolf]

[MoJo2001]

Thank you so much for the ping!!!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

A dear friend of my mom's, in his 80s, was there. The liucense plate on his car says "IWO"

[sam_paine]

Most military books/movies (like Lt. Winter's soliloquoy in Band o Brothers) have this overarching soldier prayer theme of "If I can just make it through tonight/bombardment/patrol/etc, I will find a piece of land somewhere and live peacefully for the rest of my life."

And yet, in many of these guys, there's an inextiguishable connection, almost yearning, for the heat/fear of battle, and that they eventually need to return for closure, sometimes over and over again.

I see this at Pearl Harbor reunions, etc.

What general was it that said war is man's natural state?

I suspect that those that have experienced it cannot but have those memories etched as the pinnacle (or pit) of their lives.

[MoJo2001]

Oh Wow!

We are so blessed to live in a country where heroes and bravery are everywhere.

Thank you for sharing that with all of us.

God Bless all of our Veterans and Active Duty.

[Turbo Pig]

I was stationed at Marine Barracks 8th and I, Washington D.C. While there, the Marine Corps celebrated the 50th anniversary of Iwo Jima. We held a huge gathering of surviving Marines, their children, and widows. The Chaplin of the 5th(?) Mar Div, who landed with the troops gave the benediction and spoke briefly. He was followed by the Commandant Monday and Pres. Clinton (his speech that day was one of the few times he did not completely disgust me).

I was working as an escort, guiding people from the main entrance to seats, and had an opportunity to meet some of the Veterans, and widows up close.. Iwo Jima is one of those things that is almost mystical to the Marines. It was a defining moment, in its history, and the men who took part in it are about 10ft tall in the eyes of most Marines; deserving respect and honor above normal. Meeting and speaking with them that day I was in awe of the sacrifices they had made (both the Marines and the gold star wives). I walked away from the experience a much better Marine. There was something about the whole thing that I couldn't put my finger on, though. Something right below the surface that I couldn't get ahold of.

Fast forward 7 years later, I had been out for several years. I picked up "Flags Of Our Fathers". It is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read, and a must read for any military history buff. It wasn't until I had finished the book that I realized that it had given me the answer to what that feeling was. The men in the book and that I had met that day, were not 10ft tall. They were ordinary people. They were average men that were put into an extraordinary situation, that was savage and violent, beyond anything that a civilized person can prepare for.

You might think that the realization that they were just like everybody else would diminished the awe they inspired. Quite the contrary. These men performed Herculean deeds, then went on with their lives. I can only hope that if ever put into such a situation I could perform the way they did and come out in pone piece. Sorry for the ramblings, just a very important point in life.

[nuconvert]

"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."

[North Coast Conservative]

In God We Trust…..Semper Fi!

[North Coast Conservative]

[Joee]

In 1953, as a member of the 3rd Mar. Div., I spent 6 weeks on Iwo in preparation for a Training Exercise. As I became acclimated to the island, I gained in appreciation as to what the invasion force really faced in that battle. Soon, I realized that much of the coral that littered the ground wasn't coral at all, but fragments of human bones. I also ventured, with EOD, into many of the caves, in which there were many mummified remains of Japanese troops, some of which were booby trapped to blow if disturbed. They apparently had done it to themselves before committing suicide. Also there was enough ammo in those many caves, to fight the battle over again.

I stood on the spot where two time CMH winner, John Basilone was killed, and checked the view/fields of fire from the top of Suribachi. There was NO cover for the invading Marines. I can only tell you that I hold those men as the Hero's they really are. No honor is too high for them.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Very thoughtful of you to ping me - thank you, Ms. Feather.