On This Day in History:..Star-Spangled Banner Waves Atop Mt. Suribachi (65th anniversary)

...Between August 1944 and mid-February 1945, the U.S. Navy and Seventh Air Force ravaged the volcanic island Iwo Jima, 775 miles from Japan with 6,800 tons of high-explosive bombs and more than 22,000 5- and 16-inch shells. It was the most massive pre-assault bombardment in history, and everyone in the American invasion force assumed that the U.S. Marines would hit the beach on February 19 and walk unopposed to the summit of Mt. Suribachi, an extinct volcano rising 550 feet from the island floor.

Instead, Iwo Jima became the bloodiest slaughter in Marine Corps history, claiming 7,000 lives. In return, the Americans killed all but 216 of the island’s 21,000 Japanese defenders....

On February 23, 1945, forty Marines burned and blasted their way up Mt. Suribachi and planted an American flag on its summit. Associated Press cameraman Joe Rosenthal’s dramatic photograph of the event became the most famous image of the Pacific war, but not before three of the six Marines pictured had been killed.

The six photographed historic flag raisers were Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley. The famous Rosenthal photograph inspired a postage stamp in 1945 depicting the flag-raising. It also inspired the tallest cast bronze statue in the world, which was assembled in Arlington National Cemetery in fall of 1954. The monument was cast at the Bedi-Rassy Art Foundry in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. It stands in honor of all U.S. Marines (since 1775) who have given their lives for their country....

The Mass on Mount Suribachi

...On February 18th, 1945 Navy Lieutenant, (the Marine Corps, although Marines are often loathe to admit it, is a component of the Department of the Navy, and the Navy supplies all the chaplains that serve with it) Charles Suver, Society of Jesus, was part of the 5th Marine Division and anxiously awaiting the end of the bombardment and the beginning of the invasion the next day. Chaplain Suver was one of 19 Catholic priests participating in the invasion as a chaplain.

Father Suver had been born in Ellensburg, Washington in 1907. Graduating from Seattle College in 1924, he was ordained as a priest in 1937, having taught at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Prior to the war, while teaching at Seattle Prep, he rigorously enforced the no running rules in the hall, even going so far as to tackle one errant student! Father Suver was remembered as a strict disciplinarian but also a fine teacher. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, he joined the navy as a chaplain.

On February 18th, 1945, Chaplain Suver was discussing the upcoming invasion with other Marine officers. A lieutenant told him that he intended to take an American flag onto the top of Mount Suribachi. Suver responded that if he did that, he would say mass under it.

At 5:30 AM the next morning Father Suver said mass for the Marines aboard his ship, LST 684. (The official meaning of LST was Landing Ship, Tank; the troops designated them Large Slow Target.) After mass, nervous Marines, more than a few of whom had not much longer to live, bombarded the chaplain with questions, especially questions about courage. He responded, “ A courageous man goes on fulfilling his duty despite the fear gnawing away inside. Many men are fearless, for many different reasons, but fewer are courageous.”

Chaplain Suver landed at Green Beach, the landing zone closest to Mount Suribachi. He hit the beach in the ninth wave at 9:40 AM into a chaotic hell of combat that would last two days. Father Suver, as he went about his tasks of tending the wounded and administering the Last Sacrament, time and again almost lost his life. It was a medium miracle that any Marines got off Green Beach alive, but ultimately after 48 hours they overcame the desperate Japanese resistance at the base of Mount Suribachi.

On February 23, Chaplain Suver joined with the men raising the flag on Mount Suribachi and said mass prior to the raising of the flag. The photo at the top of this post is of the mass. This mass was said in the very teeth of death. Japanese resistance was still very much alive on Mount Suribachi. While he was saying mass Father Suver could hear Japanese talking from caves nearby. For whatever reason, my bet would be on divine intervention, the Japanese did not attack the mass, and the flag was raised....

On this day my Father landed on Iwo as the floating reserve (A Co, 21st Marines) of the Third Marine Division. Two full divisions were already ashore. It took another 30+ days to clear an island that is barely 10 miles long and 5 miles wide. Within three days of landing, my Father had to replace +30% of his company with raw recruits straight from Camp Pendleton due to casualties. He made it for 30 days and was shot on the northern clifts one day shy of declaring the end to hostilities. I have been to Iwo, there is no where to hide on this island - it is a moonscape. Imagine 3 full divisions on an island this small facing an estimated 40K cave ridden Japs. Not a pleasant prospect. Walking on Iwo, you cannot take a step without finding shell fragments, cartridges (spent and unspent), and items that look suspiciously like bond fragments. While Suribachi was a good photo op, the battle was waged for 30 days across a featureless landscape. It was a real blood bath. I wonder if America today has the guts to win such a battle?

I landed on the island in 1951 enroute back to japan on a medivac plane. A 1lt in Marines was on the plane also and was in one of the first waves of troops to land in 1945. I was shocked to see plants growing as there were none when he landed. As he looked around went into shock and thanks that a bunch of nurses were also on the plane to help him. He took me down to a pillbox that had a direct hit from a 16” shell. His squad assumed the japs was finished and stood up and he lost half his squad from machine gun fire from that pill box. No one tried to seek cover after a couple of days as even if you were in a foxhole was exposed to fire from the top of the mountain. They had to be the best to endure this battle.

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