Posted on 03/02/2010 11:33:44 AM PST by GATOR NAVY
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – The military has denied a request from a World War II veterans group for transportation to Iwo Jima this week to commemorate the historic battle that took place there 65 years ago.
The Greatest Generation Foundation asked the military for help after a charter plane company that had volunteered to take the group from Okinawa to the battlefield canceled unexpectedly two weeks ago. But Pentagon officials denied the request because it could set a problematic precedent for other nongovernmental agencies that ask for similar assistance, U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Marine Maj. Bradley Gordon said Tuesday from Hawaii.
PACOM officials in Hawaii and Japan on Monday had been trying to arrange a military flight for the group in the event leaders in Washington approved the request, Gordon said.
Before the decision was made, the Denver-based nonprofit brought 12 aging veterans who fought at Iwo Jima from the United States to Japan over the weekend as planned, hoping the military would be able to provide transportation.
“[The veterans] are very emotional. They know the dream of going back to Iwo Jima is not going to take shape,” said Timothy Davis, president of the foundation, which has sponsored battlefield trips for veterans since 2004.
“We’re going to fight this,” Davis said. “I have to do what I can to get these boys back to Iwo Jima.”
The group of 85- to 97-year-old former Marines — along with 12 students who were to document their return to Iwo Jima, and several journalists — arrived on Okinawa on a commercial flight late Saturday. They are staying on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and are scheduled to return to the United States on March 9.
One veteran was hospitalized with stroke-like symptoms after arriving on Okinawa but was released Sunday, and another suffering from an infection was admitted to the hospital Tuesday, Davis said.
“Reality is kicking in. Come the 70th anniversary [of Iwo Jima] most of them are going to be dead,” he said. “If we allow these veterans to go to their graves with these stories then shame on us.”
Military officials recommended the group arrange the flight from Okinawa to Iwo Jima with another company. But Davis said the foundation could not afford the $50,000 it would cost after already having spent the $150,000 to get the group to Japan.
The government of Japan must approve all flights — commercial or military — to Iwo Jima, now officially known by its original name Iwo To.
Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, was expected to be the keynote speaker at a ceremony Wednesday on Iwo Jima to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the 36-day battle there in which 6,900 Marines and 20,000 Japanese were killed.
Raising 50G for this cause should be a piece of cake.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2461407/posts
A couple days ago I posted this thread with a link to pics of the Army Air Corp ops after the Marines secured the airfields of Iwo.
I’ve been a bit possessed about this and my research has led me to one of the pilots in the pics. He is currently on Iwo Jima for the 65th. I plan to meet him very soon. Here’s a email thread between him and I. Also note the links to his books and website. There are 2 good videos at his website, jerryyellin.com.
Dear Mr. Yellin,
My name is David Allen. I’m a former fighter pilot. I flew F-4’s and F-16’s in the MnANG. My father flew RF-4’s in Vietnam and then F-100’s in the Sioux City guard. A friend of mine recently sent me a link to the Piccasa gallery of pics from Iwo Jima. I was amazed at the untold story of Iwo Jima post invasion. My research this evening led me to your web site. I’m interested in learning more about the air ops off of Iwo Jima in 1945. Are there any good histories available? Are you willing to talk with me? Thanks in advance for your help and your service.
Dave
Dave, thanks for your email and yes, I would be honored to speak with you. I am currently on Guam preparing to go to iwo Jima on Wednesday and I will be back in Florida on March 5. I will call you a day or so later after I rest a bit from the trip. I agree with you about the lack of knowledge about OUR war. You can purchase my books Of War and Weddings and The Blackened Canteen at amazon.com and read my memoir and a true story about actual events. You can also watch a video or two at my website, www.jerryyellin.com.
I look forward to speaking to you soon.
Jerry
Jerry-
Thanks for your quick reply Sir, I’m thrilled. I should have figured you would be attending the 65th ann. I’ll certainly get your books and I’m trying to dig up the history of the 7th Air Force, One Damned Island After Another. I see somebody even wrote a book claiming that the air ops out of Iwo were ineffective and the whole invasion was a waste except for the flag picture... Must have been a Marine that wrote that book.. :o).
I can tell by my short night of research that the P-51’s and Iwo were a perfect match. Just launching 100 fighters on that first big escort mission on the 7th(?) of April and shooting down nearly 100 enemy fighters made the whole invasion worth it right there. Not to mention the bombers saved from that date forward. Not to mention the loss of Iwo as a base for the Japanese Air Force. Looks to me like the air base at Iwo broke the back of the empire. Historically as important as Midway. If anything I think the case can be made that the invasion of Okinawa might have been a waste... I really can’t believe that I didn’t know all this before tonight.
I can’t get over the lack of history out there for the Air Ops off of Iwo. Yeah, the Marines fought bravely, but they were there so you guys could do your magic. If only the screenplay writer for John Wayne had written him as a P-51 driver and started the movie with the flag plant. Then people would have the correct perspective.
Well, I’ll start jotting down some questions for you. I presume you live in Fl? I think I recognized that you were sitting in Crazy Horse? I’m in Myrtle Beach myself. Do you go to Sun N Fun? Have you ever given a talk there? I could probably arrainge that. I’ve got a plane, I’d love to fly down and meet you. I’ve got an 11 year old boy who would be thrilled to meet you as well. It’s after 3am, I better go to bed or my wife will think I’ve got a girlfriend.
Your Friend, Dave
I think it’s reasonable to consider footing the bill if only for the reason that these guys had their own transportation arranged but it crapped out on the last leg of the trip. They’re not asking for a ride from the States, they’re in Okinawa for pete’s sake. If the Commandant of the Marine Corps is coming you can bet that there is a shitpot of support going too. No reason these guys can’t be slipped on Space “A” somewhere.
Don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble here, but you all are forgetting about the international date line. The ceremony is in 5 hours or so. It’s too late....
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is the capital of Japan
The native name of Japan is Nippon
Current Time Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 5:11:58 AM
No, it would not set a "precedent." These men wore the uniform, the same one worn by those chairborne rangers in the Pentagon, risked death and saw their brothers die, all while in the military. They are not the same as any tom, dick and harry "nongovernmental organization."
And what kind of "precedent" are those fools worried about? The only battle fought after Iwo was Okinawa, and there is plenty of scheduled air service to get vets to a 65th anniversary there.
And what kind of a "precedent" is the Pentagon worried about? By the 70th anniversary almost all of them will be dead. Sheesh.
Reagan would have approved this in five milliseconds.
Fifty grand to fly from Tokyo to Iwo Jima?
“Fifty grand to fly from Tokyo to Iwo Jima?”
I was thinking that too. It’s only about 500 miles? Even in a Gulfstream it should only be about $10,000. Maybe 1/2 that for a big King Air...
On my Facebook page, I have some of my dad’s pics from Iwo Jima when he was there in WW2. It was pretty trashed. He said he never wanted to go back.
I'm sure that's the case for many. But others do want to go back. I was at the 50th anniversary-I don't know what the vet count was but it looked like a lot. I was at the 55th too but never hit the beach so I don't know how how many came.
My dad didn’t hit the beach. He came in with the Air Corps. He said it was a big rock that tore you up when you jumped into a foxhole.
Just to clarify I was there on my ships at the time in support of the commemorations, not a vet. USS Juneau in 2000-look close, you can see me on the bridge wing ;-)
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