Posted on 02/23/2014 7:08:38 PM PST by kingattax
Wednesday marked the 69th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima – one of the worst battles of World War II.
Across the nation many remembered this day from 69 years ago.
In Newington, Connecticut, a memorial was recently built and is the only flag raising memorial built by survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The flag flown at the memorial is historically correct with 48 stars. There is also sand from Iwo Jima beaches in the concrete base. The memorial also includes inscriptions of the names of 100 men from Connecticut who died during the battle.
The 69th anniversary will be marked on February 22 and 23 by events being held by members of the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation.
(Excerpt) Read more at webpronews.com ...
Thank God for so many brave Marines -- true American heroes.
The raising of both flags, even!
I can’t remember who said it but I recall roughly this quote: “Iwo Jima where uncommon valor was a common virtue”. One of America’s greatest moments
Stars and Stripes on Iwō-Jima--Judy Canova & the Riders of the Purple Sage (1945)
Accept for the MSM, Google, et al .....
Today is the anniversary of an historic day in the annals of American history. The raising of the flag on Iwo Jima is one of the most iconic images to ever represent the American struggle for democracy and freedom in the world. The image is as recognizably American as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.
By the morning of February 23rd, 1945 the battle of Iwo Jima had already been underway for several days. The 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines battled to the top of Mount Suribachi, a huge volcanic mountain that overlooks the rest of the island.
As you may have seen in the film “Flags of Our Fathers” directed by Clint Eastwood, the first flag raised over Iwo Jima was a small one crudely tied to a metal pole salvaged from wreckage found on top of Mount Suribachi. The second, larger flag, raised on a better-suited flagpole, is what we recognize today as the famous depiction of the 4 Marines atop the mountain.
The dramatic photograph was taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal an Associated Press photographer shadowing US Marines in the Pacific. It won him a Pulitzer Prize and went down in history as the inspiration for the USMC Memorial, various stamps, posters, and other timeless depictions of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Please use this anniversary to honor the memory of all veterans who have served their country in wartime throughout the years. We owe everything we have today to the service and sacrifices of our veterans, especially those who served in our most recent Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
I don’t think they are 100 American men in Connecticut today who could match up with those 100 that died there.
Active Duty/Retiree ping.
God bless Ira Hayes.
PING
We must never forget the bravery of those who paid for our freedom with their blood!
"The Ballad of Ira Hayes" by Johnny Cash
There they battled up Iwo Jima hill,
Two hundred and fifty men
But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again
And when the fight was over
And when Old Glory raised
Among the men who held it high
Was the Indian, Ira Hayes
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-r/k-rocky.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keller_E._Rockey
The 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American
casualties, including 6,800 dead. Of the 20,000 Japanese
defenders, only 1,083 survived.Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded to Marines and
sailors, many posthumously, more than were awarded for any
other single operation during the war.http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/battleiwojima.htm
It is rightfully a proud day in Marine history. However, another
heroic event happened in the Pacific Theater at the same time
that never gets recognition. In the Philippines 2147 mostly
American civilians were rescued from a Japanese prison camp
thirty miles south of Manila. The behind the lines rescue executed
by the US Army 11th Airborne Div included a parachute assault,
infiltration by the 11th AB Recon platoon and guerillas, a diversionary
operation, and an evacuation by amtracs across a vast lake. Over
150 Japanese guards were killed or scattered. No prisoners were
lost.
The raising of the US flag on Mt Surabachi was truly a memorable
historic event. However, that it completely over shadows an
event like the Los Banos Raid is somewhat sad IMO.
We should have annexed it after the war.
http://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/02/angels_at_dawn_.html
http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-liberating-los-banos-internment-camp.htm
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