Brutal battle. I heard that for 36 days, it averaged out to a Marine being KIA every seven minutes, and a Marine bewing wounded every two minutes.
Anyone of the boobs arguing against bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki need to take a close look at the Hell our soldiers went through.
Wasn’t Iwo the battle Admiral Nimitz described as “Where uncommon valor was a common virtue”?
This is the original Large (second) flag that was shown in the famous photo. On display at the Marine Corp Museum. 45 years ago when I was a military police in Germany it was part of my duty to help take down the US Flag in front of Division headquarters several times a week. I still look back at that today as a serious moment in my life as a 18 year old "kid". Back around 30 years ago I toured the USMC museum when it was still at the Washington Navy Yard and saw both this flag and the smaller original first Iwo Jima flag displayed together on a wall, behind glass of course. I was the only person in that part of the museum at the time, and I couldn't move for 5 minutes. I was stunned by the historical significance. How can anybody born here hate this country?
A distant cousin of mine in the 1st Battalion 28th Marines was KIA on Iwo Jima, he was the end of the line for that branch of the family.
25 years ago, I was in Japan on business. It was around the 50th anneversary of Iwo.
I was in the waiting area for flights from Tokyo City Airport (Haneda). In that area was a Shinto priest and an elderly Japanese man. The man was wearing a hat that looked much like an American Legion style hat. A veteran. They were on their way south to Iwo for the anneversary ceremonies.
The old man looked at me (obviously, an American) and gave a small smile in acknowlegement.
All I could think was that 50 years ago, we would have been at each other’s throats. And here we were in an airport, staring at each other.
It was a very strange occurance for me.
The Navy Corpsman, John Bradley, was from my Wifes Hometown. His story documented by his Son in Flags of our Fathers is an excellent way to read about the battle and the horrific results that occurred.
An uncle of mine, now deceased, was fought & was wounded at Iwo Jima.
My late father-in-law survived Iwo Jima with the 4th. Marine Division, but barely. He got ‘’the million dollar wound’’, a leg wound and that got him the hell out of there.
Yes, having Iwo under our control indeed provided an emergency landing base for B-29s coming back from sorties over Japan. A friend of mine, whose dad was a navigator on a B-29, had to land there due to low fuel. He was thankful for that landing strip.
The author fails to mention Iwo provided a base for P-51 escorts. From there, the Mustangs with their superb range could provide cover for the Super Forts on both legs of the missions.