"What about the war?" was a question Raymond Beadle was often asked by his children. The answer was always the same, "War is hell." For 40 years, Beadle refused to comment otherwise. Then, he said, someone convinced him to talk about it, and he began to share details of his World War II service. From his home in Morgan City, La., Beadle, 81, recounted in a telephone interview what he experienced 62 years ago when American and Japanese forces clashed on Iwo Jima. The Battle of Iwo Jima ("Sulfur Island" in English) was expected to be a quick victory, but,...