Iwo Jima
From: “Japanese Destroyer Captain” by IJN Capt. Tameichi Hara____
After heavy preliminary bombardment, the Americans began the invasion of Iwo Jima… Not a single Japanese warship was sent to oppose this enemy landing, only 700 miles from the homeland. Meanwhile the bombing of Japanese cities by B-29 Superforts from Marianas bases continued with increasing intensity.
Nothing I write could possibly give you the feeling of this operation – so please watch this documentary that gives both American and Japanese thoughts on this 19 February 1945!
I realize this is rather long, so if you have limited time, I suggest watching the first few minutes – still – it is very impressive!
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Murray Barton – NYC, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO
Rayner Broadbent – Waikato, NZ; RNZ Navy # 8573, WWII, submarine service
Ralph Casale – Chelmsford, NH; USMC, WWII, frogman
Donald Gilbert – Greenville, OH; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
John Herberg – Eau Claire, WI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, pilot (Ret. 30 y.)
Ernell Hermanson – Albuquerque, NM; US Army, WWII
John McShane – Boston, MA; US Army, 187th RCT, infantryman
William Shank – US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 8th Air Force
Kenneth Taylor – Montreal, CAN; RC Navy, WWII, Signalman, HMCS Inch Arran
Ralph Wasserman – St. Paul, MN, US Navy, WWII, PTO, radioman
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Posted on March 12, 2018, in First-hand Accounts, WWII and tagged History, Iwo Jima, Marines, Military, Military History, Military humor, Navy, Pacific, Pacific War, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 92 Comments.
I found their site and bookmarked it. I will be contacting them.
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Very good.
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I bookmarked the video. Thank you!
I now have an old handwritten list of places and ships (Arkansas and Antereas) where my father was. It does not mention Iwo Jima, but has a long list of other islands including Peleliu, Ie Shima, Okinawa and Guadal Canal. He made no notes other than listing is serial number, enlistment location and date, and discharge date.
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Have you contacted NARA, the national archives? You are entitled to his service records. It takes a while to hear from them these days, so many people are newly interested because of all the ancestry and DNA tracking going on.
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I’m sure you’ve been to these sites…
http://www.hullnumber.com/BB-33
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/archives/digitized-collections/action-reports/wwii-pearl-harbor-attack/ships-a-c/uss-antares-aks-3-action-report.html
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sad that so much blood was shed on that black sand.
and side note – the navy poster – 5 dangerous things…
was special to me – my dad was in Navy!! and the man on poster sorta looks like him – so cool and made my day
ok – now I am going to finish watching the video here –
peace to u
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I’m glad I included something of interest to you. If your dad is still with us, kindly shake his hand for me.
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passed in 2004 – but I expect he just winked down at us, GP – cos he was that cool kind of guy with a smile and a wink.
🙂
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I’m glad you had such a father! Like mine you can see that half-grin and sly wink every now and then, as though they were still here!!
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I know – that is exactly how I picture it – 🙂
we have that in common
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Lucky us!
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The United States and Japan,we must never Battle again, because we can be friends.
Do not be misled by the words of other countries.
Awesome post! 😀
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So true, Nasuko. I don’t think anything could make our two countries rise up against each other again. And – right now we both have too many other countries trying our patience.
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Hey Brother, I was replying to your comment on the teacher feeding the dog to the snapping turtle. When I was getting ready to send it, a red spam bar appeared, and i can’t find you there. If it is okay, please go to the Equipping page on this blog and click onto it so that you can follow me again. Please know how much I appreciate all that you do with your posts. Please have a good day.
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My husbands dad fought there!
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If he is still with us, please shake his hand for me and thank him for ALL he did! If not, feel free to put his info in the comments if you wish for him to be in the Farewell Salutes. Thank you for telling me.
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My father’s brother was in invasion. His Marine uniform is in veteran’s archives Staten Island, New York.
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My like here did not register.
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I read your post today and understand you are in the middle of a glitch problem – no worries, Carl, we have been friends for far too long!!
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It must be a great feeling to know your uncle is so honored! May we remember as many as we can!!
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For those who may not know, Norm Hatch was in charge of the Marine combat photographers, including Sgt. William Homer Genaust who still remains on that island. Also, the US Marines misidentified one of the (second) flag raisers as Navy Corpsman Bill Bradley for 70 years. The true and last flag raiser was Pfc. Harold Schultz who quietly passed away in 1995. No discresit to Bradley. All were heroes.
Also, the were 50 Japanese-American US Army soldiers on Iwo. They were attached to G-2, US 8th Army but eventually wearing Marine dungarees as the battle waged on. They were there to translate and interrogate captured Japanese combatants. Ironically, one su h Nisei was filmed by Genaust in one of hus last rolls. One soldier Doi stepped on a land mine and died of his wounds shortly after war’s end.
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Thank you for all that, Koji. I appreciate having as much data, especially with their names, to highlight and add perspective to other readers! You have always been a dear friend!
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Likewise… I feel we really bonded when I read your letter next to the rice paddy near Breakneck Ridge. Very moving…
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Exactly.
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I’m glad you posted this, GP. It took me a little to get to it, but it was well worth it. Too many people are ready to romanticize war and seek it at every turn or, on the other hand, to deny that it ever is necessary. A clear-eyed look at its realities, like this video provides, could help with both of those issues.
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In my opinion, war should never be romanticized. Yes, many people found their mates during that time, or the fear of the war drew people together, but as you can see, men of any nationality dropping like flies can never be a rosy picture. Thank you very much for taking the time to get through this video.
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Wat een brutaliteit aan beide zijden en de gevolgen ervan waren niet te overzien.Zoveel gruwel om onze vrijheid.
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Een zeer primitieve geschiedenis, vrees ik, Mary Lou. Misschien helpt dit om te begrijpen waarom ik zo geniet van je site met de sereniteit van de natuur.
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Chills went down my spine watching the video. It was absolutely horrific and very interesting at the same time. The brave men who fought that day are resting easy in Valhalla. Thank you for sharing!
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Ah, the Norse heavens, what a wonderful thought for such brave men who gave their all for us and freedom.
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Reblogged this on Anna Cottage and commented:
How easily forgotten are these brave men who fought in some cases to the very end, never to return home. We owe them all such a debt.
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I appreciate this. Iwo Jima is one of the few battles actually known of from the Pacific War
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Terrifying yet so courageous. We can never repay the debt owed to these brave Men, whose thoughts as they fought must have been for home and their loved ones. Thank you for showing us this, it made one go cold.
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I knew I could not convey what the Pacific was like then, I had to show it.
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How can one not get goosebumps and feel pride watching that video? Thank you, GP.
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Thank you. I felt the same way.
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You are welcome, GP.
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I watched it all the way through. An amazing record. The problem of disease took me straight back to how horrific it must have been for those on the battlefields of WWI, but I wonder about the subsequent effects on the survivors of Iwo Jima from the DDT spray also. So much carnage, so much waste, it’s devastating for all sides.
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And I understand despite the spraying, the flies and smell was still unbearable. Thank you for making it all the way through, I don’t normally include such a long one in my posts, but I couldn’t pass this up. Great to see you, Gwen.
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I realised you were reluctant to do that, and at first I thought I didn’t have time either. But I’m home alone at the moment, so I set it up on the kitchen bench while I made myself a scratch meal and watched it while I ate. There are times when one can derive great benefit from solitude 🙂
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I like being alone, something my better-half doesn’t always understand.
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I do too
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It’s funny how people assume I am a total extrovert, when, in reality, I am most comfortable when it is only me and my thoughts . . .
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I know what you mean. I feel more relaxed, organized and I accomplish more – IF I want to!
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What the Japanese did to that island was incredible and how the US forces took it just as so. Certainly one to come back to. Thanks GP.
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Great!
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That was brutal on both sides. I watched it twice. My desktop has no audio so I watched it again on my laptop just now. It was powerful. This should be shown in school to remind our youngsters that freedom is not free. I also like the first flag. The second flag looks staged which it was. Great post!
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That’s how my father felt too, he gave the credit to the first flag raisers! Thank you for making such a great effort to see and hear the video!
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Imagine the feeling of loneliness if dying or wounded at such a desolate rough island far from home
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I can not imagine how lonely and empty a feeling that would be. Thank you and Henry for coming by, Maria.
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Fascinating video- as far as I was allowed to get into it 😉 The real footage from the era is impressive. I will definitely have to make time for this one, and thanks for sharing it!
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My pleasure, Anne. I appreciate you making the effort!!
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Wow. What an excellent film- I especially appreciate the real footage and the interviews. Thanks again for sharing this.
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My pleasure. As I said, nothing I could write would compare with people seeing the real thing – even Spielberg can’t do it.
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Terrific video, GP. Thanks.
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Thank you, John. Nothing I could ever put together would compare!!
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Like to see those Navy flyers swooping in low in support. My dad did that stuff.
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They are impressive!
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Only part way into that film and moved to comment: in summaries of the potential invasion of the Japanese mainlands were the words “Iwo Jima-type defences”.
Perhaps some of the modern armchair panty-waists should consider this point before sobbing about the unnecessary use of atomic bombs; when all they really had to do was send a nicely worded telegram to Hirohito?
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There ya go – the answer to every argument. Or maybe an “I’m sorry for everything” card?
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I am glad to get a report based on actual footage. It is absolutely amazing what the film and camera men accomplished to provide a lasting memory. So far I have seen only Hollywood movies. I was also impressed how they took care of the injured. Thanks!
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The medics and corpsmen are remarkable. It’s as though they were hand-picked by a higher authority! I sometimes think the camera men were just plain nuts!! 🙂
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The horror … the unimaginable horror.
I don’t think I even want to know.
But I hope I can somewhat appreciate the ultimate sacrifice made by so many.
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I know you understand. But if I can get through to just one more person….
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What a brutal process this was. It would be good to require that documentaries like this be shown in high school – – the windrows of dead in the fields during the Civil War, the grit and grind it took to take this one small island, the bodies strewn across the no-man’s-land in WWI, etc. — people might value their vets more, and be less quick to jump into more wars in the future.
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Very good, Robert! You’re a man after my own heart!
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It is a long video but worth it. What a battle.
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And I thank you for getting through it! I usually never put in a video over 5 minutes if i can help it, but this one was hard to pass up! Thanks, Jacqui!
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Now that I’ve seen the video, I understand more clearly why this battle has been so well memorialized. What an epic struggle it was, for both sides. Thanks for the history lesson, GP.
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No problem! People need to know just what we old coots mean when we say ‘Freedom is definitely NOT free!’
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I’ll have to watch this tonight (still gainfully employed)
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Jeez, Dan. That was a buzz-kill!! Work, oh yeah, I remember now!
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🙁
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This was a particularly horrendous battle. Most of us can’t imagine what these men went through to help create the freedoms so many of us enjoy today.
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Isn’t that the truth. When I hear people complaining about every little thing – I wish I had a time machine to send them back to the Great Depression and WWII – that would certainly give them something to complain about!!
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An iconic battle – if the word “iconic” is appropriate. When we speak of the Pacific War –
Iwo Jima figures right up there.
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When you learn the details and specifics of these battles, you wonder how any of them came home!
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you, Michael, for helping me to remind people what all went on in the Pacific.
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Amazing footage of this horrendous battle, am impressed at how well organised the Americans were to have DDT sprayed everywhere, and all the equipment they managed to get on to the Island.
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The DDT was necessary for the insects, especially flies. So many men died in such a short period of time.
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No time today, but I will save the link and hope to come back to it another time. On my first ever trip to Washington DC when I was about twelve, we stayed in the Iwo Jima Motel right near the statue (I doubt the motel still exists), so one of my first Washington sights was the statue, and I remember my father explaining what it was about.
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I didn’t really expect everyone to watch it, but I think you’ll be pleasantly pleased when you return to at least see the landing. My father explained about the picture and never thought much about it. He felt it was too staged. He gave credit to the men who planted the first little flag up there.
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Thanks for this, GP. I had intended just to watch the first few minutes, but was immediately captivated. I found the narrative and interview statements far more intelligible that the language of Clint Eastwood’s film 🙂
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I’m thrilled you found it interesting, Derrick! Thank you so much for watching it!!
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My pleasure, my friend
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I think I have seen the film before, but I watched it again. Iwo Jima is such a well-known battle, it is good to be reminded of just how difficult (and awful) it was for those concerned.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, this is one of the few battles in the Pacific that was taught in school. But thanks for stopping in and re-seeing it, Pete.
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Just imagine, if they’d been half the men, the tide might have turned much more slowly, these guys were amazing.
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Isn’t that something?!!!!
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Thank you for helping me to keep these men in the hearts and minds of the readers, Michael.
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