Iwo Jima

Mar 12

Posted by

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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About GP

Everett Smith served with the Headquarters Company, 187th Regiment, 11th A/B Division during WWII. This site is in tribute to my father, "Smitty." GP is a member of the 11th Airborne Association. Member # 4511 and extremely proud of that fact!

Posted on March 12, 2018, in First-hand Accounts, WWII and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 92 Comments.

  1. Lavinia Ross | March 26, 2018 at 12:19 PM

    I found their site and bookmarked it. I will be contacting them.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Lavinia Ross | March 25, 2018 at 5:47 PM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. prior.. | March 16, 2018 at 2:34 PM

    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

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Nasuko | March 15, 2018 at 10:40 AM

    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! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP Cox | March 15, 2018 at 2:16 PM

      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.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. UTLOT | March 14, 2018 at 5:33 PM

    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.

    Like

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  6. indianeskitchen | March 14, 2018 at 2:24 PM

    My husbands dad fought there!

    Like

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    • GP Cox | March 15, 2018 at 6:21 AM

      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.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. Carl D'Agostino | March 14, 2018 at 8:47 AM

    My father’s brother was in invasion. His Marine uniform is in veteran’s archives Staten Island, New York.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Mustang.Koji | March 13, 2018 at 10:46 PM

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

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  9. shoreacres | March 13, 2018 at 9:39 PM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • GP Cox | March 14, 2018 at 6:44 AM

      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.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. natuurfreak | March 13, 2018 at 9:03 PM

    Wat een brutaliteit aan beide zijden en de gevolgen ervan waren niet te overzien.Zoveel gruwel om onze vrijheid.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP Cox | March 14, 2018 at 6:41 AM

      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.

      Like

      Reply
  11. Mike's Journal | March 13, 2018 at 8:19 PM

    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!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Anna Cottage | March 13, 2018 at 7:39 PM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Anna Cottage | March 13, 2018 at 7:38 PM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Jennie | March 13, 2018 at 11:28 AM

    How can one not get goosebumps and feel pride watching that video? Thank you, GP.

    Like

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  15. Garrulous Gwendoline | March 13, 2018 at 5:16 AM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. Aviationtrails | March 13, 2018 at 2:29 AM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. SCLMRose | March 12, 2018 at 10:43 PM

    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!

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. Maria Holm | March 12, 2018 at 4:48 PM

    Imagine the feeling of loneliness if dying or wounded at such a desolate rough island far from home

    Liked by 1 person

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  19. Anne Clare | March 12, 2018 at 4:44 PM

    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!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. John W. Howell | March 12, 2018 at 3:49 PM

    Terrific video, GP. Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. Argus | March 12, 2018 at 3:44 PM

    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?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. Peter Klopp | March 12, 2018 at 3:39 PM

    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!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  23. jcalberta | March 12, 2018 at 2:34 PM

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  24. Robert Parker | March 12, 2018 at 12:25 PM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  25. Jacqui Murray | March 12, 2018 at 11:12 AM

    It is a long video but worth it. What a battle.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP Cox | March 12, 2018 at 2:50 PM

      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!

      Like

      Reply
  26. Tippy Gnu | March 12, 2018 at 10:23 AM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. Dan Antion | March 12, 2018 at 10:02 AM

    I’ll have to watch this tonight (still gainfully employed)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. bitaboutbritain | March 12, 2018 at 10:00 AM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP Cox | March 12, 2018 at 2:47 PM

      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!!

      Like

      Reply
  29. Eric Alagan | March 12, 2018 at 9:47 AM

    An iconic battle – if the word “iconic” is appropriate. When we speak of the Pacific War –
    Iwo Jima figures right up there.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  31. fragglerocking | March 12, 2018 at 9:22 AM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. Amy | March 12, 2018 at 8:26 AM

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP Cox | March 12, 2018 at 2:41 PM

      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.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  33. derrickjknight | March 12, 2018 at 7:43 AM

    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 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  34. beetleypete | March 12, 2018 at 7:15 AM

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  35. pvcann | March 12, 2018 at 6:37 AM

    Just imagine, if they’d been half the men, the tide might have turned much more slowly, these guys were amazing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  36. GP Cox | March 14, 2018 at 6:24 AM

    Thank you for helping me to keep these men in the hearts and minds of the readers, Michael.

    Like

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