Remembering Iwo Jima: Sixty-two Years Later
February 19th, 2007 by Marcus
The darkness of the Pacific on 19 February 1945 was broken just before 0200 hours as naval gunfire started beating the island of Iwo Jima. The gunfire lasted for an hour and left the island smoking. Bombers then picked up where the gunfire left off. The bombers dropped their ordnance on the already battered island and then returned to their base ships. Naval gunfire would once again pick up again after the planes where clear of the airspace. The bombardment of Iwo Jima lasted for nearly six and a half hours before the Marines were sent in to secure the island. Forty-five days later, the Marines declared Iwo Jima secure.
I remember the fierce fighting of my Marine brothers this day sixty-two years ago. They ate, slept, and breathed heavy fighting for forty-five days, and they sustained the largest number of casualties in any Marine Corps battle in history; a bloody record that still stands today. Twenty-seven Marines and Sailors of Iwo Jima were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. Fourteen of those gave their lives in the actions that lead up to the award. The sacrifices of those men and all of the other Marines on Iwo Jima will never be forgotten.
Uncommon valor was a common virtue. -Admiral Chester Nimitz
More than 550 Marines lost their lives on this day – ONE DAY!! Can you imagine if today's politicians were around sixty-two years ago?
Too bad today's politicians are around today! There's times I it takes all I can muster to keep from calling a certain generation names unfit to print. I understand there are bad apples and good apples in every bunch…but that's an awful lot of bad apples. (Ok, now I'm not saying any more, I promise.)
CJ,
Nice cheap shot! You can be proud of that one.
You should also be happy that you and Cpl. M. will never have to fight in such a situation like our relatives fought during WWII. Times a changed, bro'.
There, now go back to watching your John Wayne movies and get your dose of Walter Mitty for the day! You must be jonesing by this time of day.
Nice cheap shot CF! I am honestly more fond of our Vietnam War troops and all serving after including the soldiers serving now than I will ever be fond of for our World War 2 veterans.
Careful, there, SealPat. You just likely ticked off a whole lot of folks with that comment, and I suspect particularly with Cpl.M. Did you even bother to read the top-post?
Yep, sealpatriot could especially tick off folks like me, whose dad is one of those who fought and was wounded on Iwo Jima 62 years ago. But maybe if he'd grown up listening to stories of those battles that were fought in places most people never heard of, the people who fought them might be a bit closer to his heart.
Thanks for your tribute to all those Marines. And here's to all our brave troops…no matter when or where they fought…who have given so much for all of us.
Remembering Iwo …
Remembering Iwo Jima: Sixty-two Years Later Cpl M. The darkness of the Pacific on 19 February 1945 was broken just before 0200 hours as naval gunfire started beating the island of Iwo Jima. The gunfire lasted for an hour and…
Bill's Nibbles — 2007.02.21 …
Some Bill's Bites posts, some things I excerpted and linked but I'm sending you to the original post. I may rearrange the order of the items within this post as I add new things that I think belong above the…
I am really glad that I made people mad by just being honest(sarcasm). Also, I never once said that I disliked the World War Two Veterans. Personally, I sometimes wonder if I am the only one outside of the military and below the age of 19 who remembers what happened on December 7th 1941 every year because some kids at the High School I went to tell me they don't remember or that they don't care. Besides, where is it said that I may not chose favorites or that I can't have a bias towards serviceman of one war over another? How about you CF? I have every reason to be mad at you because I am sick of people using the fights and battles of other wars as a beating stick for their politics. How is it the soldiers nowadays don't have to fight the way the WW2 vets did? Just because the soldiers today were better than every single group of soldiers before them, and that the bad guys our troops defeat don't get as far as the bad guys WW2 vets fought during their time. Yeah, that doesn't mean there aren't bad people nowadays who wouldn't try to go as far as Hirohito or Hitler did. The troops serving today just stop them before they get to accomplish anything close to what dictators of the past were able to.
CF, you're starting to walk a real fine line. CJ had a VERY valid point when he mentioned today's politicians. Chill the the insults and you may be able to stick around a bit longer. Keep pushing the envelope and you won't have that privilege anymore.
SealPat, I think I know what you really meant, but remember how you say things is almost more important than the meaning behind it. You're a great kid and you mean well, just make sure you get what you really mean out there.
Now, how about we all remember the true point of this post. Remember our fallen and heroes from Iwo Jima.
Oh just to let everyne here know, even though I was never on talking terms with my grand father, I strongly appreciatted, envied, and loved him and swell up with tears after I hear stories of his work in North Africa in the French Foreign Legion during World War Two!
Thanks Cpl. M, I will try to chose my words more carefully and I am sorry KBug.