On this day in 1945, Marines from 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment, 5th Division of the United States Marines Corps raised the American flag on the summit of the 500′ high Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
A second flag was later raised and photographed.
22,000 Japanese defended Iwo Jimo. Only 200 were taken alive. 6000 Marines died and 17000 were wounded.
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- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The photographer, Joe Rosenthal, was a Jewish convert to Catholicism.
From my Marine family; Semper Fi to all Marines and their families.
A cousin of my wife was one of the casulties on Iwo Jima.
Ira Hayes
Franklin Sousley
Mike Strank
Rene Gagnon
John Bradley
Harlon Block
Iron Men
I was about 13 the first time I saw the Marine Memorial in DC. I was overwhelmed.
http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/archive-2006-0831-iwo-jima.htm
Last year, I was captivated by two movies directed by Clint Eastwood about Iwo Jima. I highly recommend them and they may even be on cable somewhere today and/or tomorrow.
http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Fathers-Five-Disc-Commemorative-Edition/dp/B000P1XITE
Semper fi, Devil Dogs.
Sincerely,
An old Army guy.
John Bradley was a Navy Corpsman.
97% of Marines and Sailors wounded in World War II recovered, thanks in great part to the sacrifices of their Corpsmen. 1,170 Corpsmen gave their lives in World War II. I don’t know the exact number of deaths they sustained on Iwo Jima, but I saw a documentary awhile back about it, and I remember it being pretty high. The Japanese deliberately targeted the Corpsmen to damage morale and weaken our forces. Four Corpsmen received the Medal of Honor for their actions on Iwo Jima, two of them posthumously. So while paying due respect to the gallantry of our Marines, be sure to remember that of the Corpsmen who have gone wherever they’ve gone, putting their lives at great peril to save others.
(I’m in the Navy. You can probably guess what my job is.)
Thank you, Phillip. My mother was in the Hospital Corps during WWII (called Pharmacist’s Mate back then). Corpsmen will always be among my heroes.
At Parris Island whenever the Drill Instructors decided to play games, they would make everbody pile all of their stuff, clothing, gear, food, mattresses, blankets, towels, what-have-you, into one giant pile, hose it down and then call it Mount Suribachi.
You would be left there standing nothing on and still sweating bullets because of the sub-tropical climate in that island ofdespair and madness.
So there you have it. A big pile of stuff that is basically useless garbage because it got ruined is called in Marine dialect ‘Mount Suribachi’
My dad was a surgical assistant on Iwo at the time. He never talked about it much.
Corpsman were my favorite sailors. As far as we were concerned, they were “Marines”.
In fact my Dad was a WWII Corpsman.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
God bless the USMC – and all Americans fighting for freedom too. But on days like today, a special ‘Semper Fi’ to the Corps.
It is difficult for me to see the word “corpsman” and not hear in my mind President Obama repeatedly mangling the word by pronouncing it “corpse man.”
A distinguished Marine named Jim S. fought on Iwo Jima is buried in the Plummer, Idaho cemetery. Few people are aware of the photo of the first flag raising. Jim is pictured in the foreground with his carbine guarding the other marines who are raising the flag.
Both of my boys spent enough time with Jim whose health was failing where he eventually agreed to autograph a copy of the first photo shortly before he passed away. My oldest son was able to obtained Charles Lindberg’s autograph on another copy of the first flag raising. Check out Mr. Lindberg”s wiki page.
History did not record Jim’s last name correctly, James Bradly certainly didn’t,
Jim and his family could have cared less. Jim told the boys that the only hero’s on Iwo were the ones that did not get off the island alive.
Thank you, brave warriors. Although I wasn’t born in the USA, I am exceedingly grateful for the sacrifice of these men. How times have changed. I wonder if this nation will produce such sons again.
Terry1 says:
23 February 2013 at 5:33 pm
A distinguished Marine named Jim S. fought on Iwo Jima is buried in the Plummer, Idaho cemetery. Few people are aware of the photo of the first flag raising. Jim is pictured in the foreground with his carbine guarding the other marines(sic) who are raising the flag.
PFC James R. Michels, as identified on Charles W. Lindberg’s “wiki page” is the Marine you incorrectly refer to as “Jim S.”. He is pictured on page 25 of the current issue of Leatherneck magazine. Michels is buried in Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Plot: Section 36, Block 32, Lot 32, Grave 3
James R. Michels
Have you told Michels widow, Vicky Michels, and daughter, Betty McMahon, that their husband and father isn’t really buried in Illinois?
If everyone has gotten the name of that Marine wrong as you claim, don’t you think you have an obligation to set the record straight with verifiable proof?
I have to mention again the USMC bumper sticker I saw a few years ago (edited for this site):
DYING A NATURAL DEATH IS FOR SISSIES
I’m not believing that no one has mentioned Fr. Chuck Suver, SJ, who said Mass on top of Mt Suribachi BEFORE the flag was raised, and in whose stateroom the flag raising was planned.
http://goodjesuitbadjesuit.blogspot.com/2011/01/fr-charles-f-suver-sj-jesuit-of-iwo.html
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930415&slug=1695978
http://www.worldwar-two.net/events/mass_on_mount_suribachi/