Iwo Jima
 

Just one line dropped for everyone to remember that today is the 70th Anniversary of the famous Battle of ‪‎Iwo Jima, WWII‬.

Sergio

Iwo Jima
 

Semper Fi, Gentlemen

I was just looking at a Japanese paybook and cloth helmet star a neighbor brought home from there.
Those guys went off and saved the world.
Just about everybody from this rural area got sucked up.
Same same WW1.

Had 4 cousins, once removed who were in the Pacific during WWII.

Unfotunately with time passing by we tend to forget what happened not that much long ago, and the people that suffered to give us the freedom we're now enjoying and taking for granted.

Sergio

The battle didn't end there. An old friend who was a Marine on Iwo in the 1950's tells of an incident where routine renovations uncovered the entrance to an underground Japanase hospital. The cave entrance had been blown shut during the battle and when rediscovered, dozens of mummified Japanese soldiers were discovered inside. Upon seeing this, one of the Japanese soldiers who was part of the contingen stationed on the Island along with the Americans became unhinged and began a shooting spree, specifically targeting uniformed Marines. Although armed with Garands, etc., none of the Marines had ammunition!

Although the Japanese soldier was eventually neutralized, my friend told me that he never went anywhere again, no matter the duty station, without some ammunition on him. Regulations be damned!

Thanks, another, probably one of the many unknown pages of history.

Sergio

One of my best friends who was with the 5TH Marines at Iwo Jima invited me to come with him for a reunion at Camp Pendelton ten years ago and I had the time of my life. My friend is now 96 and does not plan on attending any more reunions.

I only wanted to add one more thing, that now it's for us to teach or remind the new generations these pages of history before the dust of the centuries covers it all.

Sergio

Friend of mine returned to a few places later and helped locate some burials.
Never mentioned anybody being armed.
I have seen pics of an underground hospital with some remains.
All the weapons in that series were without any wood left-looked like pipes lying about.
They never addressed that.