Iwo Jima

[Sedalia Dave]

74 years ago today the Marines raised over Mount Suribachi 

 

Semper Fi

 

 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

[BLACKFOOT SASS #11947]

I remember the News Reels at the movies,  I don't know how much the news  laged the action but  seeing them once a week was really a memorable event. 

Blackfoot

[Trailrider #896]

I don't actually remember it at the time (I was about 2-1/2 years old), but later, when the people down the hall in our apartment building got a T.V. set, and there was a program about it, I was really impressed.  All honor to the flag raisers!   But what many people don't realize is that the raising of the flag was by no means the end of the battle!  IIRC, it took over a month and over 6,000 dead Marines before Iwo Jima was declared secure! It has been estimated that 20,000 airmen owed their lives to being able to land on the island, and also, their fighter escorts being able to fly out to escort the bombers.

The one thing that bothers me is that now that Japan are our allies, we gave the island back to them, and they call it something else now!

God Bless those who fought to take Iwo Jima.

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

18 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

74 years ago today the Marines raised over Mount Suribachi 

 

Semper Fi

 

 

 

This was actually the second flag raised on Suribachi that day.  A much smaller  flag was raised originally but someone was send back to get a larger flag so it could be seen by everyone on the island.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

No $&@* there I was...shopping at the PX on FT Carson.  One of the T-shirts they had for sale showed the iconic Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima.  The words, "US Army" were in huge letters underneath.  

 

I'm Army all the way, and quite frankly, we have enough of our own history to be proud of; we don't need to steal someone else's!  I spoke with the manager.  

 

"You know that's the Marine Corps, right?"

"The who?"

"Oh dear Lord."

 

The rest of the conversation showed me one can have two active brain cells and still grow up to be an AAFES store manager.  But the next time I was in the store, that T-shirt was noticeably missing.  

[Trailrider #896]

It is tragic how little most younger folks know about American history!  A number of years ago, I was subbing in a local high school for an English class.  It was right before the end of the semester and with summer coming, most of the kids were reading (or dozing).  I was basically babysitting, and took the time to look around the room.  Apparently, the room was used for an American history class, and the current topic was WWII.  There were a number of posters on the wall, created by the history students who worked on them in teams.  One, caught my eye: It concerned the Battle of Guadalcanal.  It showed the opposing forces, Marines against Japanese.  What caused me to nearly fracture my draw by it hitting the floor, was the notation, in big letters about the result of the battle.  "Who won?  The Japanese, though with heavy loss of life."   I couldn't resist taping a message to the poster.  I said, "This would come as a shock to members of the First Marine Division who most certainly won the battle!"  I hope the teacher corrected the error...if, indeed he himself even knew!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

15 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

It is tragic how little most younger folks know about American history!  A number of years ago, I was subbing in a local high school for an English class.  It was right before the end of the semester and with summer coming, most of the kids were reading (or dozing).  I was basically babysitting, and took the time to look around the room.  Apparently, the room was used for an American history class, and the current topic was WWII.  There were a number of posters on the wall, created by the history students who worked on them in teams.  One, caught my eye: It concerned the Battle of Guadalcanal.  It showed the opposing forces, Marines against Japanese.  What caused me to nearly fracture my draw by it hitting the floor, was the notation, in big letters about the result of the battle.  "Who won?  The Japanese, though with heavy loss of life."   I couldn't resist taping a message to the poster.  I said, "This would come as a shock to members of the First Marine Division who most certainly won the battle!"  I hope the teacher corrected the error...if, indeed he himself even knew!

It's tragic how little almost anyone knows about American history.  My sister and her husband are great examples.  Both are in their 70s and went to the same schools I did ad my sister was a public school teacher for over 28 years.  As an example: they went on a cruise which included stops in Viet Nam and their comments when they returned were absolutely astounding in their ignorance.