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Iwo Jima


Okiepan

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...and may we never forget those who fought (and still fight) for our freedom here. :FlagAm:

 

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              U.S. Marines raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, 1945

 

 

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Lost an uncle in this battle!  Dad’s older brother and his closest!

 

 They WERE AND ARE the greatest generation!!

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My dad was on the bridge of the USS Idaho (BB-42) as a quartermaster, Seaman First, at the Battle of Iwo Jima

 

USS Idaho at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

uss_idaho_bb42_4.jpg

 

USS Idaho bombarding Okinawa.

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.

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My friend's dad, James Skidmore, had to get a tank to his squad's position on Iwo Jima.  He could not make himself understood over the telephone on the back of the tank, so he told the T/C to follow him and lead the tank across the island to his squad.  The next day he was wounded and evacuated.

One of our Sunday School teachers, Jack Riley, had a scar that ran diagonally across his chest, splitting a nipple into two halves.  A Japanese soldier had tried to slice him in two with his bayonet and was a few inches short of the mark.  Jack told us that if the Jap had stabbed instead of sliced he would have been dead, but he was able to kill the Jap with his entrenching tool.

Those were MEN!

 

Duffield

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When I was in high school, maybe college, I was working one Sunday with my cousin Sherry and a pharmacist named Grady. Tornadoes were dancing all over the country, and I asked Grady what we'd do if one came. "Well, you and Sherry can get in the fridge and I'll get in the freezer." Grady was a pretty good size man. "Grady, you won't fit in that freezer!" "You think I won't. I crawled under my helmet on Iwo Jima!" That's all he ever spoke of it. I learned when he died that he was a highly decorated Marine.

JHC

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All of the men who fought the Axis have all earned my respect. I knew men that fought in both the Pacific and Europe. They were my heroes and it was an honor to know them. All of them saw and did things that no teenager should ever have to see or do. From long talks, sometimes drunken talks, I could tell that it tortured them in their dreams and everyday thoughts. They are gone now but their memory goes on in me and everyone who remembers the physical and mental sacrifices made by Greatest Generation.

 

:FlagAm:

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My dad fought in WWII. He only talked about the good times. He was a cook in a headquarters company, never made a big deal about combat experience, but one of his decorations was a Combat Infantryman Badge, I gather you didn't get one of those just for baking bread. I know the islands he was on, have looked up the battles in which his company was engaged on Morotai, Mendenao, Good 'Nuff Island, etc. Not sure I spelled those correctly, but from what I've read wasn't not pink tea party.  Maybe not Iwo, but glad I wasn't there. Those men had the bark on, went to war and thru Hell, came home, went back to work like it was no big deal  and had babies (like me). :)

JHC

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I went with my Dad to several of his old army company reunions. One time one guy had a bunch of pics, I believe from Iwo, mostly of enemy KIA's, that was some gruesome sh*t Jack. Japanese in various states of being blown apart, many BBQ'ed by flame throwers.  Was not a pleasant sight to say the least, even if it was the enemy.

JHC

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My dad was also a Marine in the South Pacific in WWII. He never told me anything about it until  I took him to Marine reunions 50 years after the war. There I learned the terrible times he went through in Okinawa, and the Philippines and later in Iwo Jima after the battle. I heard him say that once he landed on the beach in Okinawa the first thing he did was pick up a .30-06 Garand off a dead Marine since his 30 carbine was virtually useless against the drugged up crazy Japs.  He said he was in China and waiting to be the first Marines employed to the Japanese mainland when the atomic bomb was dropped. I'm sure I would not be here today if not for the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nor would my children and grand children ever have been born. Hale to the USA!

 

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39 minutes ago, Highwall said:

My dad was also a Marine in the South Pacific in WWII. He never told me anything about it until  I took him to Marine reunions 50 years after the war. There I learned the terrible times he went through in Okinawa, and the Philippines and later in Iwo Jima after the battle. I heard him say that once he landed on the beach in Okinawa the first thing he did was pick up a .30-06 Garand off a dead Marine since his 30 carbine was virtually useless against the drugged up crazy Japs.  He said he was in China and waiting to be the first Marines employed to the Japanese mainland when the atomic bomb was dropped. I'm sure I would not be here today if not for the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nor would my children and grand children ever have been born. Hale to the USA!

 

Toward the end, my dad was pretty much hanging around waiting to invade Japan as well. What a bloodbath that would have been, they'd have fought to the last man. Neither of us might be here if they hadn't dropped the nukes. Dad was pretty happy about it. Such as it was. The atomic attacks doubtless saved countless lives on both sides.

 

JHC

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7 hours ago, Highwall said:

My dad was also a Marine in the South Pacific in WWII. He never told me anything about it until  I took him to Marine reunions 50 years after the war. There I learned the terrible times he went through in Okinawa, and the Philippines and later in Iwo Jima after the battle. I heard him say that once he landed on the beach in Okinawa the first thing he did was pick up a .30-06 Garand off a dead Marine since his 30 carbine was virtually useless against the drugged up crazy Japs.  He said he was in China and waiting to be the first Marines employed to the Japanese mainland when the atomic bomb was dropped. I'm sure I would not be here today if not for the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nor would my children and grand children ever have been born. Hale to the USA!

 

So sad to hear of that dead Marine. God rest his brave soul. I bet he's glad his rifle  carried on the fight.

JHC

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My Dad was with the 5th Marine Division 26th Regiment he went ashore on Iwo in the fifth wave, One of the few things he told me was the first thing he did when he hit the beach was throw away his carbine and pick up a 03 Springfield from a pile of equipment taken from the dead and wounded, He never trusted the semi autos he said with the 03 you could hit what you aimed at and what you hit didn't get back up. He was one of the really lucky ones that got off the island without a scratch.

He had also been at Dutch Harbor when the Japs bombed it and he finished out the war with occupation duty at  Sasebo.

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30 minutes ago, Willy B.SASS#26902 said:

My Dad was with the 5th Marine Division 26th Regiment he went ashore on Iwo in the fifth wave, One of the few things he told me was the first thing he did when he hit the beach was throw away his carbine and pick up a 03 Springfield from a pile of equipment taken from the dead and wounded, He never trusted the semi autos he said with the 03 you could hit what you aimed at and what you hit didn't get back up. He was one of the really lucky ones that got off the island without a scratch.

He had also been at Dutch Harbor when the Japs bombed it and he finished out the war with occupation duty at  Sasebo.

Hard to argue with his choice of weaponry.  I know a former Marine (or whatever you would call them, as they consider once a Marine, always a Marine) who says at least in civilian application, there are only two personal defense weapons........a 12 ga. pump and the .45 auto.  Again, pretty hard logic to argue.

JHC

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Dad was in the Army Air Corps, stationed in the Pacific. He enlisted in early 1944 and his job was to go into an area or land on an island with a bulldozer and cut out an airstrip. 

 

He was in the occupation forces after the conflict was over.  He had an older brother who participated in the D-day invasion and the brother he lost at Iwo.

 

Dad never talked much about any combat.  He did tell stories about the occupation and other non-combat adventures.

 

He mustered out in ‘46 and joined the Air Force at the beginning of hostilities in Korea. He was given the same job there.  He told about being rolled out the back of a cargo plane, sitting on a pony dozer with an M1 carbine strapped to his chest. It was paletized and rigged to a parachute. He said that they would drop him in and support him with a platoon of paratroopers.

 

That’s the only story about combat he ever told, other than nearly freezing his feet off in the winter.

 

His outfit rotated back to the states and he split time between Berry Field, which is now Nashville Airport, and McGee Tyson AFB in East Tennessee.

 

Mom has his medals. I worked for the man who was his CO in Korea and back stateside. Col. Cole told me that my old man was one more fighting man. Then he just shook his head and smiled.

 

 None of them EVER said much about combat!

 

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1 hour ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

 None of them EVER said much about combat!

 

I would imagine it's not something they would want to talk about. I always try to keep that in mind whenever I encounter or talk to a real combat vet. The only such person in my family was my grandfather on my mom's side, who was in the British 8th Army during WW2 and fought in Africa, Sicily and Italy. He never told any stories and swore he'd take it all to his grave, which he did. Something tells me he witnessed or did some pretty horrible things.

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