Tribute to the Marines of Iwo Jima
This will not be a history of the battle of Iwo Jima,
It will be an attempt to honor the memory of the Marines
Who fought on the island of Iwo Jima in 1945.
Many were to land on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945,
Believing it was going to be just a few days of fighting.
Because Iwo Jima had sustained ten days of bombing.
It was not to be, they would have to fights for weeks,
Before the island was declared secured.
First a little note from me:
Recently there something in the works,
To rename Iwo Jima to Iwo To
They both mean Sulphur Island,
In the Japanese language.
Iwo To was the orginal name,
When the Japanese military took over,
They changed the name to Iwo Jima
But to the Marine Corps
And to all the Marines of the Corps
It will always be IWO JIMA!
As of 24 June 2007,
All the Flag raisers now belong to history.
Charles W. Lindberg, was the last surviving Flag raiser,
Of the first of two Flag raising on Iwo Jima.
His passing to guards Heaven's gates,
On Sunday 24 June 2007,
Means that all the Flag raisers now belong to history.
We pray for all my fellow Marines.
The caption accompanying this photo reads;
Our CH-46s are doing a fly by of Suribachi.
The landing beach is the black sandy beach on the lower right.
You can see the advantage the Japanese had by keeping the high ground.
A battle we thought would last several days lasted a month.
-Michael J Roach, Captain, USMC, USS TARAWA
It also gives a view of what we see in the map.
The small white spot on top of Mt. Suribachi is the location
Of the Memorial to all the Marines, who died there.
On 19 February 1945
The 5th Marine Amphibious Corps landed on Iwo Jima.
Four days later these events took place.
This was the first Flag raising on Iwo Jima. February 23, 1945.
This was the second but the most famous of the two Flag raisings.
There are six Flag Raisers on the photo.
Four in the front line and two in back.
The front four are (left to right) Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block.
The back two are Michael Strank (behind Sousley) and Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley).
Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards.
Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks.
Also on this date one Marine that we now know as AppleEater.
Was on his way to that island.
Semper Fidelis Jim aka AppleEater
Another note:
There work being done on Iwo Jima
This year of 2007
To try and locate the cave
Where Sgt. Bill Genaust is buried
In hope of returning his remains home
The movie photographer Sgt. Bill Genaust USMC,
who motion-picture footage of the second flag raising on Iwo Jima.
Is shown in many movies and documentaries.
Was to die a short time later, when he entered a cave,
On Iwo Jima, he now known as "The man we left behind."
There's something in the works to get Sgt. Bill Genaust USMC,
A Bronze medal for a act of bravery on the island of Saipan.
Its long over-dued and it should be awarded to the widow,
He left behind.
Here's a link to a web page on the "Man We Left Behind",
The Man We Left Behind
Some think that these Marines
In the movie, Flags of our Fathers,
That they were omitted
And that a few extras should have shown,
That they indeed serve during those 36 days in Hell,
The photo is a link
To the Montford Point Marines National Museum
And a web page of the service of the Marines in the photo.
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima,
uncommon valor was a common virtue."
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, March 1945
Lord, bless the wives, who grieve alone,
And comfort the mothers, Who mourn their own.
Give solace to the fathers, who lost their sons
On foreign shores and in places unknown.
Lord, strenghten the resolve of we who remain
To see that they did not die in vain.
Maj. Gen James B. Middleton
I would like to close this tribute with these words
Spoken by General Lejeune USMC about Marines of World War I
But I think they would be worthy of the Marines of Iwo Jima;
"Trust is not given, nor is it easily earned.
Today trust of the Nation is our inheritance.
A trust earned through selfless valor and determined actions.
Of generations of Marines on distant shores
And misty battlefields of our storied past.
Left to us as part of our predecessor's legacy,
It is now ours to sustain.
The stewardship of this trust is our sacred responsibility.
It is a debt we owe to those who have gone before us,
And a promise we make to those to follow.
It is the guiding light of our ethos.
This high name of distinction and soldierly repute
We, who are now Marines today
Have received from them the eternal spirit
which has animated our Corps from generations
And has been the distinguishing mark of Marines in every age.
Semper Fidelis
Major General John A. Lejeune...1921
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