thedrifter
03-22-06, 06:59 AM
Remembering Iwo Jima
by Mindy Fothergill, KUAM News
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Back in 1945 United States Marines landed on the shores of Iwo Jima. The black sand beaches stretch for miles the color of ash, signifying the loss of their comrades; the barren land holding memories of gunfire and explosions.
On Invasion Beach Marines worked their way up the shore carrying hundred-pound backpacks and guns. When Operation Detachment began the Marines had no idea the Japanese were in hiding in pillboxes and concrete blockhouses, on the hills of Mt. Surabachi and Motoyama Plateau.
Gordan Schnulle was only 19 when he was deployed to Iwo Jima. A machine gunner for H Company 28th Marine 5th Division, he recalls "D" Day and the horrific memories of battle. "When we came in they had everything zeroed in on us. They just more or less murdered us. My company landed with 266 men; after the first ten days we were down to 138. After we secured the north end of the island, 39 of the original 266 walked. Only 39 survivors out of 266," he explained.
Schnulle considers himself fortunate to have made it out of the gruesome battle alive. Others, especially for friends of his, never made it out. Returning to the island once ravaged by war and now a barren and peaceful place, Iwo Jima veterans are conflicted with mixed emotions. Truly saddened by the loss of their friends who fought so valiantly at their side, walking on the same places where bloodshed was so prevalent sixty-one years ago. "I was apprehensive about coming back," he said, adding, "I'm sure glad I did. It looks very, very different. It's nice, but it brings back all the memories of all the comrades I lost," Schnulle softly said.
Paratrooper Donald "Pops" Hinkle's best friend Donald Golson died just a few days after the battle for Iwo Jima began. "He got killed the seventh day, so it's hard to talk about that," he struggled to recall. "He was a very good friend of mine. My oldest son, I named him Donald Douglas. His name was Donald Golson, so I called him Donald Douglas."
For retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Larry Snowden, who led a number of Marines who fought in the battle for the island, the visit back to the island is a somber reminder that war is a very poor way to resolve differences. Standing once again on these black sands of the remote island, memories come flashing back. One can almost hear the powerful noise of exploding ordnances and the rancid odors of gunpowder and death.
Said Snowden, "Perhaps time is the best healer for those who have lost loved ones, but healing often leaves scars. We have to continue to hope that over time even those scars will fade away. The Iwo Jima experience reminds us that former enemies can be strong friends and we have to build on the sacrifices of those who fought here, who gave their lives here."
Today more than six decades Marines and Japanese soldiers can stand side by side as comrades, not enemies. The lives of those who died in the battle were that of complete sacrifice, as two countries were entangled in a cold-blooded, ruthless war.
Ellie
by Mindy Fothergill, KUAM News
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Back in 1945 United States Marines landed on the shores of Iwo Jima. The black sand beaches stretch for miles the color of ash, signifying the loss of their comrades; the barren land holding memories of gunfire and explosions.
On Invasion Beach Marines worked their way up the shore carrying hundred-pound backpacks and guns. When Operation Detachment began the Marines had no idea the Japanese were in hiding in pillboxes and concrete blockhouses, on the hills of Mt. Surabachi and Motoyama Plateau.
Gordan Schnulle was only 19 when he was deployed to Iwo Jima. A machine gunner for H Company 28th Marine 5th Division, he recalls "D" Day and the horrific memories of battle. "When we came in they had everything zeroed in on us. They just more or less murdered us. My company landed with 266 men; after the first ten days we were down to 138. After we secured the north end of the island, 39 of the original 266 walked. Only 39 survivors out of 266," he explained.
Schnulle considers himself fortunate to have made it out of the gruesome battle alive. Others, especially for friends of his, never made it out. Returning to the island once ravaged by war and now a barren and peaceful place, Iwo Jima veterans are conflicted with mixed emotions. Truly saddened by the loss of their friends who fought so valiantly at their side, walking on the same places where bloodshed was so prevalent sixty-one years ago. "I was apprehensive about coming back," he said, adding, "I'm sure glad I did. It looks very, very different. It's nice, but it brings back all the memories of all the comrades I lost," Schnulle softly said.
Paratrooper Donald "Pops" Hinkle's best friend Donald Golson died just a few days after the battle for Iwo Jima began. "He got killed the seventh day, so it's hard to talk about that," he struggled to recall. "He was a very good friend of mine. My oldest son, I named him Donald Douglas. His name was Donald Golson, so I called him Donald Douglas."
For retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Larry Snowden, who led a number of Marines who fought in the battle for the island, the visit back to the island is a somber reminder that war is a very poor way to resolve differences. Standing once again on these black sands of the remote island, memories come flashing back. One can almost hear the powerful noise of exploding ordnances and the rancid odors of gunpowder and death.
Said Snowden, "Perhaps time is the best healer for those who have lost loved ones, but healing often leaves scars. We have to continue to hope that over time even those scars will fade away. The Iwo Jima experience reminds us that former enemies can be strong friends and we have to build on the sacrifices of those who fought here, who gave their lives here."
Today more than six decades Marines and Japanese soldiers can stand side by side as comrades, not enemies. The lives of those who died in the battle were that of complete sacrifice, as two countries were entangled in a cold-blooded, ruthless war.
Ellie