thedrifter
11-05-06, 06:57 PM
Today is Sunday, November 05, 2006
Originally published Sunday, November 05, 2006
Updated Sunday, November 05, 2006
Gardena man draws friendly fire over his Iwo Jima service
Veteran's claim that he participated in the first flag raising meets with skepticism from Marines, including the company commander.
By Josh Grossberg
DAILY BREEZE
He faced enemy fire and earned a Bronze Star for heroism.
But now Martin Dews has come under attack from the very men he says he served with.
Last month, the Gardena resident told the Daily Breeze that he was among the handful of men who helped raise a flag on Iwo Jima. But since the story was published, many Marines -- including one who was there -- say Dews did not participate in the historic event.
"There's no way this guy was on the mountain with us," said retired Col. Dave Severance, who commanded the company that raised the flag. "His story isn't true."
But the 82-year-old Dews remains adamant.
"I know what I saw," he said. "I was there. I know all this stuff and people say I wasn't there. I don't know why."
According to Dews, he helped plant an American flag on the small Japanese island in the Pacific near the end of World War II. He didn't participate in the second flag- raising, which became one of the most famous images of the war, he said. Instead, Dews said he was on top of Mount Suribachi when the first flag was hoisted a few hours earlier on Feb. 23, 1945.
Dews trembled with anger when told that people don't believe his story.
"Why would I say this if I wasn't there?" he asked.
He said Severance is wrong.
"Severance was not at the top (of the hill)," he said. "Nobody was thinking. It was fast. Everybody was put into duty. How could you keep an itemized list?"
With the recent release of Clint Eastwood's movie "Flags of Our Fathers," Iwo Jima has again entered the public's consciousness. The movie is based on the book of the same name by James Bradley and Ron Powers. Bradley is the son of John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who participated in the second flag-raising.
The battle for Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest in the war -- about 20,000 Japanese troops and nearly 7,000 American soldiers were killed.
Americans quickly took control of Suribachi, the island's highest point. It was the first piece of Japanese soil captured, and American leaders wanted to send a potent message. Dews said that as a 19-year-old Army private, he was among the men selected for the chore, even though the battle was still raging on the island.
The October issue of Leatherneck magazine tries to put the matter to rest. In an article titled "Unraveling the Mysteries of the First Flag Raising," the magazine carefully examines photos taken that morning and identifies each of the people involved. But the faces are not easily seen in the black-and-white images, and Dews said the article is mistaken. The magazine identifies one partially hidden man as Phil Ward, but Dews said that's not right.
"They got the wrong names," he said.
The official Marine version accounts for everybody on Mount Suribachi that morning. And none of them was named Martin Dews, said Bob Aquilina, a historian with the Marine Corps' history division.
"(They) have all been identified and they were all Marines," he said.
But Aquilina backed up Dews on one of his most contentious points. For years, Dews said people called him a liar when he told them that Army personnel participated in the early days of the battle.
"Nobody believes the Army was on the island," Dews said. "But there were (Army personnel)."
There was indeed a small contingent of soldiers with the Marine units, Aquilina said.
"There were specific Army elements attached to the Fifth Marine Amphibious Corps," he said. "Specific (Marine) units that ... needed personnel, the Army units filled."
Aquilina doesn't dispute that Dews might have been on the island, only his claim about raising the flag.
"Part of the confusion arises from the fact that there were many individuals on top of Suribachi that day," he said.
"He could well have been there, could well have been up Mount Suribachi. It might well be the way he remembers the facts."
Internet message boards have also taken up Dews' claim, with some people giving him the benefit of the doubt and others saying he invented the tale.
"There are ... cases of men who have been mistreated by doubters of their claims with respect to the flag-raising events who turned out to be telling the God's honest truth," wrote one poster.
"I guess we can add this bit of fiction to the list of the hundreds, if not thousands, of families who claim Gramps, or Unc, or someone they knew raised the flag on Suribachi," wrote another.
Nobody disputes that Rene Gagnon climbed the mountain that morning. His niece, Torrance resident Beverly Kawaguchi, saw the Daily Breeze article and contacted Dews. After meeting with him, she found his story compelling.
"He seems to have great recollection," said the 62-year-old Kawaguchi. "I don't want to say I don't believe him. He might have been there and God bless him if he was."
Gagnon died in 1979.
Dews has applied for a Purple Heart for an injury he said he received on his way down the mountain. The Army is looking into the matter, but an investigation can take up to a year, according to military documents.
Ellie
Originally published Sunday, November 05, 2006
Updated Sunday, November 05, 2006
Gardena man draws friendly fire over his Iwo Jima service
Veteran's claim that he participated in the first flag raising meets with skepticism from Marines, including the company commander.
By Josh Grossberg
DAILY BREEZE
He faced enemy fire and earned a Bronze Star for heroism.
But now Martin Dews has come under attack from the very men he says he served with.
Last month, the Gardena resident told the Daily Breeze that he was among the handful of men who helped raise a flag on Iwo Jima. But since the story was published, many Marines -- including one who was there -- say Dews did not participate in the historic event.
"There's no way this guy was on the mountain with us," said retired Col. Dave Severance, who commanded the company that raised the flag. "His story isn't true."
But the 82-year-old Dews remains adamant.
"I know what I saw," he said. "I was there. I know all this stuff and people say I wasn't there. I don't know why."
According to Dews, he helped plant an American flag on the small Japanese island in the Pacific near the end of World War II. He didn't participate in the second flag- raising, which became one of the most famous images of the war, he said. Instead, Dews said he was on top of Mount Suribachi when the first flag was hoisted a few hours earlier on Feb. 23, 1945.
Dews trembled with anger when told that people don't believe his story.
"Why would I say this if I wasn't there?" he asked.
He said Severance is wrong.
"Severance was not at the top (of the hill)," he said. "Nobody was thinking. It was fast. Everybody was put into duty. How could you keep an itemized list?"
With the recent release of Clint Eastwood's movie "Flags of Our Fathers," Iwo Jima has again entered the public's consciousness. The movie is based on the book of the same name by James Bradley and Ron Powers. Bradley is the son of John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who participated in the second flag-raising.
The battle for Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest in the war -- about 20,000 Japanese troops and nearly 7,000 American soldiers were killed.
Americans quickly took control of Suribachi, the island's highest point. It was the first piece of Japanese soil captured, and American leaders wanted to send a potent message. Dews said that as a 19-year-old Army private, he was among the men selected for the chore, even though the battle was still raging on the island.
The October issue of Leatherneck magazine tries to put the matter to rest. In an article titled "Unraveling the Mysteries of the First Flag Raising," the magazine carefully examines photos taken that morning and identifies each of the people involved. But the faces are not easily seen in the black-and-white images, and Dews said the article is mistaken. The magazine identifies one partially hidden man as Phil Ward, but Dews said that's not right.
"They got the wrong names," he said.
The official Marine version accounts for everybody on Mount Suribachi that morning. And none of them was named Martin Dews, said Bob Aquilina, a historian with the Marine Corps' history division.
"(They) have all been identified and they were all Marines," he said.
But Aquilina backed up Dews on one of his most contentious points. For years, Dews said people called him a liar when he told them that Army personnel participated in the early days of the battle.
"Nobody believes the Army was on the island," Dews said. "But there were (Army personnel)."
There was indeed a small contingent of soldiers with the Marine units, Aquilina said.
"There were specific Army elements attached to the Fifth Marine Amphibious Corps," he said. "Specific (Marine) units that ... needed personnel, the Army units filled."
Aquilina doesn't dispute that Dews might have been on the island, only his claim about raising the flag.
"Part of the confusion arises from the fact that there were many individuals on top of Suribachi that day," he said.
"He could well have been there, could well have been up Mount Suribachi. It might well be the way he remembers the facts."
Internet message boards have also taken up Dews' claim, with some people giving him the benefit of the doubt and others saying he invented the tale.
"There are ... cases of men who have been mistreated by doubters of their claims with respect to the flag-raising events who turned out to be telling the God's honest truth," wrote one poster.
"I guess we can add this bit of fiction to the list of the hundreds, if not thousands, of families who claim Gramps, or Unc, or someone they knew raised the flag on Suribachi," wrote another.
Nobody disputes that Rene Gagnon climbed the mountain that morning. His niece, Torrance resident Beverly Kawaguchi, saw the Daily Breeze article and contacted Dews. After meeting with him, she found his story compelling.
"He seems to have great recollection," said the 62-year-old Kawaguchi. "I don't want to say I don't believe him. He might have been there and God bless him if he was."
Gagnon died in 1979.
Dews has applied for a Purple Heart for an injury he said he received on his way down the mountain. The Army is looking into the matter, but an investigation can take up to a year, according to military documents.
Ellie