thedrifter
03-14-07, 05:08 PM
Sailors, Marines Honor Iwo Jima Veterans in Visit, Commemoration
Story Number: NNS070314-16
Release Date: 3/14/2007 5:09:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Adam R. Cole, Task Force 76 Public Affairs
IWO JIMA, Japan (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines from Sasebo-based USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and embarked Okinawa-based 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) got a rare chance to see firsthand the island of the historic World War II battle during a visit here March 13-14.
They came here to provide direct support for the 62nd Commemoration of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The commemoration was held to honor the veterans of both nations and celebrate the unity that currently exists between the United States and Japan. About 20 veterans from each country and their family members shared in what was a day of reverence-minded speeches, wreath laying and a 21-gun salute. Unity of the nations was further displayed in the joint ceremonial color guard and ceremonial military band.
Among numerous dignitaries, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet Commander Rear Adm. Carol M. Pottenger was in attendance, expressing her profound admiration for the American and Japanese service members who sacrificed their lives in honor of their countries.
“It is an amazing privilege to be here, to see these proud Japanese and American veterans with their families. We are all here to recognize them and the sacrifices that so many who could not be present here made in the call of duty to the country,” said Pottenger at the commemoration. “It’s truly moving to see the faces of these people, such brave individuals, whose courage stands as example for us all.”
Dignitaries of both nations echoed Pottenger’s thoughts and related sentiments of the strength of the pact that the United States and Japan have founded, joining together as allies and friends in defense of freedom and democracy.
Yo****aka Shindo, Japanese House of Representatives member, remarked, “I would like to keep in mind that the peace and prosperity at present was built upon the many noble sacrifices of the war dead, and I would also like to renew my resolve to make further efforts for the peace and stability of the world through cooperation between Japan and the United States.”
Veterans, as well, said that they see their one-time enemies now as friends and partners of peace.
”We must forget the past and look to the present and future,” said Hurben Thompson, 81, who was a 19-year-old private first class when he arrived on Iwo Jima with Alpha Company, 5th Engineering Battalion, 5th Marine Division. “We are now friends, brothers. We have a unity.”
Mount Suribachi, the site of the famous flag-raising by five Marines and a Navy corpsman, hosts the most sentimental of those memorials. Sailors and Marines that were given the chance to summit the volcanic mountain, some even taking the opportunity to reenlist there, left touched.
It was especially moving for Postal Clerk Seaman Joshua Langland, whose grandfather was a U.S. Marine who fought on Iwo Jima and reached the summit of Suribachi.
Langland recalled standing at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C., with his father, a veteran of the Vietnam War. “Grandpa was there,” the elder Langland told his son pointing at the statue depicting the flag-raising.
Standing atop Suribachi, the stories of his grandfather that had been passed down to him by his father, rushed back to Langland.
“This is a moving experience,” he said. “Just to be up here where my grandfather once stood -- it is like I am seeing what he saw.”
Iwo Jima was one of the largest sustained amphibious offensives of the war in the Pacific. The United States sent more than 110,000 Marines in 880 ships in what became the largest invasion force of the Pacific Campaign. It took 36 days of fighting and more than 26,000 U.S. casualties to bring the island under American control.
A vast tunneling system, still evident in Iwo Jima today, was a major factor in the Japanese Imperial Forces’ staunch defense. Their refuse-to-surrender attitude, which was brought forward from the way of the Samurai, also influenced their resolve. More than 22,000 Japanese died in the battle; most of those who were not killed by U.S. forces took their own lives.
The impact and the depth of the war was made evident to Harpers Ferry Sailors as they toured the island one day before the commemoration. Sailors were able to view intricacies of the Japanese defense system and also a vast array of memorials.
Harpers Ferry Commanding Officer Cmdr. David L. Bossert knew that having his Sailors understand the historical significance of Iwo Jima as well as the significance of this underway time would carry through to the evolutions to come as Harpers Ferry continues on its regional training commitments.
“Studying military history is an important aspect of readiness,” said Bossert. “By feeling the sacrifice etched in the sand of Iwo Jima, we, as Sailors and Marines, are able to strive forward with a little more purpose. Our mission today fighting the global war on terror, defending freedom and democracy, is the same purpose for which so many died in 1945.”
Harpers Ferry is a dock landing ship assigned to Task Force 76 and is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, with an operating detachment in Sasebo.
Ellie
Story Number: NNS070314-16
Release Date: 3/14/2007 5:09:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Adam R. Cole, Task Force 76 Public Affairs
IWO JIMA, Japan (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines from Sasebo-based USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and embarked Okinawa-based 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) got a rare chance to see firsthand the island of the historic World War II battle during a visit here March 13-14.
They came here to provide direct support for the 62nd Commemoration of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The commemoration was held to honor the veterans of both nations and celebrate the unity that currently exists between the United States and Japan. About 20 veterans from each country and their family members shared in what was a day of reverence-minded speeches, wreath laying and a 21-gun salute. Unity of the nations was further displayed in the joint ceremonial color guard and ceremonial military band.
Among numerous dignitaries, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet Commander Rear Adm. Carol M. Pottenger was in attendance, expressing her profound admiration for the American and Japanese service members who sacrificed their lives in honor of their countries.
“It is an amazing privilege to be here, to see these proud Japanese and American veterans with their families. We are all here to recognize them and the sacrifices that so many who could not be present here made in the call of duty to the country,” said Pottenger at the commemoration. “It’s truly moving to see the faces of these people, such brave individuals, whose courage stands as example for us all.”
Dignitaries of both nations echoed Pottenger’s thoughts and related sentiments of the strength of the pact that the United States and Japan have founded, joining together as allies and friends in defense of freedom and democracy.
Yo****aka Shindo, Japanese House of Representatives member, remarked, “I would like to keep in mind that the peace and prosperity at present was built upon the many noble sacrifices of the war dead, and I would also like to renew my resolve to make further efforts for the peace and stability of the world through cooperation between Japan and the United States.”
Veterans, as well, said that they see their one-time enemies now as friends and partners of peace.
”We must forget the past and look to the present and future,” said Hurben Thompson, 81, who was a 19-year-old private first class when he arrived on Iwo Jima with Alpha Company, 5th Engineering Battalion, 5th Marine Division. “We are now friends, brothers. We have a unity.”
Mount Suribachi, the site of the famous flag-raising by five Marines and a Navy corpsman, hosts the most sentimental of those memorials. Sailors and Marines that were given the chance to summit the volcanic mountain, some even taking the opportunity to reenlist there, left touched.
It was especially moving for Postal Clerk Seaman Joshua Langland, whose grandfather was a U.S. Marine who fought on Iwo Jima and reached the summit of Suribachi.
Langland recalled standing at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C., with his father, a veteran of the Vietnam War. “Grandpa was there,” the elder Langland told his son pointing at the statue depicting the flag-raising.
Standing atop Suribachi, the stories of his grandfather that had been passed down to him by his father, rushed back to Langland.
“This is a moving experience,” he said. “Just to be up here where my grandfather once stood -- it is like I am seeing what he saw.”
Iwo Jima was one of the largest sustained amphibious offensives of the war in the Pacific. The United States sent more than 110,000 Marines in 880 ships in what became the largest invasion force of the Pacific Campaign. It took 36 days of fighting and more than 26,000 U.S. casualties to bring the island under American control.
A vast tunneling system, still evident in Iwo Jima today, was a major factor in the Japanese Imperial Forces’ staunch defense. Their refuse-to-surrender attitude, which was brought forward from the way of the Samurai, also influenced their resolve. More than 22,000 Japanese died in the battle; most of those who were not killed by U.S. forces took their own lives.
The impact and the depth of the war was made evident to Harpers Ferry Sailors as they toured the island one day before the commemoration. Sailors were able to view intricacies of the Japanese defense system and also a vast array of memorials.
Harpers Ferry Commanding Officer Cmdr. David L. Bossert knew that having his Sailors understand the historical significance of Iwo Jima as well as the significance of this underway time would carry through to the evolutions to come as Harpers Ferry continues on its regional training commitments.
“Studying military history is an important aspect of readiness,” said Bossert. “By feeling the sacrifice etched in the sand of Iwo Jima, we, as Sailors and Marines, are able to strive forward with a little more purpose. Our mission today fighting the global war on terror, defending freedom and democracy, is the same purpose for which so many died in 1945.”
Harpers Ferry is a dock landing ship assigned to Task Force 76 and is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, with an operating detachment in Sasebo.
Ellie