thedrifter
02-19-08, 06:31 AM
Veteran recalls the horror - and honor - of Iwo Jima
By ROSCOE BARNES III Staff writer
More than 60 years ago today, David Demichei was flying about 8,000 feet above the small island of Iwo Jima when he saw the U.S. Marines moving in.
It was an invasion unlike anything he'd ever seen during his stint in the military. It was Feb. 19, 1945, and he was on his last mission.
"The Marines really caught hell in Iwo Jima and on all the islands," Demichei said. "We had 7,000 ... killed in a few weeks."
As the nation observes the 63rd anniversary of the invasion, Demichei wishes that more people would remember the sacrifices of the Marines.
The battle for Iwo Jima was considered one of the hardest fought battles the Marines faced in the Pacific. Before the battle, the Japanese used the island as a fighter airbase. However, the U.S. military wanted it for the same purpose and to serve as a place for crippled aircraft and emergency landings.
"From the moment they went ashore (the Marines) were under continuous heavy bombardment from well-hidden gun positions," wrote Marurice Isserman, author of America at War: World War II (New York: Facts On File, 1991). "The Marines crowded on the beaches found no shelter from the shellfire."
One of the most famous images of the island is the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. The photograph of the Marines and a Navy corpsman was taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.
Demichei, now 84 and a resident of Fayetteville, said he thought of the Marines recently when he learned about the
actions of the city council in Berkeley, Calif. Earlier this month, the council voted to send a letter to a downtown recruitment station, advising the Marines they were not welcome, according to The Associated Press.
After a lengthy discussion on the issue, the council reportedly decided against sending the letter. Some of its members reportedly said they opposed the war and the recruitment of young people, but they respect and support the people serving in the military.
Demichei said something needs to be said about the council's actions: "Those guys spent so much blood so we can gain our freedom."
The reason Berkeley's council can go out and vote against the Marines to say they are not welcome is because the Marines gave them the freedom to do that, Demichei said.
Berkeley's council and people like them need to decide if they want a voluntary military or a draft, he said. It's because of the volunteers that no draft is needed at this time, he explained: "When you have people enlisting, that's a real sacrifice these kids are making. I shake their hands and pray for them."
Demichei was born in Roswell, Ohio, and spent a number of years in Milwaukee, where he attended high school and earned a football scholarship.
He served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945 with the 7th Air Force 30 Bomb Group 38th Bomb Squadron. Fortunately, he said, none of his men were shot down.
"We went up with 12 airplanes," Demichei recalled. "Each had 10 crew people. I was a radio operator and waist gunner. We fired 50-caliber machine guns."
Typically, Demichei would open a window on the aircraft and place the barrel outside in what felt like an air temperature of 50 degrees below zero.
"We were going about 230 miles per hour," he said. "We were dressed pretty good. Had good gloves and oxygen masks."
On Feb. 19, 1945, he was aboard a B-24 Liberator, armed with nine 500-pound bombs, when he looked down and saw the Marines were about 300 yards from shore.
"I wasn't in the fray, we were above it all," he said. "I was shocked to see the power of the 16-inch guns on the battleships. They fired them broadside and they recoiled, making the ships go back into the water.
"There was big fire explosions. That day, we bombed the island at 8,000 feet to draw fire (from the enemy) and to be more accurate."
Demichei said he will always be grateful to the Marines for the sacrifices they made. His best friend, Arthur Nedbeck, was a Marine and was killed at age 19.
His death occurred at Okinawa.
"The anti-war people who criticize the Marines need some perspective," he said. "We've lost 4,000 people in four years of war (in Iraq and Afghanistan). In a few weeks we lost 7,000 ... in Iwo Jima."
Demichei said he doesn't want anyone to get killed, ever. And it's certainly a big deal for those who've lost loved ones, he said.
He just believes that the Marines deserve more respect than they are receiving.
----------
Roscoe Barnes III can be reached at 262-4762 or rbarnes@publicopinionnews.com.
The Battle for Iwo Jima
On Feb. 19, 1945, the U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima after 10 weeks of bombing from carrier-based planes and medium bombers. The preliminary bombardment had been the heaviest up to that point in the war. A total of 70,000 U.S. Marines were available for the invasion. Against 27,000 Japanese.
- Iwo Jima: a tiny, barren, sulfur island nearly devoid of vegetation, located 650 miles from Tokyo. Before the 1945 battle, it was considered part of Japan.
- Size: 8 square miles of volcanic rubble
- Total U.S. Causalities: 25,851
- U.S. Deaths: 6,821
- Date of battle: Feb. 19, 1945, to March 26, 1945
- Recognition: The Marines 3rd, 4th and 5th divisions were given the task of securing Iwo Jima. More U.S. Marines earned the Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima than in any other battle in U.S. history.
Sources: U.S. Department of Defense, "Battle of Iwo Jima:
http://www.defenselink.mil/home/Specials/iwojima/ and
"Iwo Jima Island":
http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/st/~lmyrick/THExISLAND1.html
Marurice Isserman, author of "America at War: World War" II (New York: Facts On File, 1991).
Ellie
By ROSCOE BARNES III Staff writer
More than 60 years ago today, David Demichei was flying about 8,000 feet above the small island of Iwo Jima when he saw the U.S. Marines moving in.
It was an invasion unlike anything he'd ever seen during his stint in the military. It was Feb. 19, 1945, and he was on his last mission.
"The Marines really caught hell in Iwo Jima and on all the islands," Demichei said. "We had 7,000 ... killed in a few weeks."
As the nation observes the 63rd anniversary of the invasion, Demichei wishes that more people would remember the sacrifices of the Marines.
The battle for Iwo Jima was considered one of the hardest fought battles the Marines faced in the Pacific. Before the battle, the Japanese used the island as a fighter airbase. However, the U.S. military wanted it for the same purpose and to serve as a place for crippled aircraft and emergency landings.
"From the moment they went ashore (the Marines) were under continuous heavy bombardment from well-hidden gun positions," wrote Marurice Isserman, author of America at War: World War II (New York: Facts On File, 1991). "The Marines crowded on the beaches found no shelter from the shellfire."
One of the most famous images of the island is the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. The photograph of the Marines and a Navy corpsman was taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.
Demichei, now 84 and a resident of Fayetteville, said he thought of the Marines recently when he learned about the
actions of the city council in Berkeley, Calif. Earlier this month, the council voted to send a letter to a downtown recruitment station, advising the Marines they were not welcome, according to The Associated Press.
After a lengthy discussion on the issue, the council reportedly decided against sending the letter. Some of its members reportedly said they opposed the war and the recruitment of young people, but they respect and support the people serving in the military.
Demichei said something needs to be said about the council's actions: "Those guys spent so much blood so we can gain our freedom."
The reason Berkeley's council can go out and vote against the Marines to say they are not welcome is because the Marines gave them the freedom to do that, Demichei said.
Berkeley's council and people like them need to decide if they want a voluntary military or a draft, he said. It's because of the volunteers that no draft is needed at this time, he explained: "When you have people enlisting, that's a real sacrifice these kids are making. I shake their hands and pray for them."
Demichei was born in Roswell, Ohio, and spent a number of years in Milwaukee, where he attended high school and earned a football scholarship.
He served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945 with the 7th Air Force 30 Bomb Group 38th Bomb Squadron. Fortunately, he said, none of his men were shot down.
"We went up with 12 airplanes," Demichei recalled. "Each had 10 crew people. I was a radio operator and waist gunner. We fired 50-caliber machine guns."
Typically, Demichei would open a window on the aircraft and place the barrel outside in what felt like an air temperature of 50 degrees below zero.
"We were going about 230 miles per hour," he said. "We were dressed pretty good. Had good gloves and oxygen masks."
On Feb. 19, 1945, he was aboard a B-24 Liberator, armed with nine 500-pound bombs, when he looked down and saw the Marines were about 300 yards from shore.
"I wasn't in the fray, we were above it all," he said. "I was shocked to see the power of the 16-inch guns on the battleships. They fired them broadside and they recoiled, making the ships go back into the water.
"There was big fire explosions. That day, we bombed the island at 8,000 feet to draw fire (from the enemy) and to be more accurate."
Demichei said he will always be grateful to the Marines for the sacrifices they made. His best friend, Arthur Nedbeck, was a Marine and was killed at age 19.
His death occurred at Okinawa.
"The anti-war people who criticize the Marines need some perspective," he said. "We've lost 4,000 people in four years of war (in Iraq and Afghanistan). In a few weeks we lost 7,000 ... in Iwo Jima."
Demichei said he doesn't want anyone to get killed, ever. And it's certainly a big deal for those who've lost loved ones, he said.
He just believes that the Marines deserve more respect than they are receiving.
----------
Roscoe Barnes III can be reached at 262-4762 or rbarnes@publicopinionnews.com.
The Battle for Iwo Jima
On Feb. 19, 1945, the U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima after 10 weeks of bombing from carrier-based planes and medium bombers. The preliminary bombardment had been the heaviest up to that point in the war. A total of 70,000 U.S. Marines were available for the invasion. Against 27,000 Japanese.
- Iwo Jima: a tiny, barren, sulfur island nearly devoid of vegetation, located 650 miles from Tokyo. Before the 1945 battle, it was considered part of Japan.
- Size: 8 square miles of volcanic rubble
- Total U.S. Causalities: 25,851
- U.S. Deaths: 6,821
- Date of battle: Feb. 19, 1945, to March 26, 1945
- Recognition: The Marines 3rd, 4th and 5th divisions were given the task of securing Iwo Jima. More U.S. Marines earned the Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima than in any other battle in U.S. history.
Sources: U.S. Department of Defense, "Battle of Iwo Jima:
http://www.defenselink.mil/home/Specials/iwojima/ and
"Iwo Jima Island":
http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/st/~lmyrick/THExISLAND1.html
Marurice Isserman, author of "America at War: World War" II (New York: Facts On File, 1991).
Ellie