thedrifter
02-20-08, 05:43 AM
A COSTLY ISLAND
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By PATRICIA C. McCARTER
Times Staff Writer patricia.mccarter@htimes.com
Ceremony honors veterans who paid price for Iwo Jima
The numbers don't make it sound like a fair match.
When 110,000 Marines invaded the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, there were just 20,000 enemy soldiers awaiting them; the Japanese were outnumbered five-to-one.
But the Japanese had dug 1,500 caves into the landscape of the tiny south Pacific island. From those protected holes connected by underground tunnels, they bombarded the Marines, who had nothing to hide behind, and the volcanic ash made foxhole-digging impossible.
Because of the Japanese' superb preparation, the vastly larger army was actually the underdog.
During a Tuesday morning ceremony to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of that important invasion, three local veterans who were part of the mission spoke about the difficulty of the battle.
Jimmy Tanner of Scottsboro recalled how the Marines took the island inch by inch, on their bellies, knowing that if they stood up, bullets would knock them back down. He said he learned on the island that the human body - and mind - can withstand more than most people think.
Tanner - who saw the iconic flag-raising on Mount Suribachi - didn't bathe or even take off his helmet for 19 days, until he was injured. And he felt lucky just to have been wounded.
"I could've walked on dead men for 50 or 100 yards without ever stepping on ground," Tanner said.
Bob O'Bannon of Huntsville tried to downplay the heroism of charging into the lethal firestorm: "You honor us too much.
"We were simply doing the job assigned to us, just like all Marines."
But Harvey Aden of Huntsville said he didn't want to focus on the death and destruction of those 35 days in battle on Iwo Jima. Instead, he wanted to talk about the joy of getting mail after fighting on the island for weeks.
When he opened an envelope from his wife, Frances, a piece of blue ribbon fell out. The war was raging all around him but, for a moment, he could only think about the new baby boy he had waiting at home for him.
"Some good things happened over there," said Aden, 82, his voice cracking as he told his story.
He said that when he left the States for the war, his wife - then in early pregnancy - told him she'd mail him a pink ribbon if they had a girl and a blue ribbon if they had a boy. She didn't send a note or a photograph or a birth announcement with the baby's weight or name.
Just a piece of blue ribbon.
"Me and my buddies celebrated," Aden said. "We didn't have anything good to eat and we didn't have anything to drink, but we had each other.
"And we were mighty proud to still have each other."
Retired Lt. Gen. Frank Libutti also spoke at the event hosted by Honor Flight Tennessee Valley, the organization that brings World War II veterans on free trips to Washington to see war memorials.
Libutti said the Marines who served at Iwo Jima were a special breed of patriot who performed "magnificently." He said many were new to fighting and the ferocity of that battle was a heck of a way to get indoctrinated to the ways of war.
He repeatedly thanked those three Iwo Jima veterans - as well as eight other World War II Marines at the ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Museum - for their service. He ended with a hearty "Semper Fi" and "ooo-rah," both which were returned with a little less volume but just as much spirit.
Mike Ward, governmental affairs director with the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, visited Iwo Jima late last year as part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, and he collected a plastic bag of volcanic ash and black sand from the beach where the Marines landed.
He presented a vial of it to each of the 11 Marine veterans at the ceremony. He likened the sand to "wet coffee grounds."
"You know the tally of the battle," Ward said. "The Iwo Jima Memorial sums it up best, 'Uncommon valor, a common virtue.' "
Ellie
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By PATRICIA C. McCARTER
Times Staff Writer patricia.mccarter@htimes.com
Ceremony honors veterans who paid price for Iwo Jima
The numbers don't make it sound like a fair match.
When 110,000 Marines invaded the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, there were just 20,000 enemy soldiers awaiting them; the Japanese were outnumbered five-to-one.
But the Japanese had dug 1,500 caves into the landscape of the tiny south Pacific island. From those protected holes connected by underground tunnels, they bombarded the Marines, who had nothing to hide behind, and the volcanic ash made foxhole-digging impossible.
Because of the Japanese' superb preparation, the vastly larger army was actually the underdog.
During a Tuesday morning ceremony to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of that important invasion, three local veterans who were part of the mission spoke about the difficulty of the battle.
Jimmy Tanner of Scottsboro recalled how the Marines took the island inch by inch, on their bellies, knowing that if they stood up, bullets would knock them back down. He said he learned on the island that the human body - and mind - can withstand more than most people think.
Tanner - who saw the iconic flag-raising on Mount Suribachi - didn't bathe or even take off his helmet for 19 days, until he was injured. And he felt lucky just to have been wounded.
"I could've walked on dead men for 50 or 100 yards without ever stepping on ground," Tanner said.
Bob O'Bannon of Huntsville tried to downplay the heroism of charging into the lethal firestorm: "You honor us too much.
"We were simply doing the job assigned to us, just like all Marines."
But Harvey Aden of Huntsville said he didn't want to focus on the death and destruction of those 35 days in battle on Iwo Jima. Instead, he wanted to talk about the joy of getting mail after fighting on the island for weeks.
When he opened an envelope from his wife, Frances, a piece of blue ribbon fell out. The war was raging all around him but, for a moment, he could only think about the new baby boy he had waiting at home for him.
"Some good things happened over there," said Aden, 82, his voice cracking as he told his story.
He said that when he left the States for the war, his wife - then in early pregnancy - told him she'd mail him a pink ribbon if they had a girl and a blue ribbon if they had a boy. She didn't send a note or a photograph or a birth announcement with the baby's weight or name.
Just a piece of blue ribbon.
"Me and my buddies celebrated," Aden said. "We didn't have anything good to eat and we didn't have anything to drink, but we had each other.
"And we were mighty proud to still have each other."
Retired Lt. Gen. Frank Libutti also spoke at the event hosted by Honor Flight Tennessee Valley, the organization that brings World War II veterans on free trips to Washington to see war memorials.
Libutti said the Marines who served at Iwo Jima were a special breed of patriot who performed "magnificently." He said many were new to fighting and the ferocity of that battle was a heck of a way to get indoctrinated to the ways of war.
He repeatedly thanked those three Iwo Jima veterans - as well as eight other World War II Marines at the ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Museum - for their service. He ended with a hearty "Semper Fi" and "ooo-rah," both which were returned with a little less volume but just as much spirit.
Mike Ward, governmental affairs director with the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, visited Iwo Jima late last year as part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, and he collected a plastic bag of volcanic ash and black sand from the beach where the Marines landed.
He presented a vial of it to each of the 11 Marine veterans at the ceremony. He likened the sand to "wet coffee grounds."
"You know the tally of the battle," Ward said. "The Iwo Jima Memorial sums it up best, 'Uncommon valor, a common virtue.' "
Ellie