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thedrifter
04-07-08, 11:03 AM
Herrin veteran returns to Iwo Jima
By Codell Rodriguez, The Southern
Sunday, April 6, 2008 10:26 PM CDT

HERRIN - Eighteen-year-old Private First Class Albin Nelson, U.S. Marines, stood on black sands in a warm morning drizzle on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, in 1945.

Exhausted after three days of fighting, he watched five U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy corpsman raise the flag atop Mount Suribachi. He had no idea he was witnessing a scene that would become one of the most iconic moments in American history.

"We thought it was a pretty great," Nelson said. "We thought maybe the end of the operation was close, but it wasn't."

Nelson, who is now 83 and lives in Herrin, fought on the island halfway around the world from his Iowa hometown for 33 more days. He returned to those black sands, ash from past volcanic eruptions, 63 years later in early March for a commemorative reunion.

Nelson and other veterans flew to Guam, where they visited Anderson Air Force Base and met with military personnel. They visited Iwo Jima three days later, greeted by American and Japanese tour guides. The group visited Mount Suribachi and was honored during a memorial service attended by more than 100 Japanese dignitaries and more than 200 Americans.

"They treated us royally and I really had a good time," Nelson said.

He received numerous medals from Guam and the U.S. military and came home with a vial full of black sand.

The battle of Iwo Jima was not the end of Nelson's time with the military. He stayed with the occupation of Japan until 1947 and later served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Altogether, he spent about 25 years in the Marines before taking a position as an equipment operator for the Burlington Northern Railroad.

But Nelson hasn't left Iwo Jima completely in the past. Every year, he and his wife, Wanda, host a reunion in Metropolis for the Fifth Tank Battalion, of which he was a member. This year, it will take place Aug. 21 through 23. J.D. Thomas of Lexington said he did not know Nelson very well in Japan, but has become friends with him since the reunions and has therefore attended every one of them.

"I wouldn't miss one for anything," Thomas said.

The meetings are very therapeutic, according to Thomas. He said they spend most of the time sitting around and talking about the things they saw overseas, but said it is the best part of the trip.

Nelson said in addition to the treatment he received in Guam and Japan during the reunion, he is met with thanks and respect whenever people hear of his involvement in the battle and his presence at an event that would inspire films and memorials. But when met with such praise, he meets it with humility.

"A lot of people shake my hand and thank me," Nelson said. "They think we were heroes. I didn't think I was a hero. I was just doing a job I had to do."

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com / 351-5804

Ellie