Mt. Suribachi

[USNAviator]

Today, in 1945, the colors were raised on Mt Suribachi. A defining moment for your Corps.

Fair Winds Marines and Docs

[TJR1070]

God Bless all Marines and sailors that served there, you are the shining example of what our Corps is capable of accomplishing.

[USNAviator]

This was in my inbox from history.com this morning. I know that the battle itself started on Feb 19, but did not know that today, the 23rd, is the anniversary of the raising of the flag there.

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1945 : U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman. Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March. In early 1945, U.S. military command sought to gain control of the island of Iwo Jima in advance of the projected aerial campaign against the Japanese home islands. Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island located in the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan, was to be a base for fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. On February 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed onto Iwo Jima's inhospitable shores. The Japanese garrison on the island numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched men. Their commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had been expecting an Allied invasion for months and used the time wisely to construct an intricate and deadly system of underground tunnels, fortifications, and artillery that withstood the initial Allied bombardment. By the evening of the first day, despite incessant mortar fire, 30,000 U.S. Marines commanded by General Holland Smith managed to establish a solid beachhead. During the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under heavy fire from Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from the Japanese infantry. Many of the Japanese defenders were never seen and remained underground manning artillery until they were blown apart by a grenade or rocket, or incinerated by a flame thrower. While Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet around Iwo Jima, the Marines on the island continued their bloody advance across the island, responding to Kuribayashi's lethal defenses with remarkable endurance. On February 23, the crest of 550-foot Mount Suribachi was taken, and the next day the slopes of the extinct volcano were secured. By March 3, U.S. forces controlled all three airfields on the island, and on March 26 the last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima were wiped out. Only 200 of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders were captured alive. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000 were wounded.

Thanks Dave, I didn't know anything about this!!!!!!

[USNAviator]

Yes that History,com is really something alright. But I usually check on here first.Someone posted at 8:19 under the title of Mt Surabachi.....

[USNAviator]

Didn't even see that one, Commander....sorry, Dan, just saw it, had not even seen it before, just saw the long article in my inbox and posted it.
Sgt Lep can get rid of this one when he comes on, will PM him about it.....he hardly ever comes on here on the day shift....

No worries Dave . Just doing some yanking. Actually yours is much more interesting.

[mcvet57103]

Semper Fi! In relation to that event, there is a book that was made into a movie, allthough the book is more detailed, called "Flags of our Fathers". Based on three of the men who raised it, Jack Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes. A very good read. SF

[SGT7477]

It shows our beloved Marine Corps will continue, God Bless, Semper Fidelis.

[Chad Leddy]

Without thinking about it, my girlfriend and I happened to watch "Letters from Iwo Jima" last night.

Seriously, watching "Flags of our fathers" followed by "Letters..." a couple weeks later was such an awesome movie watching experience.

[temarti]

"the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi, means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years" Sec.Nav. Forrestal

[Sgt Leprechaun]

I merged the two threads, FYI. Good stuff gents.