Came across this last night. Group of 90 year old veterans go back to Iwo Jima once a year for a solemn reunion with Japanese veterans (who were very few). Iwo is considered a tomb by the Japanese, only allow visitors ONE DAY a year, for this reunion. Given their age, 2015 looks like it probably will be the last one.
I knew very little about the battle except raising of the flag. Island is absolutely tiny, maybe 8 square miles, was strategically useful for airfield to bomb the home islands. One of the vets claimed that more lives were lost per square mile in a shorter period of time than in any battle in history (hard to believe that, Battle of Somme in WWI cost 60,000 British casualties in the first day, and gained less than a mile in many places). But still, it is a small volcanic ash heap but thousands of Japanese and Americans died there.
The Japanese veteran was badly wounded but saved by an unnamed GI, to whom he was eternally grateful. He too was there to remember and honor his comrades and said "I hoped they died to bring peace to the world, for if there is not peace, what then did all these thousands of my friends die for?"
The statue on the beach is written in English and in Japanese, and on both sides it says something like "It is hoped that the men who fought here will never be forgotten, but what occurred here will never be repeated"
Fighting was nightmarish, Japs were in caves, had to be burned out with flamethrowers, fought damn near to the last man. If I remember what they said last night, one third of all Congressional Medal of Honor awards in the Pacific, or maybe all of WWII were issued due to actions on Iwo Jima.
Leading up to Veterans Day, it was well worth the watch, highly recommend it.
I knew very little about the battle except raising of the flag. Island is absolutely tiny, maybe 8 square miles, was strategically useful for airfield to bomb the home islands. One of the vets claimed that more lives were lost per square mile in a shorter period of time than in any battle in history (hard to believe that, Battle of Somme in WWI cost 60,000 British casualties in the first day, and gained less than a mile in many places). But still, it is a small volcanic ash heap but thousands of Japanese and Americans died there.
The Japanese veteran was badly wounded but saved by an unnamed GI, to whom he was eternally grateful. He too was there to remember and honor his comrades and said "I hoped they died to bring peace to the world, for if there is not peace, what then did all these thousands of my friends die for?"
The statue on the beach is written in English and in Japanese, and on both sides it says something like "It is hoped that the men who fought here will never be forgotten, but what occurred here will never be repeated"
Fighting was nightmarish, Japs were in caves, had to be burned out with flamethrowers, fought damn near to the last man. If I remember what they said last night, one third of all Congressional Medal of Honor awards in the Pacific, or maybe all of WWII were issued due to actions on Iwo Jima.
Leading up to Veterans Day, it was well worth the watch, highly recommend it.
