70th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima

and

I think his specialty is the ETO, but he's also well versed on the Pacific. Dude knows his military history!

My Uncle was on the hill-top when first flag was raised!!!!

quote:

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"Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner"

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Goes to show you how insane our enemy was and how brave these men were to take them on. My grandfather was on Iwo Jima. I never got to meet him unfortunately (he died in the 60's) but it's still pretty chilling to think about.

I give major props to those Marines. A neighbor of my Dad's fought on Iwo. From what I have read, it is the only major battle in the PTO where Marine casualty numbers (total) exceeded that of the Japanese. With just over 1000 Japanese (out of the roughly 22K) taken prisoner, it was one brutal fight.

Not a whole lot of places to hide, eh?

quote:

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only 216

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Might want to check the facts and not count those taken during the initial fighting... After the island was secured again on 26 March, there were over 3K still in the caves. In June '44, the U.S. forces reported the capture of over 800 more. The last two holdouts surrendered in 1951.

Rah!

Semper Fi!

And thanks.

My grandfather served in the 5th and had his leg blown off by a mortar shell. He was carried off the battlefield on the shoulder of one of his men in a scene they make movies about and was shot twice while being carried. The tough old bastard came home, rehabbed in Philly and lived a long and productive life without complaint. He is a true patriarch, my personal hero, and was the biggest role model in my life.