Dozens of aging US veterans yesterday gathered on the tiny, barren island of Iwo Jima to mark one of the bloodiest and most iconic battles of World War II 70 years ago.
The vets, many in their early 90s and some in wheelchairs, toured the black sand beaches where they invaded the deeply dug-in forces of the island’s Japanese defenders.
They were bused to the top of Mount Suribachi, an active volcano, where a photo of the raising of the US flag while the battle was still raging became a potent symbol of hope and valor to the war-weary public back home that was growing increasingly disillusioned with the seemingly unending battle in the Pacific.
For some of the veterans, the return to the island where many of their comrades died, and which is still inhabited only by a contingent of Japanese military troops, was emotional.
“I hated them,” said John Roy Coltrane, a 93-year-old former sergeant of Siler City, North Carolina. “For 40 years, I wouldn’t even buy anything made in Japan, but now I drive a Honda.”
Speeches at the Reunion of Honor ceremony held near the invasion beach were made by senior Japanese politicians, descendants of the few Japanese who survived the battle.
Also speaking were US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Commandant of the Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, who said that the battle for Iwo Jima remains at the “very ethos” of the US Marine Corps today.
The marines invaded Iwo Jima in February 1945, and it was only declared secured after more than a month of fighting.
About 70,000 US troops fought more than 20,000 Japanese — only 216 Japanese were captured as prisoners of war and the rest are believed to have been either killed in action or to have taken their own lives.
The island was declared secure on March 16, 1945, but skirmishes continued. In about 36 days of battle, nearly 7,000 US Marines were killed and 20,000 wounded.
Though a tiny volcanic crag, the island — now called Ioto on Japanese maps — was deemed strategically important, because it was being used by the Japanese to launch air attacks on US bombers.
After its capture, it was used by the US as an emergency landing site for B-29 bombers, which eventually made 2,900 emergency landings there that are estimated to have saved the lives of 24,000 airmen, who would have otherwise had to crash at sea.
In total, 27 Medals of Honor were awarded for action in the battle, more than in any other battle in US military history.
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