Feb 19th 1945 - the 5th Mar. div. hits the beaches at Iwo Jima...

[Trajan]

for an island that covered no more than 8 sq. miles.......

6,522 dead, over 19,000 wounded...

5 weeks.

 

[del]

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

CORPORAL TONY STEIN
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-Eighth Marines, Fifth Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, in the Volcano Island, February 19, 1945. The first man of his unit to be on station after hitting the beach in the initial assault, Corporal Stein, armed with a personally improvised aircraft-type weapon, provided rapid covering fire as the remainder of his platoon attempted to move into position and, when his comrades were stalled by a concentrated machine-gun and mortar barrage, gallantly stood upright and exposed himself to the enemy's view, thereby drawing the hostile fire to his own person and enabling him to observe the location of the furiously blazing hostile guns. Determined to neutralize the strategically placed weapons, he boldly charged the enemy pillboxes one by one and succeeded in killing twenty of the enemy during the furious single-handed assault. Cool and courageous under the merciless hail of exploding shells and bullets which fell on all sides, he continued to deliver the fire of his skillfully improvised weapon at a tremendous rate of speed which rapidly exhausted his ammunition. Undaunted, he removed his helmet and shoes to expedite his movements and ran back to the beach for additional ammunition, making a total of eight trips under intense fire and carrying or assisting a wounded man back each time. Despite the unrelenting savagery and confusion of battle, he rendered prompt assistance to his platoon whenever the unit was in position, directing the fire of a half-track against a stubborn pillbox until he had effected the ultimate destruction of the Japanese fortification. Later in the day, although his weapon was twice shot from his hands, he personally covered the withdrawal of his platoon to the company position. Stouthearted and indomitable, Corporal Stein, by his aggressive initiative, sound judgment and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of terrific odds, contributed materially to the fulfillment of his mission, and his outstanding valor throughout the bitter hours of conflict sustained and enhanced the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

/S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN

Tony Stein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the Americans serving on Iwo island, uncommon valor was a common virtue."- Adm. Chester W. Nimitz

 

[Trajan]

181 men a day...every day.....

 

[whitehall]

Iwo Jima could have been bypassed. Marines asked for ten days of shelling and got three. The stated purpose for taking the island which intell said was fortified with 40 years of tunnels and concrete bunkers was to surppress Japanese fighter plane harassment of US bombers on the way to bomb the Japanese mainland. It is said that the dying president visibly gasped when he received word of the Marine casualties. After the god-forsaken 4X2 mile island was secured the stated mission was changed. Crippled bombers were ordered to find tiny Iwo Jima which wasn't on their charts. Changing the mission was a slick political maneuver that intended to justify the sacrifice of over 6,000 Marines killed in combat in about a month.

 

[Trajan]

Iwo Jima could have been bypassed. Marines asked for ten days of shelling and got three. The stated purpose for taking the island which intell said was fortified with 40 years of tunnels and concrete bunkers was to surppress Japanese fighter plane harassment of US bombers on the way to bomb the Japanese mainland. It is said that the dying president visibly gasped when he received word of the Marine casualties. After the god-forsaken 4X2 mile island was secured the stated mission was changed. Crippled bombers were ordered to find tiny Iwo Jima which wasn't on their charts. Changing the mission was a slick political maneuver that intended to justify the sacrifice of over 6,000 Marines killed in combat in about a month.

the purpose was to give b-29s a way point if damaged and to fly fighter cover for mainland bombing runs....aside from preventing the Japanese from using it thankless, that was always the plan.

 

[whitehall]

Iwo Jima could have been bypassed. Marines asked for ten days of shelling and got three. The stated purpose for taking the island which intell said was fortified with 40 years of tunnels and concrete bunkers was to surppress Japanese fighter plane harassment of US bombers on the way to bomb the Japanese mainland. It is said that the dying president visibly gasped when he received word of the Marine casualties. After the god-forsaken 4X2 mile island was secured the stated mission was changed. Crippled bombers were ordered to find tiny Iwo Jima which wasn't on their charts. Changing the mission was a slick political maneuver that intended to justify the sacrifice of over 6,000 Marines killed in combat in about a month.

the purpose was to give b-29s a way point if damaged and to fly fighter cover for mainland bombing runs....aside from preventing the Japanese from using it thankless, that was always the plan.

That's the trouble with pop-culture history. There are many references to the stated mission to take Iwo Jima. Wiki says that Iwo was stragically important because it provided an airbase for Japanese fighters to intercept long range B-29 bombers. It also served as an early warning radio station to report incoming US bombers. Taking Iwo would cut the distance in half that B-29 bombers had to travel and offer a base for p-51 Mustang fighters and a staging area for the invasion of Japan. Crippled bombers was not in the original plan.

 

[Trajan]

Iwo Jima could have been bypassed. Marines asked for ten days of shelling and got three. The stated purpose for taking the island which intell said was fortified with 40 years of tunnels and concrete bunkers was to surppress Japanese fighter plane harassment of US bombers on the way to bomb the Japanese mainland. It is said that the dying president visibly gasped when he received word of the Marine casualties. After the god-forsaken 4X2 mile island was secured the stated mission was changed. Crippled bombers were ordered to find tiny Iwo Jima which wasn't on their charts. Changing the mission was a slick political maneuver that intended to justify the sacrifice of over 6,000 Marines killed in combat in about a month.

the purpose was to give b-29s a way point if damaged and to fly fighter cover for mainland bombing runs....aside from preventing the Japanese from using it thankless, that was always the plan.

That's the trouble with pop-culture history. There are many references to the stated mission to take Iwo Jima. Wiki says that Iwo was stragically important because it provided an airbase for Japanese fighters to intercept long range B-29 bombers. It also served as an early warning radio station to report incoming US bombers. Taking Iwo would cut the distance in half that B-29 bombers had to travel and offer a base for p-51 Mustang fighters and a staging area for the invasion of Japan. Crippled bombers was not in the original plan.

no, the problem it appears is you assume I let a place like wiki tell me what to think and that I would make statement without having read more than just wiki. I have never ever read a book on that campaign that spoke to any re-work of the plan to make it more palatable afterward, I take it you have a source?

You do know that before the island was officially secured a bomber landed there, right?

 

[Madeline]

My Daddy fought in WWII, in the Pacific. I dun know more than this, but these images are disturbing to me...and profoundly moving.

Thankies, Trajan.

 

[whitehall]

Joe Rosenthal's photo of the Flag raisers is the most widely duplicated photo in history. There are conspiracy theories that it was staged but it wasn't. The Marine photographer (who was KIA later) snapped the first photo of the Flag raising while little nearsighted Joe Rosenthal was making his way up the hill. He made it that far so he decided to get whatever shot he could. They decided to raise a larger Flag so the Fleet could see it and Rosenthal snapped a photo hardly looking through the 4X5 Speed Graflex camera and sent the film pack out to the ship. The film pack could have been lost or the shot could have been blurred but everything came together including the sudden breeze that cought the Flag. It makes you proud even today.

 

[old navy]

Rosenthal photo trivia. Whose face is the only 'Marine' visable in the photograph?

Also, why is his canteen cover empty?