Japanese emperor visits Iwo Jima to honor war dead 80 years after one of WWII’s fiercest battles

[1srelluc]

Japanese emperor visits Iwo Jima to honor war dead 80 years after one of WWII’s fiercest battles

www.stripes.com

IWO-TO, Japan — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Monday visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to those who died on the island where one of World War II’s harshest battles was fought 80 years ago.

The visit by Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, both born after the war, is their first to the island. The Imperial couple was to pray at three memorial sites and meet with representatives of bereaved families and descendants of former island residents.

The emperor’s Iwo Jima visit comes about 10 days after Japan and the U.S. held a joint memorial service to mark the end of the battle of Iwo Jima in late March, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani joined U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, as well as other officials and several veterans who survived the battle, to honor the war dead from both sides.

Naruhito, in his 65th birthday remarks in February noting the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, stressed the importance of remembering the wartime history and telling younger generations about the tragedy.

Japan fought in the war and invaded large areas of Asia in the name of his grandfather, then-Emperor Hirohito. The island, whose official name today is Iwo-to, was the site where Japanese and American soldiers faced off in one of the war’s fiercest battles.

The battle of Iwo Jima lasted from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945, as the United States tried to take control of a key strategic point to advance to mainland Japan. Despite expectations by the U.S. they would overwhelm the Japanese within days, Japanese soldiers used underground tunnels and resisted for five weeks, in a part of war history that has inspired many novels and movies.

Nearly all of the more than 21,000 Japanese troops and nearly 7,000 U.S. troops were killed in the battle.

More than half of the remains of the Japanese are still unaccounted for. All 1,100 residents of Iwo Jima except for 103 men drafted as military employees were forcibly evacuated to mainland Japan.

Former residents and their descendants have been allowed to visit the island for memorial events but not to live.

Have always found it fascinating that such bitter enemies could have a peaceful relationship as allies.

The Japanese were so fanatical we had to nuke them twice. Not all that long ago in scheme of things either.

I heard that there are only three US vets from that battle still living.

 

[The Duke]

Japan thought they were destined to take over the world.

 

[mudwhistle]

Japanese emperor visits Iwo Jima to honor war dead 80 years after one of WWII’s fiercest battles

www.stripes.com

IWO-TO, Japan — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Monday visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to those who died on the island where one of World War II’s harshest battles was fought 80 years ago.

The visit by Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, both born after the war, is their first to the island. The Imperial couple was to pray at three memorial sites and meet with representatives of bereaved families and descendants of former island residents.

The emperor’s Iwo Jima visit comes about 10 days after Japan and the U.S. held a joint memorial service to mark the end of the battle of Iwo Jima in late March, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani joined U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, as well as other officials and several veterans who survived the battle, to honor the war dead from both sides.

Naruhito, in his 65th birthday remarks in February noting the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, stressed the importance of remembering the wartime history and telling younger generations about the tragedy.

Japan fought in the war and invaded large areas of Asia in the name of his grandfather, then-Emperor Hirohito. The island, whose official name today is Iwo-to, was the site where Japanese and American soldiers faced off in one of the war’s fiercest battles.

The battle of Iwo Jima lasted from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945, as the United States tried to take control of a key strategic point to advance to mainland Japan. Despite expectations by the U.S. they would overwhelm the Japanese within days, Japanese soldiers used underground tunnels and resisted for five weeks, in a part of war history that has inspired many novels and movies.

Nearly all of the more than 21,000 Japanese troops and nearly 7,000 U.S. troops were killed in the battle.

More than half of the remains of the Japanese are still unaccounted for. All 1,100 residents of Iwo Jima except for 103 men drafted as military employees were forcibly evacuated to mainland Japan.

Former residents and their descendants have been allowed to visit the island for memorial events but not to live.

Have always found it fascinating that such bitter enemies could have a peaceful relationship as allies.

The Japanese were so fanatical we had to nuke them twice. Not all that long ago in scheme of things either.

I heard that there are only three US vets from that battle still living.

Many of the Japanese soldiers just ran out of ammo and blew themselves up with grenades.
The ones that were left started suicide attacks essentially dying in one big blaze of glory.
They probably would have kept the island if they had an unlimited supply of food and ammo, which they didn't have.

 

[mudwhistle]

Japan thought they were destined to take over the world.

The only reason there wasn't millions of casualties in a Japanese mainland invasion was because of the bomb.
It saved probably 12 million lives.
Okinawa convinced our generals that an invasion of Japan would prove to be too devastating to the US and Japan.

 

[The Duke]

The only reason there wasn't millions of casualties in a Japanese mainland invasion was because of the bomb.
It saved probably 12 million lives.
Okinawa convinced our generals that an invasion of Japan would prove to be too devastating to the US and Japan.

Probably the best call for both of us. It's not cool to wipe out cultures.

 

[ThirdTerm]

This is not well-known outside the the US but the US Navy used the unbreakable Navajo code against the Japanese in major sea battles including Iwo Jima. On the other hand, the Japanese code was cracked by Japanese Americans who worked as code breakers. By the Battle of Midway in 1942, the US had cracked the Japanese naval code JN-25b. The Japanese were fighting an unwinnable war, which made them more fanatical. Cooler heads prevailed only after Hiroshima.

Battle of Midway - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Zincwarrior]

Japanese emperor visits Iwo Jima to honor war dead 80 years after one of WWII’s fiercest battles

www.stripes.com

IWO-TO, Japan — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Monday visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to those who died on the island where one of World War II’s harshest battles was fought 80 years ago.

The visit by Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, both born after the war, is their first to the island. The Imperial couple was to pray at three memorial sites and meet with representatives of bereaved families and descendants of former island residents.

Needed a flyover by a dozen Corsairs to make the point.

 

[toobfreak]

The Japanese were so fanatical we had to nuke them twice.

The second time was just to prove to them that the first bomb was not just a one-off and done thing.

 

[The Duke]

This is not well-known outside the the US but the US Navy used the unbreakable Navajo code against the Japanese in major sea battles including Iwo Jima. On the other hand, the Japanese code was cracked by Japanese Americans who worked as code breakers. By the Battle of Midway in 1942, the US had cracked the Japanese naval code JN-25b. The Japanese were fighting an unwinnable war, which made them more fanatical. Cooler heads prevailed only after Hiroshima.

Battle of Midway - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

They'll be back. Trump knows who Americans are, and yes many are Indian and black, and other Indian, and oh I am not getting into that.

 

[Unkotare]

...

The Japanese were so fanatical we had to nuke them twice. ...

Not "had to," chose to.

 

[Unkotare]

Human remains from that terrible battle are still being uncovered to this day.

 

[Unkotare]

WWII vet's hate turns into hope in PBS Iwo Jima film - Orlando Sentinel

 

[Unkotare]

How American and Japanese Veterans of Iwo Jima Forged a Friendship 70 Years Later

Watch an exclusive clip from the documentary 'Iwo Jima: From Combat to Comrades,' hosted by Ryan Phillippe

time.com

 

[Zincwarrior]

How American and Japanese Veterans of Iwo Jima Forged a Friendship 70 Years Later

Watch an exclusive clip from the documentary 'Iwo Jima: From Combat to Comrades,' hosted by Ryan Phillippe

time.com

Hard for my grandfather to do so, being that he was killed on Tarawa.

 

[Blackrook]

My great-uncle died during the Battle of Savo Island -- four American ships sunk in minutes after a surprise attack by Japanese ships. He was on damage control and went down with the ship.

 

[Mack The Finger]

The only reason there wasn't millions of casualties in a Japanese mainland invasion was because of the bomb.
It saved probably 12 million lives.
Okinawa convinced our generals that an invasion of Japan would prove to be too devastating to the US and Japan.

It bother me when the Japs commemorate getting nuked.

 

[mudwhistle]

It bother me when the Japs commemorate getting nuked.

I don't blame the people of Japan for the war. They were just pawns in a power struggle.
Many of them had relatives that died from those nukes.
We can only be thankful that it ended the war....and that millions more didn't die.
War is terrible.

 

[mudwhistle]

My great-uncle died during the Battle of Savo Island -- four American ships sunk in minutes after a surprise attack by Japanese ships. He was on damage control and went down with the ship.

That's one of the reasons I only did one tour of enlistment in the Navy. They didn't have any way to get ship's company off the ship if it went down. I would have been one of them that went down with it. They didn't have an abandon ship station for me and the rest of the guys in my department.
I decided I'd rather risk it on dry land instead of risk being sent to a watery grave.

 

[Unkotare]

It bother me when the Japanese commemorate getting nuked.

Only four more letters. You can do it.

 

[Crepitus]

Japanese emperor visits Iwo Jima to honor war dead 80 years after one of WWII’s fiercest battles

www.stripes.com

IWO-TO, Japan — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Monday visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to those who died on the island where one of World War II’s harshest battles was fought 80 years ago.

The visit by Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, both born after the war, is their first to the island. The Imperial couple was to pray at three memorial sites and meet with representatives of bereaved families and descendants of former island residents.

The emperor’s Iwo Jima visit comes about 10 days after Japan and the U.S. held a joint memorial service to mark the end of the battle of Iwo Jima in late March, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani joined U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, as well as other officials and several veterans who survived the battle, to honor the war dead from both sides.

Naruhito, in his 65th birthday remarks in February noting the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, stressed the importance of remembering the wartime history and telling younger generations about the tragedy.

Japan fought in the war and invaded large areas of Asia in the name of his grandfather, then-Emperor Hirohito. The island, whose official name today is Iwo-to, was the site where Japanese and American soldiers faced off in one of the war’s fiercest battles.

The battle of Iwo Jima lasted from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945, as the United States tried to take control of a key strategic point to advance to mainland Japan. Despite expectations by the U.S. they would overwhelm the Japanese within days, Japanese soldiers used underground tunnels and resisted for five weeks, in a part of war history that has inspired many novels and movies.

Nearly all of the more than 21,000 Japanese troops and nearly 7,000 U.S. troops were killed in the battle.

More than half of the remains of the Japanese are still unaccounted for. All 1,100 residents of Iwo Jima except for 103 men drafted as military employees were forcibly evacuated to mainland Japan.

Former residents and their descendants have been allowed to visit the island for memorial events but not to live.

Have always found it fascinating that such bitter enemies could have a peaceful relationship as allies.

The Japanese were so fanatical we had to nuke them twice. Not all that long ago in scheme of things either.

I heard that there are only three US vets from that battle still living.

I wonder if hecalled them "suckers and losers"?