Black Sands of Hell (Part 3)

The Old Man concludes. For 4 days, the bloody fighting continued day and night. In an effort to discourage "sneak" attacks during nighttime combat, both sides kept the skies alight with flares, strobing the landscape with ghastly flashes of the reality of death.

The Fourth Division was tasked with the capture of the southern end of Iwo Jima including Mount Suribachi in order to neutralize the withering Japanese fire power. The Fifth Division's mission was to capture the two airfields to the North and West. As the Marines made their way toward their objectives, they began to get a better grasp of the Japanese style of combat. All other combatants in modern times have honored the red crosses worn by field medics in an attempt to bring some degree of civility to war. They are "off limits". The Japanese, however, saw things differently. Contrary to convention, medics were targeted first, the red crosses a bulls eye; after all, if a medic dies, many more other soldiers will die from lack of treatment.


The third veteran of the campaign that I have known is T. W. That's how he was known to friends. T.W. recounts how he was wounded in the battle for Guam, and back in action on Iwo. He recounts a story of how he and 3 other Marines were assisting a wounded comrade back to an aid station. They jumped in a shell crater to rest for a moment. While taking their "break", one of the men asked if T. W. would change sides with him. T. W. agreed since it would give both of their arms a rest from carrying the litter. When they came out of the crater, the one who had taken T. W. 's place took a bullet in the arm. When the war ended and T. W. came home, he felt a call into the Ministry and served as a pastor for most of the rest of his life. He was a gentle and humble soul who exhibited no indication of his witness to barbarity.

The taking of Mount Suribachi extracted a heavy toll in life and misery. American casualties totaled 5,372, of which 385 were killed.

On the morning of February 23, four Marines made it to the top of Suribachi. When they looked down into the extinct volcano's crater, they saw a battery of machine guns and stacks of ammunition, but not a living soul. They scrambled back down to their unit and told their commanding officer what they had seen. He immediately sent another 6 man patrol back up with a small American flag and instructions to "put this up".

At the top, these Marines found a 20 foot length of iron pipe and lashed the flag to it. Even though it was small, when word spread, cheers erupted all over the island. The ships anchored just off shore began to blow their foghorns and ring the ship's bells. The Japanese were not amused.

About two hours later, around 10:30 AM, 6 more Marines made their way to the top with a larger flag to replace the initial one. This flag-raising has served as the defining moment of pride and patriotism for 64 years and will, I believe, always provide an emotional boost to all generations.

Of these 6 flag raisers, three would be dead within a month. In the photo, Texas born Harlon Block is at the bottom of the pole inserting it into the ground. He was killed by a mortar shell on March 1st. Harlon was 21 years old. Two men behind and just barely visible are Mike Strank who also died on March 1st, and Rene Gagnon who was one of the three brought back to the States to participate in a bond drive. The second man up in the foreground is John "Doc" Bradley, a Corpsman who was another of the three who survived, and whose son, James Bradley, wrote the book "Flags of Our Fathers". After Bradley is Franklin Sousley, killed on March 21st. The last man is Ira Hayes, the third of the survivors who participated in the bond tour.

While the famous photograph would be perceived by many for years to come as a climactic event, the fight for control of Iwo Jima would continue on for many weeks. The last organized resistance ended on March 16th, nearly a full month after the invasion. The last Japanese gasp came on March 26th when 4 Japanese officers led 196 trapped men out of a cave and attempted to attack Airfield #2.

The toll in human life in the battle for Iwo Jima is astounding. 20,000 Japanese troops were killed and nearly 7000 Marines paid the supreme price for our freedom.

Admiral Chester Nimitz, in his official communication announcing the capture of Iwo Jima included a phrase that has become the point of clarity on the campaign. He said, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue".

On one of the "Lest They Be Forgotten" programs referred to in an earlier post, the ending again brought tears to my eyes. The camera moved from one of these men's face to the next, and as the camera focused on them, each gave a crisp salute. Even though they could not see me, I quietly stood from my chair and returned each with gratitude and pride. Thank you, my heroes, from the core of my being.

God Bless America