64 years ago. February 23, 1945 (675 hits)
Category: NoneRating: -0.23 on 19 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <suburbanator350.at.hotmail.com> (View user info) at 2009-02-23 17:29:28 EST
The genesis of this story really starts 64 years ago, February 23rd, 1945. On the southern tip of a small pork chop shaped island in the Pacific, at the top of a 500+ foot mountain, an American Flag was raised. The island was Iwo Jima, the first Japanese territory to be invaded by the United States. Three Marine Divisions (the 3rd, 4th and 5th) landed on February 19th. Taking Iwo Jima would allow the Japanese mainland to be within striking distance of American bombers.
We lost a couple of notable heroes those first few days -- Manila John Basilone, the first enlisted Medal of Honor recipient in World War II from Guadacanal, who gave up the safety of bond tours to "being with his men.".... and rodeo cowboy hero Fritz Truan, who had won the All Around Cowboy world title in 1940.
Over the course of a month, Iwo Jima would become the costliest battle in Marine Corps History--8,000 killed and over 16,000 wounded. More Medals of Honor were awarded for this battle -- 28 -- than any other. According to Admiral Nimitz, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."
The reason for this particular story has to do with the Flag raising. The first Flag to be raised, though long before the battle was to end, brought inspiration to the Marines and sailors who were witnesses. Secretary of War, James Forrestall exclaimed that the raising of that Flag insured there would be a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.
The first Flag was a small Flag, and a couple hours later, Marines of the 28th Regiment raised a larger Flag which was immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's photograph, later to become a Marine Memorial in Arlington. Three of those Flag raisers would die on that island before the cessation of fighting -- Harlon Block of Texas, Franklin Sousley of Kentucky, and Hank Strank . Three would live -- HM3 John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes. I highly recommend the James Bradley book, and the Clint Eastwood movie "Flags of our Fathers" for all of their stories.
User Reviews
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2009-02-27 22:20:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by sandmantate (user info) at 2009-02-25 20:19:46 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
February 25th, 2009; Sandman shits the bed. Seriously. It was better than this post.
Submitted by Phallic_Cymbals (user info) at 2009-02-25 20:03:41 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
I have it on good authority that every marine that died on Iwo Jima was a huge flaming limp-wristed faggot.
Lol.
Submitted by Doodles (user info) at 2009-02-25 07:33:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
oh please stop complaining
it's only the first day of lent and you're already tempting me to troll.
WHY?
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2009-02-24 16:34:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
September 17, 1862 Antietam
40k southerners vs 89k northerners
First 50 minutes: 8k dead (more than Normandy's entire D-day)
In less than 4 hours there were almost 25k of causalities.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-02-24 11:52:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't give a toss about any of this but all this talk of soldiers makes me horny. Any squaddies out there wanna mail me to swap pics and meet up to screw and drink beer please do so.
I do anal.
Submitted by Otter (user info) at 2009-02-24 11:45:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Hidden, for the most part I'll agree with what you and Sage say. People who join the military do it for different reasons now than they did during WWII. Back then, people did join because of pride in their country and they felt it was their obligation to serve. Not everybody, but most people. I speak with a lot of WWII vets and others who lived during that time and they say the same thing.
I honestly don't have a real opinion about our currents wars, should we be there or not. However WWII was fought for a different reason. Had we not taken Iwo Jima and allowed our bombers to attack the Japanese mainland, there was a real threat to the US if the Japanese atacked us. We could be speaking Japanese now. And not just Iwo Jima, but had we not had citizens who were willing to serve, willing to fight for their country, the world could be very different place.
I hate hearing that people are dying over there, but if it's for the greater good, their deaths will not be in vein. But what is the greater good? What would have happened had we not gone to Iraq in 2003? Would Saddam Hussain have attacked another country? Or joined forces with other countries? Would the US and other western countries have had more terroist attacks? Hard to say, but when our last troop is home from the middle east, I can only hope the ends justified the means.
As far as my comments below, I guess I got a bit irked that some people on this site just say that a post like this is stupid and boring. I guess I just thought that maybe there are parts of history that are worth taking note of, and the attitude of those who responded was "so what, who cares, doesn't affect me, why should I care?" Isn't there a saying, something along the lines of "People who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it?"
I could care less that they gave me a -2, but why give a -2? Was content inaccurate? Id this something that could start a debate of differing opinions?
Submitted by rubbermaid (user info) at 2009-02-24 11:33:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Hidden knows absolutely nothing about war and he was lying about his job. He works in a mall kiosk selling cell phone accessories.
Sage, she's just as fucking stupid and only knows about wars through the Mini Pages section of the newspaper.
Submitted by cheerios (user info) at 2009-02-24 08:56:44 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Submitted by sage104 (user info) at 2009-02-24 08:32:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well put, Hidden. At the end of the day though, you took a job where you risked your life and sacrificed your OWN freedom for our country, regardless of your personal beliefs about it. My brother served two tours during his 4 years as a Marine...he went to Fallujah and Trebil (both in Iraq for those unaware). He was like you--completely disagreed with the entire premise of the war, and only did it to do something different. He has a genius IQ but was talked into believing that he'd never see war; he was recruited into the Marine Corps Band playing the bass guitar so to him, it was a dream job and the risk of potentially going to Iraq or Afghanistan was worth it (especially since he believed he'd never go--the young fool). Now that he's out he's jaded as fuck and has no faith in our country or it's leaders. He just turned 23 a couple weeks ago and I feel horrible knowing that he's seen so much at such a young age. I consider him to be a hero for the same reasons I listed above: he took a job where he risked his life and sacrificed his own freedom for our country, even when he completely disagreed with the premise of the war to begin with.
Semper Fi, bitches. <3
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2009-02-24 05:04:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Otter (user info) at 2009-02-23 21:07:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yeah, I guess you're right, the actions of those fine men 64 years ago are insignificant in the course of American history. No sence in learning about a small, yet meaningful piece of history.
FUCK THOSE DAMN MARINES AND SAILORS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FIGHTING FOR OUR COUNTRY!
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it's all a matter of circumstance. i joined the military as a springboard for my current career. if i would have died in battle in Iraq, they would have called me a hero too, despite the fact that i disagree with the war and could give two shits less about Iraq. it's a fuckin' job. most people join because they can't get any other job that will pay as well. or if we're talking about back in the day, a lot of dudes were drafted and didn't have a fuckin' choice. whoopidee do.
and don't give me that pride and honor BULLSHIT. 90% of the people i knew that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan (and i know A LOT of people in both places) could give a fuck less about either of those countries and they know both "wars" are a bunch of bullshit. the ones that think they are fighting for "freedom" are dumbass hillbillies and hicks that don't have an education and have no idea they are a political tool. pawns, basically. and the politicians don't give a fuck if they die, as long as they are helping to further their agenda.
on another note- i always thought you had to be brave to fight in a war until i went to two warzones. bravery has nothing to do with it in my opinion.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2009-02-24 03:34:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
One of the most horrible and entertaining experiences I ever had was taking lots of ketamine and speed then settling down to watch Letters from Iwo Jima.
Submitted by bozznc (user info) at 2009-02-24 03:21:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I second the Ooh RAH!
Submitted by billrhine (user info) at 2009-02-23 23:45:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck the haters in their unwashed asses.
Submitted by phuchuebuddy (user info) at 2009-02-23 21:38:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
OO-RAH
Submitted by Otter (user info) at 2009-02-23 21:07:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yeah, I guess you're right, the actions of those fine men 64 years ago are insignificant in the course of American history. No sence in learning about a small, yet meaningful piece of history.
FUCK THOSE DAMN MARINES AND SAILORS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FIGHTING FOR OUR COUNTRY!
Submitted by SilentRenegade (user info) at 2009-02-23 20:08:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
you must be a history teacher....
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2009-02-23 19:06:32 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
thanks for that!
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2009-02-23 18:21:21 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz