February 23, 1945.
Does that date ring a bell? I think it does for a lot of Marines -- it was the day that the US Flag was raised on Iwo Jima in World War II.
Three divisions of Marines (about 10,000 troops per division) landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945 and gradually fought their way inland.They faced heavy resistance, but captured the island on February 23 and succeeded in raising the flag on top of Mount Suribachi. True, this was only the capture of the southern tip of the island and the Marines continued the fight, often foot at a time, until the island was finally secured. Approximately 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed in this fight, and the Marines suffered 6,000 killed and approximately 25,000 wounded.
So what did I mean by this being ironic? Well, guess who owns the island today -- of course -- Japan. It was returned to the Japanese in 1968 by Lyndon Johnson as a gesture of good will.
It is pretty much a closed island today and Americans can only visit the island as part of a scheduled tour. Japan is looking to return it to its ancient fishing village heritage.
"There’s something ironic about war. You’re willing to give your life to fight for something you cannot own and may not even understand."
Hooah
No comments:
Post a Comment