Iwo jima

Tomorrow, Wednesday February 19, 2020 marks the 75 anniversary of the start of the battle for IWO JIMA. Let us not forget the cost. May they all Rest in Peace

5931 Marines Killed 7272 Wounded

881 Navy men Killed including 195 Corpsman 2798 Wounded

9 Army Killed 28 Wounded


The second flag raising was accomplished by 6 men , 5 Marines and one Navy Corpsman, of those 3 died during the rest of the battle and one was wounded.

40 men climbed that volcano to raise the flag, of those 40 only 4 left IWO without being killed or wounded.

US Battle casualties vary slightly depending on the source.


There were over 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima, of those over 20,000 were killed

Thank you for posting that reminder. My father’s ship, USS Keokuk, was one of several hit by a Kamikaze during the battle. It was a two-man “Jill” Kamikaze. 17 sailors killer and 40+ injured. A couple of the sailors were never found and were listed as MIA in the records.

I always remember Iwo Jima. One day I hope to visit the island. My late Uncle and Mentor was awarded the Bronze Star with V for his actions there one day. He survived the battle.

It was Iwo Jima and Okinawa which helped finalize the decision to use The Bomb. During the two years of the Pacific War the ratio of Japanese to US KIA was about 5:1, after Iwo and Okinawa it was approaching 1:1. The Japanese simply would not give up.

Very true Blackhawk.... Sad days for U.S. forces and would have been a bloodbath if Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not hit.

My cousin graduated from high school in June 1944, he turned 18 years old on July 4th 1944 and was drafted into
the USMC six weeks later. He was in the first wave to land on Iwo Jima with the 5th Marines, he was in forward fire
control with three other marines. He spent 31 days on Iwo without any injury, later they were sent to Japan where he
sent back to my father and uncle two Type 99 rifles, which I have now. I did shoot them some years ago with
Norma 7,7 Jap ammo. My cousin would not talk about Iwo Jima for many years but did tell me that he carried a
Winchester Model 12 shotgun. He has since died, photos show the rifles that he sent backAttachment 47178Attachment 47179

Wonderful reminders of our loved ones who came before us. Its funny maybe because my dad was a Marine but he made sure while I was crowing up that I knew every man in our small town who was a WW2 or Korea War veteran. Besides my uncle who was with the 4th Marine Division we had another man who was there with the 3rd Marine Division.

Never forget. Never forgotten, long as I live./

jn