We have all learned of that fateful morning of Dec 7, 1941 just before 8 am. A beautiful sunrise peaked across the ocean, with the faint smell of the blooming flowers, collecting the rays of the sun. Residents of Pearl Harbor were just getting up, out and about for the day, off to work, school and other errands on the list. A rumbling, sound of bees, buzzed in the distance, but none were in sight. Rather, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes had begun an attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. Over two thousand killed and over one thousand wounded. Nearly eight battleships, two hundred airplanes and twenty naval vessels destroyed. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in his proclamation to the country, “A date which will live in infamy.”
In a few of the interviews collected, many of the Marines had found and attacked numerous underground tunnels and bunkers with hidden artillery, covering a wide span of about 11 miles. Using the advantage of airstrikes, the Japanese soldiers played cat and mouse along the bunkers, with those that were visible from above. Quite a strategic move for the Japanese Imperial Army, using the same strategy on the Pearl Harbor attack, only this happened in their backyard.
In order for Japan to have the upper hand in their preparations for the arrival of American bombers, Iwo Jima served as an early warning station to radio on incoming bombers for raids from Marinas to hit mainland, using Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the volcanic island. They called this, “Operation Scavenger”, picking on the weak, down below, even a few kamikaze pilots sacrificed themselves just to get a crack at the American soldiers with no regard for their own life, a sacrifice of bravery.
As the war drew to an end, the Americans captured the island, ruining all hope for the Japanese to maintain their early warning system, and in turn used it as an emergency landing zone for any damaged bombers, and saving many lives. Like white capped waves splashing on the ocean, bullets dodged through the air, as six brave soldiers reached the top of the volcanic island. In a victorious effort to show they weren’t backing down, they forged a pole into the hard ground, displaying Old Glory at her finest hour, to wave above the newly conquered land. Those six men, consisted of five United States Marines and one US Navy Corpsman, were recognized from that moment on as valiant , and brave, showing us that when push comes to shove, we won’t back down.
With these events leading up to an inevitable jump into war, the retaliation for our lost brothers and sisters from just two years before, we find ourselves here, the aftermath in Iwo Jima, Japan. The battle has lasted now for nearly two weeks, with many casualties and is the first of an American attack on the Japanese’ home islands. Although we have had more casualties than Japan, our boys kept fighting for their life and others.
