Matt planned a battle staff ride to the island of Iwo Jima. Only military personnel are allowed to visit the island. I will tell the story from his pictures and captions, as I was not there to tell the story. Here it goes.
The group flew on Navy jets from NAF Atsugi to Iwo Jima
“Picture of Mt Fuji from the air on the way to Iwo Jima”
“The east side of the island, opposite of the landing beaches. In the distanced are wrecked ships near the shoreline. In 1945 these ships were completely submerged…since then the island has had 45 feet of uplift due to the growing nature of this volcanic island.”
“Black sands of Iwo Jima. The landing beaches from Feb 1945 with Mt. Suribachi”
” An entrance to one of the underground tunnels on Iwo Jima. This specific tunnel had 3 different layers and the temp in the tunnel systems underground would reach up to 140 degrees…the Japanese soldiers were ordered underground 9 days prior to the amphibious assault and attacked from these positions until their eventual death anywhere from 9 to 45 days later. There are over 11miles of tunnel under this 8sq mi island!”
“The site where the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions cemeteries laid until 1968 when the American transferred the island back to the Japanese and the remains of the fallen were relocated to Arlington National Cemetery. There were over 26,000 casualties from the American side during the battle, of which roughly 6,000 KIA or WIA. The Japanese suffered 20,000 KIA of which 13,000 are still entombed in the tunnels to this day.”
“The marker where the “reunion of honor” is held. The 40th, 50th, and 60th WWII Commemorations of the Battle of Iwo Jima were held for both Japanese and American veterans.”
“A memorial dedicated by the Japanese honoring their special attack (kamikaze) units”
“Two posts of dog tags on either side of the pathway leading up to the USMC Landing Memorial. Engraved on the monument read, “Of the Marines on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue” – Admiral Nimitz”
“A poem was read at the summit to honor the fallen”
“One of the most restricted places in the world to visit. I was honored to lead the group of 7 men on this humbling journey across this unforgiving terrain”
Since this trip Matt has been back one more time with senior leaders of his unit to do the same tour. He has felt very privileged to go on this trip with his fellow soldiers.
Check out more blogs about our travels here.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and share this blog article!
Traveling Houses
Leave a Reply