Beautiful scene from the Pacific.
Clear green waters, surrounded by the shores of a small atoll, located some 660 miles south of Japan.
Overseen by an extinct volcano in the distance, marking the island's location to all who might pass by.
Some would see it as a tropical paradise.
One that would draw little notice as part of a whole chain of these atolls across the pacific.
But it hasn't always been that way.
Sixty five years ago, this paradise was a primary objective in American plans to bring the World War II Pacific campaign to a successful conclusion.
On the morning of February 19, 1945, at 8:59 AM, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions invaded this atoll after a somewhat ineffective bombardment lasting 72 hours.
The 28th Regiment, 5th Division, was ordered to summit the extinct volcano.
They reached the base of the mountain on the afternoon of February 21, and by nightfall the next day had almost completely surrounded it.
On the morning of February 23, Marines of Company E, 2nd Battalion, started the tortuous climb up the rough terrain, fighting their way to the top.
At about 10:30 a.m., men all over the island were thrilled by the sight of a small American flag flying from the summit.
That afternoon, when the slopes were clear of enemy resistance, a second, larger flag was raised on the summit of Mount Suribachi by five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman: Sgt. Michael Strank, Cpl. Harlon H. Block, Pfc. Franklin R. Sousley, Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon, Pfc. Ira Hayes, and PhM. 2/c John H. Bradley, USN.
You know these men.
You've seen them often.
And they represent the heroism of every United States soldier, sailor, and airman ever to serve this great country.
The appear on The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial.
What most of us call the Iwo Jima Monument.
Semper Fi.
Never Forget.
“Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.” ---- Michel de Montaigne
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years." ---- James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy (February 23, 1945)
