BEEN ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER SOME OF THEIR STORIES, AND THEY ARE
CERTAINLY WORTH LISTENING TO.
IT’S ALL PRETTY VAGUE FOR MOST
OF US.
OF US. WE KNOW SOMETHING IMPORTANT
HAPPENED AT IWOJIMA BUT IF
PRESSED TO COME UP WITH DETAILS
WE’D HAVE TO ASK ALEXA OR
GOOGLE.
GOOGLE. NOT THESE MEN.
THEY WERE ALL THERE 75 YEARS
AGO, PARTICIPANTS IN AND
EYEWITNESSES TO A CRUCIAL MOMENT
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
>> IWOJIMA, EIGHT SQUARE MILES
THAT HAD TO BE PAID FOR IN
BLOOD, AGONY AND DEATH.
>> THIS WEEK WE WERE SCHEDULED
TO TAG ALONG WITH THEM ON A TRIP
BACK.
BACK. >> I DON’T THINK THERE WERE EASY
MISSIONS.
MISSIONS. EVERY MARINE THAT WENT ASHORE
WAS A TARGET.
>> THEY SLID IN FROM THE OCEAN
READY FOR A FIGHT.
>> A LOT OF THEM NEVER GOT PAST
WATER’S EDGE.
WATER’S EDGE. >> Reporter: DURING WANING
MONTHS, ONE MORE ISLAND, ONE
MORE BEACHHEAD TO STORM.
FRANK BRADLEY, A TAIL GUNNER.
>> IT WAS A VERY STRATEGIC SPOT.
FOR THAT, BOMBS B29s OUT OF
INDIA.
INDIA. >> I’M SURE THE THOUGHT THAT RAN
THROUGH EVERY MARINE’S MIND IN
THAT MOMENT IS WE’RE ALL GOING
TO DO HERE.
>> ROBERT IS A SENIOR HISTORIAN
AT THE WORLD WAR II MUSEUM IN
NEW ORLEANS.
NEW ORLEANS. HE SAYS WHEN THE THOUSANDS OF
MARINES FIRST CAME ASHORE, THERE
WAS NO RESISTANCE.
ZERO.
ZERO. >> A PHRASE FROM A WESTERN, IT’S
QUIET AROUND HERE.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG SAYS, YEAH,
TOO QUIET.
TOO QUIET. I THINK THAT’S PRECISELY WHAT
HAPPENED TO THE MARINES IN THAT
FIRST HOUR THAT THEY LANDED ON
IWOJIMA.
IWOJIMA. >> THE TINY ISLAND WITH TWO AIR
STEPS HAD BEEN UNDER HEAVY NAVY
BOMBARDMENT FOR TWO DAYS.
UNBEKNOWNST TO AMERICANS INSIDE
THE ISLAND, 11 MILES OF TUNNELS.
JAPANESE GENERAL KOBAYASHI
WAITED UNTIL THE BEACH WAS
SWARMING WITH MARINES.
>> THEN HE OPENED UP WITH
EVERYTHING HE HAD.
THE MARINES ON THE ISLAND AND
THOSE WHO SURVIVED THE
BOMBARDMENT, I THINK THAT MOMENT
WILL BE UNFORGETTABLE FOR THE
REST OF THEIR LIVES.
>> IWO JIMA WAS A TERRIBLE
THING.
THING. >> ALMOST 7,000 AMERICANS LOST
THEIR LIVES THERE IN MORE THAN A
MONTH OF COMBAT.
THE JAPANESE LOST MORE THAN
20,000.
20,000. >> THIS IS COMBAT UNIFORM.
>> MARINE SHERMAN HARRIS RECALLS
LEAVING A BAZOOKA BEHIND IN THE
HEAT OF BATTLE.
HIS SERGEANT SAID THIS.
>> GO GET IT.
THAT’S IT.
THAT’S IT. AT 18 YEARS OF AGE, I SAID,
LORD, I’M NOT READY.
I DON’T WANT TO DIE.
I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE.
>> THIS WAS A FRIEND OF MINE,
GOT KILLED AT 18 YEARS OLD.
>> NAVY MAN SET UP
COMMUNICATIONS ON THE ISLAND.
>> JUST TO THINK, THEY WERE
KIDS.
KIDS. THEY GOT AS FAR AS THE SHORE AND
THAT WAS IT.
>> MARINES RECREATIONING THE
FLAG BECAME THE ENDURING SYMBOL
OF THE BATTLE.
BUT WHAT FEW REALIZE IS THAT
THREE OF THE MEN IN THE PHOTO
WOULD NOT SURVIVE THE FIGHT,
LEST WE FORGET.
BILL EBERSOL WAS AN 18-YEAR-OLD
MUSTANG FIGHTER PILOT.
>> WE TOOK IWO JIMA AT A
TERRIBLE COST, IT WOULD HAVE
BEEN FAR GREATER.
>> MANY A MAN BUT 18 OR 19 YEARS
OLD TESTED IN WAYS WE HONESTLY
CAN’T COMPREHEND.
CAN’T COMPREHEND. >> I LOOK BACK AND SAY I ALMOST
GOT KILLED HERE, I ALMOST GOT
KILLED THERE.
KILLED THERE. THAT’S OUT OF MY MIND.
>> OF IWOJIMA SANDY SAYS OFTEN
THOSE WHO TALK THE MOST DID THE
LEAST.
LEAST. >> PEOPLE SAY WE WERE SCARED.
I SAID YOU WEREN’T SCARED, YOU
WEREN’T THERE.
WEREN’T THERE. >> Reporter: 27 MEDALS OF HONOR
AWARDED FROM THAT BATTLE.
ADMIRAL NIMITZ SAID OF IWO JIMA,
UNCOMMON VALOR WAS A COMMON
VIRTUE.
VIRTUE. THIS MARINE --
>> I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD MAKE
IT OUT OF THE WAR TO BE HONEST.
>> Reporter: MORE THAN 16
MILLION AMERICANS SERVED IN
UNIFORM DURING WORLD WAR II.
MANY MORE HELPED OUT AT HOME,
FROM BOMB DRIVES TO BUILDING
AIRPLANES, MOST EVERYONE DID
THEIR BIT.
THEIR BIT. >> IF YOU WANT TO LIVE IN THE
COUNTRY, EVERY NOW AND THEN
YOU’RE GOING TO BE ASKED TO PAY
A PRICE FOR IT, CARRY OUT A
DUTY, MAYBE ASKED TO LAY DOWN
THEIR LIFE.
THEIR LIFE. CERTAINLY AMERICANS DID SO ON
IWO JIMA.
IWO JIMA. >> SO HODA, SAVANNAH, YOU’VE
SEEN THE SOCIAL MEDIA POST
SAYING, MY GOSH, SOMEBODY FIVE
YEARS AGO WERE ASKED TO FIGHT A
WAR, ALL WE’RE BEING ASKED TO DO
IS STAY HOME.
I FEEL LIKE THIS STORY HAS EXTRA
RESONANCE.
RESONANCE. FOR US IN OUR FAMILY, IT’S EXTRA
SPECIAL BECAUSE MY LATE
FATHER-IN-LAW WAS A MARINE WHO
DID TWO TOURS OF DUTY IN THE
SOUTH PACIFIC.
SOUTH PACIFIC. HE RARELY TALKED ABOUT WHAT IT
WAS LIKE.
WAS LIKE. WHEN WE SAID, POPPY, WHAT WAS IT
LIKE FIGHTING BACK THEN.
HE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD FILL
50 GALLON DRUMS WITH POTATO
PEELS AND THROW SOME YEAST IN
THERE.
THERE. WHEN THE TOP BLUE OFF WE KNEW
THE HOOCH WAS READY.
WE ALSO KNOW FROM A POST IN A
LOCAL PAPER, IN THE THICK OF IT,
THERE WAS A PIECE IN A PAPER IN
DETROIT THAT SAID RALPH LOST HIS
PANTS IN THE INVASION OF IWO
JIMA ACCORDING TO REPORTS OF
CHARLES B. CUNNINGHAM, A MARINE
CORPS CORRESPONDENT.
CORPS CORRESPONDENT. ACCORDING TO CUNNINGHAM HE USED
HIS PANTS TO MAKE IMPROVISED
SANDBAGS DURING THE FIRST BLOODY
NIGHT OF THE INVASION.
OFFERED ANOTHER PAIR OF PANTS BY
A MARINE BUDDY, HE WAS QUOTED AS
SAYING, DO THEY HAVE PLEATS IN
THEM.
THEM. >> WELL, IT’S INCREDIBLE THE
SACRIFICES MADE AND ALSO WITH
GOOD HUMOR, HARRY.
I WANT TO SAY, ALL OF US STAYING
HOME, IT’S PARTLY TO PROTECT OUR
VETERANS, WORLD WAR II, VIETNAM,
KOREAN WAR.
KOREAN WAR. THEY SERVED FOR US.
IT’S THE LEAST WE CAN DO.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION.
AND THE HOPE IS THIS FALL WE’LL
BE ABLE TO DO THAT TRIP WITH
THOSE GUYS WHO ARE ALL SAFE AND
THEY ARE ALL THERE.