The shell took out the generator providing power to their Anti-Aircraft gun turrets, which now had to be operated manually. Once the euphoria brought on by the flag-raising on Suribachi had passed, the battle went back to its bloody contest of attrition. A stretcher party evacuates one of the 17,913 men wounded during the battle. Rebstock ate in the crowded galley, which rang with the sounds of metal utensils on metal trays.
Then the flamethrower operator was down before he could reach the pillbox. The island of Iwo Jima was a strategic location for both the Japanese and the Americans. Brand new: lowest price. Someone passed word to return to the original lines, and the battered Marines limped back, dragging wounded buddies with them as best they could. Well, he thought, this is the fifth day, and the flag flies atop the mountain. They attacked throughout the day, and dug in for the night.On the 25th, the officers decided to try a different strategy. The American Marines and Japanese Soldiers who fought for Iwo Jima are part of the story; behind them were thousands of support troops, sailors, and airmen. One of the most notable flamethrower operators to serve during World War II was “It was like fighting ghosts,” he said. We had no relief crew for our boat. Napalm was considered a heroic battlefield innovation during World War II but became demonized during the Vietnam War. They were a stationary target, and Japanese artillery was still able to lob shells at them. An additional 6,140 Marines would be killed — making Iwo the bloodiest single engagement in Marine Corps history. The island was swept yard by yard with a rain of steel. Maps and models of the island were available for each man to see. All eyes focused on Mount Suribachi, the mountain that had to be taken.As the men approached the landing area, the final briefings included estimates of the length of the battle. The life expectancy of the flamethrower man was short.
The island, together with Kitaiwo Jima, had a population of some 1,200.After the U.S. military occupied the Mariana Islands and a battle on Iwo Jima became inevitable, residents of the island were forced to evacuate to mainland Japan in July 1944. He had been a Japanese marine.Again, they pushed on. A tank notified him and fellow combat photographer Howard McClue that they were desperate for infantryman. He said, ‘Light me a cigarette, will you?’ He took a couple of puffs on the cigarette and died in my arms. The beaches were pulverized with every conceivable type of fire, and the raining shells swept back and forth across the landing beaches like a giant scythe. He alternately crawled and stopped to raise his hand. The operation was completed.After the Island had been declared fully secure, the LSTs began ferrying Marines onto US Army Transports.
The Americans saw Iwo Jima as the perfect staging ground for allied escort aircraft for these types of protection operations. Rebstock put his weapon down. Easy Company had lost its company commander and had six other men killed and nine wounded, but they had cut a wide path across the island, isolating Suribachi from the northern reaches of the island. After the war, in 1945, napalm “scorched and boiled and baked to death more people in Tokyo on that night of March 9-10 than went up in vapor at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.” Napalm wasn’t used solely as an incendiary dropped from airplanes. [Rebroadcast] What's the secret to Shinzo Abe's longevity? Rebstock was thrown to the ground, and the private’s BAR shot from his hands. With each step, the Japanese became more frantic. But Suribachi let them pass.As they approached a small sugar cane field that had remarkably withstood the bombardment, Rebstock watched in amazement as a Japanese soldier charged toward him.
Today, there is no native population, only military personnel stationed there. Rebstock got his first view of a Zippo tank. 16-inch shells should solve that problem.Japanese planes made a counterattack, damaging some ships in the area. It was steak and eggs in the galley, standing up. Just before first light, there was tremendous shooting in the area of one of the airfields. They stopped and counted their casualties. Genaust used his to capture the video of the raising of the second flag.