History Part One
We have all heard and read about the war to end all wars, WWI. It didn't end all wars, Germany invaded it's neighbors and Russia, and attacked Britain by air. People in the US didn't want us to enter WWII because of casualties and wounded still seen in towns all across America, and they didn't want to see it again. Eventually, we were sucked into war with Germany and the US machinery started to produce material for the war. Then Japan began to attack it's neighbors, China, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines etc.. The Japanese were brutal to those attacked, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions perished by their hands, and that doesn't include the rapes and torture, working people to death, and death and torture to their prisoners of war. We read about the Baaton Death March, brutal prison camps, River Quai, and on and on. Then we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, hence war was declared on Japan.
The people of the US mobilized, there was rationing of food and gasoline, metal was saved and collected and made into war material. Hundreds of thousands of men lined up at recruiting stations, even kids tried to join and some were able to lie their way in to service. Women and those men unable to join worked in industry to produce war material. Our troops were supported as never seen before or since. Tens of thousands of men were killed in air raids on Germany, hundreds of thousands of civilians died in those same raids. Thousands killed on the seas and ground combat. We all know about D-Day and the battles for Europe, Italy, Africa, and the German invasion of Russia and finally the defeat of Germany, hearing about the Holocaust, and the German inhumanity to man.
We have read also about the war with Japan, battles in the Philippines, Tarawa, Bouganville, Saipan, Guadalcanal. We lost thousands of men in great sea battles against Japan, and tens of thousands more in airmen and battles on the ground. We began to bomb the Japanese Island itself, at great cost to men and aircraft. The bean counters in Washington DC estimated that we would lose 100 thousand or more to invade the island. Iwo Jima was within range of Japan itself and considered it as part of the homeland. The mayor of Tokyo was also mayor of Iwo. To the US it was a place to land damaged aircraft and supply attacks on the Japan island itself. It was considered vital to take the island of Iwo Jima at all costs, so plans were devised to do just that, invade Iwo. Being so important to Japan, they constructed the most heavily fortified island or any battlefield anywhere in the history of the world. There were 22,000 defenders, not on Iwo but in Iwo. The Japanese had 16 miles of tunnels and buildings dug in Iwo. Huge guns, and guns of all sorts and power were hid in holes and caves, their men lived under Iwo, they had hospitals, sewers, power, food for a year, ammunition. Iwo Jima was bombed more than anyplace on earth, with little effect, that's how well dug in they were. The guns of Iwo were all pointed to the one place suitable for landing men and machines. After the war someone mentioned the strange soil on Iwo, it wasn't soil, it was rusted metal from bombs, shells, and gunfire.
Iwo Jima means sulfur island, it is made of volcanic ash and rock. It is barren or nearly so, not much of anything grows there, and that makes not much cover for invading troops either.
The defenders were under orders to hold the island at all costs, no one was to leave the island, all defenders were to kill at least 10 US soldiers before they died themselves. All the Japanese believed they would die, and they did indeed die, all except a few. The last two surrendered in 1948 or 49 if you can believe that. One of those two would not go back to Japan because it was in shame that he didn't die and probably didn't want to either.
All the crap about the Samurai ethic etc. was all a lie, Bushido had nothing to do with it, it was the brainwashing of the soldiers that did it, suicide was not in the real warrior ethics of long ago. Only in shame was suicide an option.To the Japanese leaders the warriors were called Issen Gorin, meaning 1 yen 5 rin, the cost of mailing a letter to the dead warrior's family!
End of Part One
The people of the US mobilized, there was rationing of food and gasoline, metal was saved and collected and made into war material. Hundreds of thousands of men lined up at recruiting stations, even kids tried to join and some were able to lie their way in to service. Women and those men unable to join worked in industry to produce war material. Our troops were supported as never seen before or since. Tens of thousands of men were killed in air raids on Germany, hundreds of thousands of civilians died in those same raids. Thousands killed on the seas and ground combat. We all know about D-Day and the battles for Europe, Italy, Africa, and the German invasion of Russia and finally the defeat of Germany, hearing about the Holocaust, and the German inhumanity to man.
We have read also about the war with Japan, battles in the Philippines, Tarawa, Bouganville, Saipan, Guadalcanal. We lost thousands of men in great sea battles against Japan, and tens of thousands more in airmen and battles on the ground. We began to bomb the Japanese Island itself, at great cost to men and aircraft. The bean counters in Washington DC estimated that we would lose 100 thousand or more to invade the island. Iwo Jima was within range of Japan itself and considered it as part of the homeland. The mayor of Tokyo was also mayor of Iwo. To the US it was a place to land damaged aircraft and supply attacks on the Japan island itself. It was considered vital to take the island of Iwo Jima at all costs, so plans were devised to do just that, invade Iwo. Being so important to Japan, they constructed the most heavily fortified island or any battlefield anywhere in the history of the world. There were 22,000 defenders, not on Iwo but in Iwo. The Japanese had 16 miles of tunnels and buildings dug in Iwo. Huge guns, and guns of all sorts and power were hid in holes and caves, their men lived under Iwo, they had hospitals, sewers, power, food for a year, ammunition. Iwo Jima was bombed more than anyplace on earth, with little effect, that's how well dug in they were. The guns of Iwo were all pointed to the one place suitable for landing men and machines. After the war someone mentioned the strange soil on Iwo, it wasn't soil, it was rusted metal from bombs, shells, and gunfire.
Iwo Jima means sulfur island, it is made of volcanic ash and rock. It is barren or nearly so, not much of anything grows there, and that makes not much cover for invading troops either.
The defenders were under orders to hold the island at all costs, no one was to leave the island, all defenders were to kill at least 10 US soldiers before they died themselves. All the Japanese believed they would die, and they did indeed die, all except a few. The last two surrendered in 1948 or 49 if you can believe that. One of those two would not go back to Japan because it was in shame that he didn't die and probably didn't want to either.
All the crap about the Samurai ethic etc. was all a lie, Bushido had nothing to do with it, it was the brainwashing of the soldiers that did it, suicide was not in the real warrior ethics of long ago. Only in shame was suicide an option.To the Japanese leaders the warriors were called Issen Gorin, meaning 1 yen 5 rin, the cost of mailing a letter to the dead warrior's family!
End of Part One
posted by Reflections at 6:24 PM
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