Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific

By Larry Smith

Book Overview

On February 19, 1945, nearly 70,000 American soldiers invaded a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific. Over the next thirty-five days, approximately 28,000 soldiers died, including nearly 22,000 Japanese and 6,821 Americans, making Iwo Jima one of the costliest battles of World War II. In his most important work to date, best-selling author Larry Smith lets twenty-two veterans of the conflict tell the story of this epic clash in their own words.

Many of these soldiers were no more than teenagers when they answered their country's call, and yet the men relate the momentous events of this terrible conflict as if they occurred just last year, instead of more than half a century ago. Describing the initial charge across the treacherous black ash of the landing beach under heavy fire is Chuck Lindberg, the last survivor of the two teams that planted the flags on Mount Suribachi--a moment captured forever in Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph for the Associated Press. General Fred Haynes recounts his heroic attempts to keep order amid tremendous casualties on the battlefield. Woody Williams and George Wahlen, two of the battle's twenty-six Medal of Honor recipients, tell their unbelievable stories, and Samuel Tso relates his role as one of the famous Navajo code talkers.

Though the flags went up just days after the invasion, the fighting wasn't over: through nearly eight miles of tunnels, thousands of Japanese troops defended the island despite hundred-degree heat, famine rations, and the overpowering stench of sulfur. To get both sides of the story, Smith interviewed the daughter of Captain Tsunezo Wachi, one of the most prominent Japanese survivors, and presents new evidence about the disappearance of the famed Japanese commander Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, who waged a brilliant defense of the island only to allegedly commit suicide rather than submit to the Americans.

Smith also investigates the controversy surrounding Rosenthal's famous photograph of the flag raising, and he interviews bomber and fighter crewmen to hear firsthand whether they believed the terrible cost of capturing the island was truly justified by its strategic use as an emergency stop for B-29 Superfortress bombers. Through the story of Navy Cross recipient John Ripley, Smith brings the history of the island up-to-date--from its return to Japan in 1968 to the dramatic discoveries made in the caves of Iwo in the 1980s and the Japanese-American Reunion of Honor now held annually on the island.

With dozens of photographs and maps, Iwo Jima is a stunning history of this emblematic battle, but it is also a personal history of the generation of soldiers, many now in their final years, who waged one of the most important wars in American history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393334910
• ISBN13: 9780393334913
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Awesome read

I love this book. It's like sitting down in front of you grandfather and listening to his old war stories. Once I start reading it's very hard for me to put down. One of the things I find fascinating is the mind of these old warriors. Many of them extremely patriotic. It seems almost all of them enlisted into the Marines immediately after turning 18, one of them enlisted at 16 and somehow escaped notice. The way they thought of life was different. If you got it (died), you got it. Many of these soldiers were from the 24th Marines Division and many of them knew each other. The stories here are memorable, from one soldier who accidentally shot a hole in the American flag because he thought it was a Japanese (the hole is still there btw - in the second stripe, it's on display), to the group of soliders who traded a weapons carrier in exchange for a pallet of beer (all under the noses of their superiors), this is a wild ride that is both entertaining and enriching.

We are indeed fortunate

We are fortunate that Latty Smith took the time to search out and find these unsung heros, before they pass on forever, taking their memories with them. He packages the thoughts into 24 chapters, one chapter per individual. Not many photos in the book, the words expressed by the men in the stories paint the picture in your mind. In the end, Col. John Ripley ponders the question asked by the modern world, if the tiny piece of land had been worth the fight. Over and over he states that yes, yes it was worth the fight. And we must not let the world forget why we fought and why we sacrificed so much. Words that must not be extinguished.

A reporter interviews nearly two dozen veterans of one of the finest battles of American history

IWO JIMA: WORLD WAR II VETERANS REMEMBER THE GREATEST BATTLE OF THE PACIFIC comes from a reporter who interviews nearly two dozen veterans of one of the finest battles of American history. The added discussion of their lives before and after the war adds depth and dimension to battle experience in this key pick for any military collection.

"Old men forget, yet all shall be forgot but he'll ...

remember, with advantage, what feats he did that day." Shakespeare was prescient with respect to 22 men who participated in this great battle, at least if they have an superb reporter like Larry Smith to listen to their stories and record their memories. Smith interviewed 22 men who were teenagers during that battle, "all in their eighties now." Somehow these 22 men -- and Smith -- make their memories fresh and true. The book is divided into seven sections, each section focusing on from two to five participants. Throughout, Smith emphasizes four main themes: "the landing, the raising of the flags on Suribachie; the at times seemingly hopeless attempt to conquer the rest of the island; and the arrival of the B-29s, which had been one of the two major objectives of the invasion." In the end though, Smith focuses on the stories of the 22 heroes of his book: "it is a series of snapshots offering a glimpse into the lives of twenty-two men who took part in various aspects of the conflict and how they have fared since. Their stories speak for themselves." The words speak. The photos from 1945 speak. The recent photos speak. Read and look. You won't be able to forget the "feats they did that day." Robert C. Ross 2008

Superb collection of personal histories

Author Larry Smith says it himself in his introduction: "This book does not presume to offer a definitive account of what has been called the thirty-six days in hell of Iwo Jima . . . Rather, it is a series of snapshots offering a glimpse into the lives of twenty-two men who took part in various aspects rof the conflict and how they have faired since." It is a remarkable and remarkably well done effort. Smith groups the twenty-two stories into seven topical sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of the battle, except for two which deal with the aftermath and the use of Iwo Jima as a base for fighters and emergency landing field for B-29s flying back from bombing Japan. Smith is both an excellent interviewer and writer. He truly does let each of the veterans speak for themselves and tell their stories. What is a bit unique in Smith's approach is that he lets the veterans tell of their experiences on Iwo Jima and their lives since then. It is sad in a way to see the contrasting photographs for most of these men as they appeared when young and in their warrior prime and now when they are in their eighties and nineties. It is good that Smith reached these men before they passed taking their stories with them. It was a different America back then, an America when young men were willing to give their lives in the name of freedom. Smith doesn't ask these veterans for their opinion of today's American society. Several of the men received major awards for valor. Almost all received the Purple Heart, the medal signifying that the holder was wounded in combat. From the pre-invasion jitters to the post-conflict burying of the dead by the graves registration unit, Smith and the veterans recall the battle. Pilots who flew after Iwo Jima was won tell their stories as well. All in all, a unique and well done collection of personal histories and well worth reading. Jerry