February 19, 2006
Interview with Joe Pagac, Channel 8 News
Remember Iwo Jima
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima,
uncommon valor was a common virtue." - Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
(Windows Media Player required)
Cpl Joseph C. Pagac, H Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division
1943 - 1945
Iwo Jima was the first battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II fought on Japanese home soil. The island is only 650 miles south-southeast of Tokyo, roughly halfway between Tokyo and the American bomber bases in the Marianas Islands (Guam and Saipan). Long-range bombers from Saipan could reach Tokyo and return home but their fighter escorts could not. The U.S. wanted the island to stage fighters from and to serve as an emergency landing field for bombers returning from air raids over the Japanese mainland. The U.S. invasion began on the morning of 19 February 1945 after three days of bombardment by Navy ships and Army Air Force aircraft (in what would be the longest sustained aerial bombardment of the war). The bombardment had little effect on the Japanese - they were firmly entrenched and burrowed into the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions conducted the assault, and two days later, the 3rd Division was committed. The fighting lasted for 36 days and Iwo Jima was finally declared secure on 26 March 1945. In all, U.S. forces suffered over 26,000 casualties, with 6,825 of those Marines killed in action. The Japanese strategy before the battle began was that of "no Japanese survivors." They almost carried the strategy out fully - of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers in the Iwo Jima garrison, only 200 were taken as prisoners - the other 21,800 were killed in defense of the island. Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were earned by Marines and Sailors on Iwo Jima, more than in any other battle in U.S. history. 22 of the Medical of Honor winners were Marines, and 17 of them were with the 5th Marine Division. The costly battle did pay dividends for American forces - by the time war concluded, 2,400 B-29 bombers with a total of 27,000 crewmen had made emergency landings on Iwo Jima.
Over a third of the total Marines who participated in the invasion were either Killed, Wounded or suffered from Battle Fatigue.