Posted on 02/19/2019 5:38:42 AM PST by jmaroneps37
On February 19, 1945, waves of 18, 19 and 20-year-old Marines hit the beaches of Iwo Jima, a heavily defended island held by the Japanese. The importance of taking Iwo Jima and converting it into a major airfield for American bombers, cannot be overestimated. Our planes needed a place to land and be repaired to continue their devastating attacks on Japan; and only courage and blood could secure the landing fields they needed to get the job done.
Those young Iwo Jima Marines who are still alive, are great grandfathers now with the youngest survivors being 92 years old. We don't hear much about them today. But must never forget them.
On that first day of battle, they started out as boys with dreams of cars and girls and what life would be like at home. When they left the island thirty-five days later, they were men who had all but won the war on Japan.
The contrast between these young men and so many of today’s young boys of the same age is painful to contemplate. The Boys of Iwo Jima became men in little more than a month. Many were killed and wounded; but none backed down from their duty. Far too few of today’s young snowflakes would have the courage to put their country’s safety above their own.
America lost 6,821 dead and 19,217 wounded in that battle to deliver final victory and peace to our country. For the most part, those who survived and lived out the war folded back into our society. They lived their lives. raised their families and made America the great country she is today.
Seeing today’s young generation must bring tears to their eyes.
Please remember the men of Iwo Jima in your prayers today and every day.
Just one bone to pick, and it supports your point. Some of those Marines weren’t even 18. My uncle lied about his age to get in, and was 16 when he was wounded on Iwo. I don’t argue when they are referred to as the greatest generation.
My thanks to all vets.
Will our youth fight for globalism and world governments? Nationalism is a pretext for patriotism. IMO only patriots fight with determination.
My father was 25 years old in 1945. A 1st LT, he met my 2nd LT mother in a Louisiana Army hospital while being treated for wounds suffered in France. She was a WAC. They married after dating for six weeks, and they were married for 62 years, 8 of which were happy (family joke). My parents had five kids by 1950. A latecomer arrived in 1961.
My father carried full adult responsibilities from the time he was 19 years old. To put it mildly, that was a different world.
A book to read
Flyboys - A True Story Of Courage Paperback – 2003
by James Bradley
Americans were never told about went on in the pacific war...til years later
Sometimes I wonder if the abundance we’ve enjoyed since WW2 has been more of a harm of more of a good.
Sigh. 74 years removed from when young men fulfilled their duty with valor so Americans today can have the freedom to squander it all away.
Sometimes I wonder if the abundance we’ve enjoyed since WW2 has been more of a harm of more of a good.
Hard times create strong men.
Strong men create good times
Good times create weak men.
Weak men create hard times.
I recommend the documentary Generation Zero.
Important truth, easily forgotten.
Thank you. I have no patience for the pajamaboys and snowflakes; I also have no patience for those who slander all of "today's kids" as pajamaboys and snowflakes.
Some will, some won't. But has anything really changed?
Did many of the "forgotten generation" vote for Kennedy/Johnson and support the Great Society? Yep.
Did the hippies support capitalism? No.
Did lots of GenXers "Rock the Vote" for Clinton and look the other way when he lied? Uh huh.
Was Obama elected twice, with the help of Forgottens, Boomers, GenX, and freshly-minted Millenials? Yep.
Us older folk seem to have forgotten the errors of our brethren in our youth. If we keep (wrongly) bashing all Millenials as the dumbest generation ever, let's not be surprised when Kamala Harris and VP Spartacus take the oath in 2 years. To wit: "you're all stupid but vote for Trump anyway you snowflake" is hardly a great message.
I remember a neighbor back in 1963. I found a rusted knife in the bed of his pickup truck and asked if he wanted it. His words were..
“Oh yeah! I wondered where that went! I cut a Jap’s throat on Iwo with that!”
Ever wonder why the world is still pursuing nazi war criminals but ceased chasing Japanese war criminals in the early 1950s?
“I will never be half the Man your father was”
I am reminded of a man in my youth who could set for hours and tell us of his exploits in the war. It would make my dad, who served with Patton, so mad, as this blowhard had never been out of the USA.
Dad rarely talked about what he did or saw. When he did, it was horrible.
To this point, on paper, a former First Lady, Secretary of State and Senator with a JD seems to be of better presidential stock vs a lifelong real estate developer and reality TV star. But his mettle has been tested in the hot seat and he's emerged as the better of the two, while when her mettle was tested she cried "what difference does it make?"
When I was young, most of the adult men I knew were veterans of WWII. Those that saw the war up close and personal with the Germans and Japanese never wanted to talk much about it. The did their duty, they survived, it was over, let us get on with our lives and forget the those days of horror and death.
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