During my tour of duty in South East Asia (1972 - 1973) as a C-130 pilot I had the opportunity to visit Iwo Jima. Our mission was to fly in the logistic supplies necessary to support the US Coast Guard (CG) personnel who maintained the LORAN station sited on Iwo Jima. While the Herk was being serviced. one of the CG technicians took us down in one of the tunnels under Suribachi and then to the top of the volcano. The tunnel was littered with decaying Japanese military equipment such as gas masks and clothing. When on the top of the cone of the volcano you could look down as see the smoke and steam escaping from the ongoing volcanic activity. What I found most interesting was the hulks of concrete ships that still litter the left side of Iwo Jima that are clearly visible from the top of the volcano. The psychological impact of this visit was seeing the Japanese meatball national flag flying over this land purchased by American blood and my pilots claustrophobia of being buried in the tunnel.
Another great job fellas! When I was in the Marines I had to the opportunity to go to Iwo Jima in Jan of 2000. My unit Kilo Co. 3BN/4Mar was on UDP to Okinawa. I was lucky enough along with some other Marines to go spend about 36 hours on Iwo. From the air field we rucked to the beach. dropped are rucks off and took off in small groups exploring, we went into every tunnel and cave we could find. We did this most of the night. It was amazing to see how the tunnels were dug out by hand, pick marks on the walls, in the dugouts you could still see saki bottles and old unused rifle rounds and rusted out 50gal drums. We even found a Japan's rifle.( so cool!!) It was so hot in some spots it would take your breath away, some guys would freakout and head back to the surface and the fresh air. The humidity was so hight that are vhs recorder and cameras stopped working. The pitchers and video turned out so hazy and blurry and you can't tell what you're looking at in some of them. We eventually made are way back to the beach, and got a few hours of sleep. The next morning we all hiked up Mount Suribachi, were Sgt. Toner reenlisted. I thought that was pretty bad ass. Any how sorry for the long post. It was one of the best experience of my life. Love history and WW2 is my favorite. I still have two Gatorade bottles full of sand form Iwo Jima..
My father was an LCVP coxswain who made 16 or 17 trips to the beach before being replaced, each trip was about 2 hours. After landing his second load of Marines he was repositioning his craft to pick up wounded, while doing this my father went down into the well of the craft when he got up his assistant was gone. There was no sign of him, dad looked for him, but he was gone. Dad said the fire was so intense he figured the guy was simply blown off the boat. On my dad’s tenth or twelfth trip he was carrying supplies in and wounded out he realized he had a guardian angel because the boats on either side of his boat took direct hits and disappeared.
i am so grateful that Seth took the bus. The comic relief was SO necessary in this episode. The courage and sacrifice of the marines is overwhelming. Excellent work guys. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this episode. It was my priviledge during my Navy carreer to commission and sail USS Cole (DDG-67). Cole was named for Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, USMCR who was killed on the first day of battle.
@@theironherder my post was intended to convey I appreciate you helping me/us to have a better understanding of the actual war i.e. me/us having a better reality of the bitter war. My Webster defines reality as the totality of the real events
Gentlemen: you have produced another great program in your most excellent series. I'm a retired Canadian Sapper, who is an ardent fan of your labours and I must admit, that when you described the flag-raising, you choked me up with emotion. God Save America and the U.S. Marine Corps!
As a young Marine stationed in Okinawa, my brother had the honor of visiting Iwo. I recall him saying that (against directives, but he was your typical 20 year old) he went into one of the caves, being careful not to disturb anything. He said it was a sauna, he couldn't imagine living in there for days, let along fighting from it for weeks on end. One of the finest one paragraph tributes to the fighting on Iwo Jima was, some would say ironically, penned by P.J. O'Rourke: "I went to Iwo Jima with a director and a cameraman. We were working on a one-hour television documentary about the battle. Between February 19 and March 26, 1945, 6,821 Americans and about 20,000 Japanese were killed in the fight for the island. How could a one-hour anything -- prayer, symphony, let alone a cable television documentary -- do justice to that? The director, the cameraman, and I had worried about it the night before in an Okinawa bar. We decided that 26,821 men would have told us to knock off the chickenshit worrying and drink." Yes, they were given an impossible task. Thank you, Seth, Bill, and Jon for attempting that impossible task as well.
Thank you gentlemen once again. Chances most of us will never get the opportunity to visit Iwo to pay our respects to the combatant. The three of you once again do your best for all that listen to feel like we are there with you.
Thank you so much for debunking myths. I used to think Iwo was solely a fighter base for p51s because of newsreel and documentaries. I was shocked when I was working archives for the National Air Museum of WW2 Aviation in Colorado Springs that was not the case. P47s and P61s were there too. But also a few B29s callsigns "Doc" that would run patrols around Iwo to help spot downed B29 crews and help vector in rescue craft while they hanged around an kept an eye on the down crews. You guys are awesome.
My grandfather was in the 5th Pioneers, landed the first day, fought in the last battle to defend the airfield on their last day. Nightmares haunted him about those weeks until he passed away in 2003. But he was able to go home, unlike several of his closest buddies.
The humble respect and love you give to our warriors is always foremost in your discussions and when you guys riff it is incredibly heart felt. Through your efforts a new world of out history has opened. Thank you.
I am still trying to wrap my mind over the fact you have just talked about only 5 days of this battle and there are still 32 more days left with all that’s transpired already. The information you men give us is so interesting to learn things not previously know to me. All details you all discuss is just fascinating. The pride we have for our soldiers, sailors and airmen is so much deserved. Hey Seth, I’d take the damn bus too.
Jon, Iwo's geology is igneous and sedementary, not metamorphic. I've been there when, as a Continental Airlines captain, I flew the 60th anniversary Iwo Jima survivors to the island from Guam in 2005. As a thirteen year Marine Corps veteran, it was a tremendously solemn and moving experience for me. I flew the lead 737-800 of a flight of three chartered jets for Military Historical Tours. I was honored to have among my passengers the senior surviving Iwo Marine, Major General Larry Snowden, and Medal of Honor recipient, Jack Lucas. Also on board were the Governor of Guam, and Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey and his History Channel camera crew. When we descended for the approach and landing at Iwo, I invited MOHR Jack Lucas to take the cockpit jumpseat for the best view. I let down to 1,000 feet and gave Jack and the Iwo veterans of four services, USN, USMC, USAAF, and USCG, three sightseeing orbits of the island culminating with a 500 foot fly-by close aboard the summit of Mt. Suribachi where earlier arriving Marines from Okinawa had hoisted Old Glory on the very spot where the original two iconic flag raisings had occurred exactly 60 years before. That visit to Iwo Jima, three months before my age 60 mandatory retirement was definitely the highlight of my twenty year career at Continental Airlines!
I keep imagining my grandpa here. He was in the Fourth. 20-year-old redhead kid from Northern Illinois. And I'm thinking about him at Christmas. Versus this. I am so grateful that you guys kept making those bus jokes. This would have been much harder to get through without them. Thank you.
Great video, love it when the 3 of you get together for one of these! Before this Iwo Jima podcast is over, hope you mention Takeichi Nishi, who won the gold medal in the 1932 Olympics for Japan, and died on Iwo Jima.
I have been following for a while now. I can’t get enough of y’all’s episodes. I became engrossed when you were on the Guadalcanal campaign. My great uncle was an Iwo Marine. After I earned the title, I was able to get him to open up a bit. I found out he was wounded by a machine gun. He never alluded to which day he was wounded. All I knew was he was in the 5th MarDiv. I found out through the 5th MarDiv website that he is on a wounded in action list for the 13th Artillery Regiment. When he was alive, I talked to him several times about going back on a veterans tour. He always refused stating that he had already been there and had no inclination to return. I myself was stationed on Okinawa as a young Marine.
I will forever be awed by the Marine Corp's courage and doggedness in WW2, especially at Iwo JIma. They were the perfect force to pit against the equally stubborn Japanese Army and Naval personnel they fought against. Even today' the Marine Corp is still producing such a fighting force. May our country never forget.
Powerful episode gentlemen. Incredible heroism, imagery, iron determination and we are just getting started with this iconic battle. What a sacrifice these Marines shouldered for our country. These stories must be told, and we are lucky to have you three providing us the history. Can't wait for episode two.
My high school World Cultures (History) teacher was a guy named “Doc” Vito. One of the nicest, most well-liked teachers in the school, Doc was a reverend, and one of the young Marines at Iwo Jima (and later Okinawa). Doc’s best buddy was a combat cameraman, and Doc had many reels of combat footage-that in the late seventies/early eighties the general public did not see. One of the reels shows a very young Doc, as he put it, “…waaaaay in the back” of the LCVP on its way to the beach, filmed by his buddy in an adjacent craft, waving happily as they’re on their way to the beach. Having been a World War 2 enthusiast at the time, I knew that Doc was most loosely in the first wave that didn’t receive fire until after the Marines bottle-necked the beachhead. His films showed taboo things like Japanese soldiers that were killed by flamethrowers, Marines savagely slogging through the loose sand, fighting hidden enemy positions, and footage of dead Americans which documentaries at the time quailed to show. Doc Vito was so very nonchalant about his experience, almost what one might say flippant about it. Typical of his light-hearted description of his service, Doc said, “Most guys only had TWO hand grenades; Brother Doc had SIX grenades!” At the time, I knew of all the various statistics about Iwo Jima, but only later in life-after I, myself, served in the Army-did I ever come to realizing what this man went through. Doc Vito was about the age I am now (58), and the war was less than 40 years before. He, like so many veterans at the time, just did not talk about the real horrors of war. Doc showed his students these combat films, but he also played those Steve Sabol-narrated NFL films of the Steelers’ Super Bowl dynasty. He liked to give his students ‘hot cocoa,’ and ‘lollipops.’ For a while, Doc, and one of the Vice Principals used to take students up in their private planes with the flying club. He was a sweet, soft-spoken, gregarious character who was an absolute delight as a teacher, yet he was maybe yards away from where John Basilone was killed. Doc lived to be 92, dying about ten years ago. Rest in Peace Reverend Dr. Joseph “Doc” Vito. Thank you.
I am so grateful to you Seth and Bill and John for putting us armchair historians in these places. I’m also grateful that we now have correctly identified and documented all the Marines who not only raised both flags on Surribachi, but the Marines who were there. I respected Clint Eastwood, until he released Letters from Iwo and Flags of our Father’s. He had all the evidence in his hands and gave us two movies that are just trash. Thank you for setting the record straight!! I cannot wait until John’s book, 1942, is released!! I’m so looking forward to having it beside Shattered Sword!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, we the United States owe you and all the historians, trying to set the records straight after eighty plus years a debt of gratitude we cannot pay. Thank you once again.
Go easy on Clint. I think popular consumption movies should seek to be historical enough to excite folks interest to dig deeper. Kind of like an intellectual appetizer?
This Arizona boy, have made pilgrimages to Arlington to honor Ira Hayes, and out into the desert to Bapchule where he died. To get there, you pass over the dry river bed of the Gila River- it was the life line of the Gila Indians (Pima). I remember that his father made money by selling firewood that he collected found on the desert floor- that’s how poor they were.
@@briancooper2112 I live in Candler not too long ago. I live near the railroad tracks that Ira would jump the train on to get into Phoenix. Now I live in Mesa, near enough to Falcon Field- I sometimes can watch the B-17 (sentimental journey), fly out of there👍
@@Iamkcs2c One awful thing, I know happened to Ira Hayes childhood home in Sacaton, Arizona… One day some vandals burned it down- why, we’ll never know. It was a simple hogan, a mud and stick dwelling.
So it has taken me several days to listen to this and it was absolutely fascinating! Thank you all so much for all of your efforts, your information and how you present it. This was truly an outstanding episode and I cannot wait until part 2. Thank you so much.
I am reminded that the Nimitz Peliliéu catastrophic error in judgement wasn't just one awfulness, but one that compounded itself here on Iwo Jima. Jon expands on this in the first ten minutes here. If he had listened to his Most Trusted confidant, by my guesstimate, ALLof the Pelilieu dead would have not died, and the near 7000 who perished, on Iwo plus the uncounted PTSD whose lives were destroyed and not recovered would have been much reduced. Another number is uncountable amongst the wounded but not killed, and are swelled by those who fought and saw the carnage and loss. This is a big delta number between fall 1944 vs now in 1945. This is another "what if" that we're better off not mourning over.😢What a terrible war. Nimitz, I am sure, was feeling the command pressure as Okinawa loomed. The losses in these times solidified his determination to oppose Olympic. The atom bombs plus the coming collapse of the rice harvest that Richard Frank detailed in his guest appearance here in season Two that didn't happen, saved countless lives.
I could not even imagine how horrible Operation Olympic would have been if we did not have the A bomb. My father would have been sent back again to the Pacific and I would never have been born.
You guy are great with these podcasts. I'm able to find more information and answers to who my Father really was. He very seldom spoke of the war. Until he got closer to his own death in 2011. He was on Saipan and Iwo Jima. Those were about the only ones he'd admit to. He was a member of UDT 15 and was wounded when the USS Blessman was hit the morning of 18 February 1945 off the coast of Iwo Jima... Thank You for your great work..
Hell of an episode guys, and totally wouldn't mind this becoming a ten part-er. Had the privilege of knowing a mortarman from the 4th who credited the beach closings and the fact his team had to stay offshore the entire first day with saving his life.(He did end up receiving a purple heart and evacuation later.) What changed in the area at that time to make it relatively less deadly? It must have been pretty bad as one of the video clips shows Marines or Corpsmen sitting not to far in front of the Artillery pieces muzzle behind a mound of dirt, doubt they would have put up with that if given a better option. Can't imagine how Ira Hayes felt knowing Gagnon and Bradley hadn't actually been flag raisers, though it does seem he didn't harbor as much animosity toward Bradley as Gagnon. One last question about Hayes, could he even vote when he raised the flag? Did a bit of research and as I understand now the Pima people's were not given full voting rights until 1948.
Thank you so much for this, I've been waiting for this episode. My father was on Blandy's flagship, the USS Estes and during the bombardment they were 700 yards off the beach, got fired at and some sailors were hit by shell fragments. He was sent onto the island to bury dead marines in the 1st week of the battle and likely was on the beach when the flag went up. a few days later the Estes left for Leyte to make temporary repairs because she had been rammed slightly by the cruiser Chester, then went to Ulithi to prepare for Okinawa.
Another great episode. Thank you gentlemen. John's shirt game is legendary. This contrast of red and white with the largely grey-green wallpaper is remarkable
You guys are the best. Friggin' GREAT episode, and the pictures, video and maps you show us add so much to the quality of this, and all of your tremendous presentations. A great big Thank You.
Ive been waiting for this episode for a hot minute. Also I didnt know John was from my home state of Minnesota till last week so SKOL to you John! Semper Fidelis 🇺🇸
Another awesome video guys. I have been reading/listening to/watching about IWO for over 5 decades. Still learn stuff from you guys. As a trivia note I haven’t met that many marines who served on IWO, but all of them say they were wounded on IWO.
My grandfather was there.. James D. Groff Co. B, 5th engineering bn, 5th marine division. I asked him about his experience there once when I was a kid, he wouldn't talk about it.
This is the first time I have heard about the questionability of Flags of Our Fathers. I need to do some digging for sure to find out more if anyone has some credible sources. Another great episode gentlemen!
50° 27' 0.0036'' N and 30° 31' 23.9988'' E Gentlemen, What an extraordinary episode. Its surely among the very best produced to date. Compelling storytelling and terrific all around play-by-play. Looking forward with anticipation to its sequel next week. Keep those cards and letters coming. Thank you. V/r - IB
LOVE your channel. Missed WWII but landed in USN aboard a troop transport as a Radarman and managed to go to with a task force from West Coast to Cuba as part of the invasion force and blockade. Here's an idea for y'all. Am reading the t book" Nimitz at War" by Craig Symonds (and plan to order and read y'all's books as well). Anyway, I was somewhat surprised at the level of politics played and the playground-level sniping of the various admirals and other royalty within our military community (outclassed, all of them, by Gen. Douglas "where's the camera?" Macarthur ). I knew it existed. Just did not know it existed to such a high degree, to the point of compromising campaigns and planning, and definitely diminishing the ability of men like Nimitz to do what he was tasked to do. So, here's the idea: DO A SHOW ON THE ASSININE POLITICS W/IN THE OFFICER RANKS OF THE USN and what effects they IN FACT had, PROBABLY HAD, and COULD HAVE HAD. Personally, I think their egos, coupled with sheer ignorance (in some instances, stupidity) cost lives. Make it a series! I'd be happy to contribute snippets of research as directed if you all decide to do that. Thanks for keeping our history alive...and properly detailed.
You discussed UDT for a short while and reminded me of my adopted Korean friends. They were adopted by former UDT last name Kirish and lived in Granger, IN. So, of course I queried youtube re UDT and very little material available. Future material for you folks? Thanks
The artillery piece, shown at 1:36:50 is a 105 mm M2A1 howitzer, Don't know if this is a mismatch of stock footage bu 75 mm M1A1 pack how. is the piece that has the recoil shoe over the barrel and is very distinctive. Whereas the 105 mm M2A1 has a full recuperator tube above the barrel
George Bush Senior was on San Jacinto when he was shot down on 2nd September 1944. San Jacinto was part of RADM Ralph Davison’s Task Group 38.4. Comprised of Franklin, Enterprise, San Jacinto, Belleau Wood and friends.
It would be fascinating to learn more about how the shattered 1st Marine Division rebuilt itself in the run up to Okinawa. And how many of the Canal veterans participated in the invasion of Okinawa. As always thanks.
Two stories related to me by veterans of Iwo, sitting/standing on wooden crate lids because of hot sand on the bottom of a fox hole....and the volume of fire, from everywhere and both sides.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
I want us to win this war but I hope this podcast never goes away. It’s truly a magnificent labor of love.
During my tour of duty in South East Asia (1972 - 1973) as a C-130 pilot I had the opportunity to visit Iwo Jima. Our mission was to fly in the logistic supplies necessary to support the US Coast Guard (CG) personnel who maintained the LORAN station sited on Iwo Jima.
While the Herk was being serviced. one of the CG technicians took us down in one of the tunnels under Suribachi and then to the top of the volcano. The tunnel was littered with decaying Japanese military equipment such as gas masks and clothing. When on the top of the cone of the volcano you could look down as see the smoke and steam escaping from the ongoing volcanic activity.
What I found most interesting was the hulks of concrete ships that still litter the left side of Iwo Jima that are clearly visible from the top of the volcano.
The psychological impact of this visit was seeing the Japanese meatball national flag flying over this land purchased by American blood and my pilots claustrophobia of being buried in the tunnel.
Another great job fellas!
When I was in the Marines I had to the opportunity to go to Iwo Jima in Jan of 2000. My unit Kilo Co. 3BN/4Mar was on UDP to Okinawa. I was lucky enough along with some other Marines to go spend about 36 hours on Iwo. From the air field we rucked to the beach. dropped are rucks off and took off in small groups exploring, we went into every tunnel and cave we could find. We did this most of the night. It was amazing to see how the tunnels were dug out by hand, pick marks on the walls, in the dugouts you could still see saki bottles and old unused rifle rounds and rusted out 50gal drums. We even found a Japan's rifle.( so cool!!) It was so hot in some spots it would take your breath away, some guys would freakout and head back to the surface and the fresh air. The humidity was so hight that are vhs recorder and cameras stopped working. The pitchers and video turned out so hazy and blurry and you can't tell what you're looking at in some of them. We eventually made are way back to the beach, and got a few hours of sleep. The next morning we all hiked up Mount Suribachi, were Sgt. Toner reenlisted. I thought that was pretty bad ass. Any how sorry for the long post. It was one of the best experience of my life. Love history and WW2 is my favorite.
I still have two Gatorade bottles full of sand form Iwo Jima..
My father was an LCVP coxswain who made 16 or 17 trips to the beach before being replaced, each trip was about 2 hours. After landing his second load of Marines he was repositioning his craft to pick up wounded, while doing this my father went down into the well of the craft when he got up his assistant was gone. There was no sign of him, dad looked for him, but he was gone. Dad said the fire was so intense he figured the guy was simply blown off the boat. On my dad’s tenth or twelfth trip he was carrying supplies in and wounded out he realized he had a guardian angel because the boats on either side of his boat took direct hits and disappeared.
i am so grateful that Seth took the bus. The comic relief was SO necessary in this episode. The courage and sacrifice of the marines is overwhelming. Excellent work guys. Thank you.
😅
Lol at "the bus" banter! It was a great way to help deflect the tremendous brutality of this battle.
Thank you so much for this episode. It was my priviledge during my Navy carreer to commission and sail USS Cole (DDG-67). Cole was named for Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, USMCR who was killed on the first day of battle.
Thanks for continuing to show us a better reality of WWII 😘
This comment would be equally valid and incisive if it instead read "bitter reality of WWII".
Well said!
@@theironherder my post was intended to convey I appreciate you helping me/us to have a better understanding of the actual war i.e. me/us having a better reality of the bitter war. My Webster defines reality as the totality of the real events
Gentlemen: you have produced another great program in your most excellent series. I'm a retired Canadian Sapper, who is an ardent fan of your labours and I must admit, that when you described the flag-raising, you choked me up with emotion. God Save America and the U.S. Marine Corps!
Thanks so much! You are one of our most faithful Noble Allies. God Bless Canada!
Semper Fidelis, Mate!
As a young Marine stationed in Okinawa, my brother had the honor of visiting Iwo. I recall him saying that (against directives, but he was your typical 20 year old) he went into one of the caves, being careful not to disturb anything. He said it was a sauna, he couldn't imagine living in there for days, let along fighting from it for weeks on end.
One of the finest one paragraph tributes to the fighting on Iwo Jima was, some would say ironically, penned by P.J. O'Rourke:
"I went to Iwo Jima with a director and a cameraman. We were working on a one-hour television documentary about the battle. Between February 19 and March 26, 1945, 6,821 Americans and about 20,000 Japanese were killed in the fight for the island. How could a one-hour anything -- prayer, symphony, let alone a cable television documentary -- do justice to that? The director, the cameraman, and I had worried about it the night before in an Okinawa bar. We decided that 26,821 men would have told us to knock off the chickenshit worrying and drink."
Yes, they were given an impossible task.
Thank you, Seth, Bill, and Jon for attempting that impossible task as well.
Great comment.!
Thank you gentlemen once again. Chances most of us will never get the opportunity to visit Iwo to pay our respects to the combatant. The three of you once again do your best for all that listen to feel like we are there with you.
Thank you so much for debunking myths. I used to think Iwo was solely a fighter base for p51s because of newsreel and documentaries. I was shocked when I was working archives for the National Air Museum of WW2 Aviation in Colorado Springs that was not the case. P47s and P61s were there too. But also a few B29s callsigns "Doc" that would run patrols around Iwo to help spot downed B29 crews and help vector in rescue craft while they hanged around an kept an eye on the down crews. You guys are awesome.
My grandfather was in the 5th Pioneers, landed the first day, fought in the last battle to defend the airfield on their last day. Nightmares haunted him about those weeks until he passed away in 2003. But he was able to go home, unlike several of his closest buddies.
A terrible burden for a man to bear for the rest of his life.
The humble respect and love you give to our warriors is always foremost in your discussions and when you guys riff it is incredibly heart felt. Through your efforts a new world of out history has opened. Thank you.
I am still trying to wrap my mind over the fact you have just talked about only 5 days of this battle and there are still 32 more days left with all that’s transpired already. The information you men give us is so interesting to learn things not previously know to me. All details you all discuss is just fascinating. The pride we have for our soldiers, sailors and airmen is so much deserved. Hey Seth, I’d take the damn bus too.
2 1/2 hours and it passed in a heartbeart. Seth, Bill and Jon thank you for this great episode. You just keep getting better.
The Click and Clack of the War in the Pacific! I love it.
Jon, Iwo's geology is igneous and sedementary, not metamorphic. I've been there when, as a Continental Airlines captain, I flew the 60th anniversary Iwo Jima survivors to the island from Guam in 2005. As a thirteen year Marine Corps veteran, it was a tremendously solemn and moving experience for me. I flew the lead 737-800 of a flight of three chartered jets for Military Historical Tours. I was honored to have among my passengers the senior surviving Iwo Marine, Major General Larry Snowden, and Medal of Honor recipient, Jack Lucas. Also on board were the Governor of Guam, and Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey and his History Channel camera crew. When we descended for the approach and landing at Iwo, I invited MOHR Jack Lucas to take the cockpit jumpseat for the best view. I let down to 1,000 feet and gave Jack and the Iwo veterans of four services, USN, USMC, USAAF, and USCG, three sightseeing orbits of the island culminating with a 500 foot fly-by close aboard the summit of Mt. Suribachi where earlier arriving Marines from Okinawa had hoisted Old Glory on the very spot where the original two iconic flag raisings had occurred exactly 60 years before. That visit to Iwo Jima, three months before my age 60 mandatory retirement was definitely the highlight of my twenty year career at Continental Airlines!
I keep imagining my grandpa here. He was in the Fourth. 20-year-old redhead kid from Northern Illinois.
And I'm thinking about him at Christmas. Versus this.
I am so grateful that you guys kept making those bus jokes. This would have been much harder to get through without them. Thank you.
I typically stick to the podcast, but when John is on I have to check out the shirt
As a Marine, all I can say is
OOH RAH! SEMPER, Bill!
SEMPER, Seth!
SEMPER, John!
Amen about the Tappet Brothers! Loyal listener of Car Talk here when it was on the air.
The Tres Hombres are back !
Great video, love it when the 3 of you get together for one of these! Before this Iwo Jima podcast is over, hope you mention Takeichi Nishi, who won the gold medal in the 1932 Olympics for Japan, and died on Iwo Jima.
I have been following for a while now. I can’t get enough of y’all’s episodes. I became engrossed when you were on the Guadalcanal campaign. My great uncle was an Iwo Marine. After I earned the title, I was able to get him to open up a bit. I found out he was wounded by a machine gun. He never alluded to which day he was wounded. All I knew was he was in the 5th MarDiv. I found out through the 5th MarDiv website that he is on a wounded in action list for the 13th Artillery Regiment. When he was alive, I talked to him several times about going back on a veterans tour. He always refused stating that he had already been there and had no inclination to return. I myself was stationed on Okinawa as a young Marine.
I will forever be awed by the Marine Corp's courage and doggedness in WW2, especially at Iwo JIma. They were the perfect force to pit against the equally stubborn Japanese Army and Naval personnel they fought against. Even today' the Marine Corp is still producing such a fighting force. May our country never forget.
We NEED to be reminded like this. Thanks, Bill, Seth and Jon.
Powerful episode gentlemen. Incredible heroism, imagery, iron determination and we are just getting started with this iconic battle. What a sacrifice these Marines shouldered for our country. These stories must be told, and we are lucky to have you three providing us the history. Can't wait for episode two.
My high school World Cultures (History) teacher was a guy named “Doc” Vito. One of the nicest, most well-liked teachers in the school, Doc was a reverend, and one of the young Marines at Iwo Jima (and later Okinawa). Doc’s best buddy was a combat cameraman, and Doc had many reels of combat footage-that in the late seventies/early eighties the general public did not see. One of the reels shows a very young Doc, as he put it, “…waaaaay in the back” of the LCVP on its way to the beach, filmed by his buddy in an adjacent craft, waving happily as they’re on their way to the beach. Having been a World War 2 enthusiast at the time, I knew that Doc was most loosely in the first wave that didn’t receive fire until after the Marines bottle-necked the beachhead. His films showed taboo things like Japanese soldiers that were killed by flamethrowers, Marines savagely slogging through the loose sand, fighting hidden enemy positions, and footage of dead Americans which documentaries at the time quailed to show.
Doc Vito was so very nonchalant about his experience, almost what one might say flippant about it. Typical of his light-hearted description of his service, Doc said, “Most guys only had TWO hand grenades; Brother Doc had SIX grenades!” At the time, I knew of all the various statistics about Iwo Jima, but only later in life-after I, myself, served in the Army-did I ever come to realizing what this man went through. Doc Vito was about the age I am now (58), and the war was less than 40 years before. He, like so many veterans at the time, just did not talk about the real horrors of war.
Doc showed his students these combat films, but he also played those Steve Sabol-narrated NFL films of the Steelers’ Super Bowl dynasty. He liked to give his students ‘hot cocoa,’ and ‘lollipops.’ For a while, Doc, and one of the Vice Principals used to take students up in their private planes with the flying club. He was a sweet, soft-spoken, gregarious character who was an absolute delight as a teacher, yet he was maybe yards away from where John Basilone was killed. Doc lived to be 92, dying about ten years ago.
Rest in Peace Reverend Dr. Joseph “Doc” Vito. Thank you.
Their like will never be seen again. RIP.
I look forward to Tuesday morning every week
This is a wonderful podcast.
Such good company you keep!
I am so grateful to you Seth and Bill and John for putting us armchair historians in these places. I’m also grateful that we now have correctly identified and documented all the Marines who not only raised both flags on Surribachi, but the Marines who were there. I respected Clint Eastwood, until he released Letters from Iwo and Flags of our Father’s. He had all the evidence in his hands and gave us two movies that are just trash. Thank you for setting the record straight!! I cannot wait until John’s book, 1942, is released!! I’m so looking forward to having it beside Shattered Sword!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, we the United States owe you and all the historians, trying to set the records straight after eighty plus years a debt of gratitude we cannot pay. Thank you once again.
Go easy on Clint. I think popular consumption movies should seek to be historical enough to excite folks interest to dig deeper. Kind of like an intellectual appetizer?
This Arizona boy, have made pilgrimages to Arlington to honor Ira Hayes, and out into the desert to Bapchule where he died.
To get there, you pass over the dry river bed of the Gila River- it was the life line of the Gila Indians (Pima).
I remember that his father made money by selling firewood that he collected found on the desert floor- that’s how poor they were.
I was thinking upon the Arizona today! The ship and the state, and drawing some analogies to the ways in which the world finds itself today...
I'm in Chandler.
2:11:04 I was coming to post about Johnny Cash's Ballad of Ira Hayes. All I knew about him until now was from the song.
@@briancooper2112
I live in Candler not too long ago.
I live near the railroad tracks that Ira would jump the train on to get into Phoenix.
Now I live in Mesa, near enough to Falcon Field- I sometimes can watch the B-17 (sentimental journey), fly out of there👍
@@Iamkcs2c
One awful thing, I know happened to Ira Hayes childhood home in Sacaton, Arizona…
One day some vandals burned it down- why, we’ll never know.
It was a simple hogan, a mud and stick dwelling.
Thanks!
I've waited on this. I appreciate you guys. Thx for stretching it out Seth. Its a hell of story....
So it has taken me several days to listen to this and it was absolutely fascinating! Thank you all so much for all of your efforts, your information and how you present it. This was truly an outstanding episode and I cannot wait until part 2. Thank you so much.
Great show gents. Thanks for the content and for the emphasis on accurate story telling.
I am amazed that there was ONE suitable pipe on top of that mountain. But that they found several pieces of pipe laying around is incredible!
God Bless you guys for what you do.
I am reminded that the Nimitz Peliliéu catastrophic error in judgement wasn't just one awfulness, but one that compounded itself here on Iwo Jima. Jon expands on this in the first ten minutes here. If he had listened to his Most Trusted confidant, by my guesstimate, ALLof the Pelilieu dead would have not died, and the near 7000 who perished, on Iwo plus the uncounted PTSD whose lives were destroyed and not recovered would have been much reduced. Another number is uncountable amongst the wounded but not killed, and are swelled by those who fought and saw the carnage and loss. This is a big delta number between fall 1944 vs now in 1945. This is another "what if" that we're better off not mourning over.😢What a terrible war. Nimitz, I am sure, was feeling the command pressure as Okinawa loomed. The losses in these times solidified his determination to oppose Olympic. The atom bombs plus the coming collapse of the rice harvest that Richard Frank detailed in his guest appearance here in season Two that didn't happen, saved countless lives.
I could not even imagine how horrible Operation Olympic would have been if we did not have the A bomb. My father would have been sent back again to the Pacific and I would never have been born.
I’ve been waiting for this one.
Been waiting for this, also I am glad we're doing it in parts.
Yeah, Baby!
It’s been a week!
Oh how I, look forward to this Unauthorized History program.
Thank You, Tom and Seth and of course the esteemed guest.
I hope in the second part they have some time to talk about the post battle situation on the island. The holdouts on Iwo are quite remarkable.
You guy are great with these podcasts. I'm able to find more information and answers to who my Father really was. He very seldom spoke of the war. Until he got closer to his own death in 2011. He was on Saipan and Iwo Jima. Those were about the only ones he'd admit to. He was a member of UDT 15 and was wounded when the USS Blessman was hit the morning of 18 February 1945 off the coast of Iwo Jima... Thank You for your great work..
Thank you Bill Seth and Jon.
Always wonderful work boys, thanks!
Ahh, the Click & Clack comment was the feel-good moment of the day!
If the kids don’t know click and clack, they will know Lightnin’s sponsors in the original Cars movie. They were voiced by the real brothers.
I worked with a man named Jack Curl. He was at Iwo. R.I.P. Jack!
How much older than you was he? What a gift to know a man of his experience and courage!
@flparkermdpc he was 70 Iwas 25
Brilliant and fantastic from 🇦🇺👍
I could listen to you guys all day, and sometimes I do
I bet Seth never takes a bus ANYWHERE again....John and Bill are BRUTAL! 🤣
Superb as always guys
Hell of an episode guys, and totally wouldn't mind this becoming a ten part-er. Had the privilege of knowing a mortarman from the 4th who credited the beach closings and the fact his team had to stay offshore the entire first day with saving his life.(He did end up receiving a purple heart and evacuation later.) What changed in the area at that time to make it relatively less deadly? It must have been pretty bad as one of the video clips shows Marines or Corpsmen sitting not to far in front of the Artillery pieces muzzle behind a mound of dirt, doubt they would have put up with that if given a better option. Can't imagine how Ira Hayes felt knowing Gagnon and Bradley hadn't actually been flag raisers, though it does seem he didn't harbor as much animosity toward Bradley as Gagnon. One last question about Hayes, could he even vote when he raised the flag? Did a bit of research and as I understand now the Pima people's were not given full voting rights until 1948.
Great podcast, thanks.
Thank you so much for this, I've been waiting for this episode. My father was on Blandy's flagship, the USS Estes and during the bombardment they were 700 yards off the beach, got fired at and some sailors were hit by shell fragments. He was sent onto the island to bury dead marines in the 1st week of the battle and likely was on the beach when the flag went up. a few days later the Estes left for Leyte to make temporary repairs because she had been rammed slightly by the cruiser Chester, then went to Ulithi to prepare for Okinawa.
You guys are AWESOME. Thank you, oh...409 ? Dual quads, 4 speed, 4:10 possi . My 409999.
Thank you guys,
SGT DOUG, RECON, 101ST, RVN 68-69 LZ SALLY
Another great episode. Thank you gentlemen.
John's shirt game is legendary. This contrast of red and white with the largely grey-green wallpaper is remarkable
Been really looking forward to the Iwo podcasts, thanks as always team!
What a great job. So good. So well done.
You guys are the best. Friggin' GREAT episode, and the pictures, video and maps you show us add so much to the quality of this, and all of your tremendous presentations. A great big Thank You.
Another great episode fellas. Thanks again for your work.
Ive been waiting for this episode for a hot minute. Also I didnt know John was from my home state of Minnesota till last week so SKOL to you John! Semper Fidelis 🇺🇸
Absolutely love every episode!! Thank you!
for the algorithm, great episode!
As always an excellent episode from the definitive "click and clack" of exceptional PTO historians!
I recall that Saburo Sakai was transferred to Iwo, which is where he started flying combat again after his injuries from the Solomons.
This was a very informative episode. Thank you
Another great episode. Thank you
Another great episode, guys !!
simple plans well executed and understood clearly have a great chance of success
I am listening to Admiral Spruance's biography and I just finished the part on Iwo Jima, very timely video.
Glad to see you guys as allways
Great show as usual. Thank you.
Hey guys. Love your work. Thank you so much for this podcast. I have learned so much and been inspired to learn more. God bless.
Go enlist, you’ll learn.
The humorous secondary title for this episode should be “Don’t let Seth take the bus!” Great episode and mythbusting guys.
Another awesome video guys. I have been reading/listening to/watching about IWO for over 5 decades. Still learn stuff from you guys. As a trivia note I haven’t met that many marines who served on IWO, but all of them say they were wounded on IWO.
Most excellent
The Car Talk analogy was perfect! 😁
Never in my life would I have expected "Click & Clack" (Car Talk) brought up in a UHPW podcast!
Whoa boy, now you're definitely in my wheel-house especially this ferocious battle!
In from SC!
The best part of this episode is the look on Seth's face when they bring up the fact that Iwo is part of Tokyo prefecture now. Lol
Looking forward to another episode with the power trio
I love the idea of Click & Clack of WWII history.
Need a third name. Click, Clack & CLunk?
My grandfather was there.. James D. Groff
Co. B, 5th engineering bn, 5th marine division. I asked him about his experience there once when I was a kid, he wouldn't talk about it.
This is the first time I have heard about the questionability of Flags of Our Fathers. I need to do some digging for sure to find out more if anyone has some credible sources. Another great episode gentlemen!
Thanks again. Great stuff.
50° 27' 0.0036'' N and 30° 31' 23.9988'' E
Gentlemen,
What an extraordinary episode. Its surely among the very best produced to date. Compelling storytelling and terrific all around play-by-play.
Looking forward with anticipation to its sequel next week.
Keep those cards and letters coming.
Thank you.
V/r - IB
LOVE your channel. Missed WWII but landed in USN aboard a troop transport as a Radarman and managed to go to with a task force from West Coast to Cuba as part of the invasion force and blockade. Here's an idea for y'all. Am reading the t book" Nimitz at War" by Craig Symonds (and plan to order and read y'all's books as well). Anyway, I was somewhat surprised at the level of politics played and the playground-level sniping of the various admirals and other royalty within our military community (outclassed, all of them, by Gen. Douglas "where's the camera?" Macarthur ). I knew it existed. Just did not know it existed to such a high degree, to the point of compromising campaigns and planning, and definitely diminishing the ability of men like Nimitz to do what he was tasked to do. So, here's the idea: DO A SHOW ON THE ASSININE POLITICS W/IN THE OFFICER RANKS OF THE USN and what effects they IN FACT had, PROBABLY HAD, and COULD HAVE HAD. Personally, I think their egos, coupled with sheer ignorance (in some instances, stupidity) cost lives. Make it a series! I'd be happy to contribute snippets of research as directed if you all decide to do that.
Thanks for keeping our history alive...and properly detailed.
Awesome Guys!!!
Thank you.
Another stellar episode guys!
Went there in 1989. The highlight of my time in the Marines. Still have a jar of sand from where John Basilone was slain.
You guys rawk, beyond my capacity to express.
You discussed UDT for a short while and reminded me of my adopted Korean friends. They were adopted by former UDT last name Kirish and lived in Granger, IN. So, of course I queried youtube re UDT and very little material available. Future material for you folks? Thanks
The artillery piece, shown at 1:36:50 is a 105 mm M2A1 howitzer, Don't know if this is a mismatch of stock footage bu 75 mm M1A1 pack how. is the piece that has the recoil shoe over the barrel and is very distinctive. Whereas the 105 mm M2A1 has a full recuperator tube above the barrel
George Bush Senior was on San Jacinto when he was shot down on 2nd September 1944. San Jacinto was part of RADM Ralph Davison’s Task Group 38.4. Comprised of Franklin, Enterprise, San Jacinto, Belleau Wood and friends.
Amazing series!
enjoyable way to start my Tuesday.
It would be fascinating to learn more about how the shattered 1st Marine Division rebuilt itself in the run up to Okinawa. And how many of the Canal veterans participated in the invasion of Okinawa. As always thanks.
Great show gentlemen.
Two stories related to me by veterans of Iwo, sitting/standing on wooden crate lids because of hot sand on the bottom of a fox hole....and the volume of fire, from everywhere and both sides.
I'm still catching up on this series. Loving every episode!