February 23, 1945

[Hardcore troubadour 12,947]

Flag raising on Iwo Jima. Ooh-rah! 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 2,729]

ooh rah!

[Engorgeous George 1,294]

Some of those Iwo Jimo boys had seen prior action at Guadacanal and Tarawa.  Tough men.  Boys hardened by honor, duty, patriotism.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,947]

9 minutes ago, Engorgeous George said:

Some of those Iwo Jimo boys had seen prior action at Guadacanal and Tarawa.  Tough men.  Boys hardened by honor, duty, patriotism.

Sgt John Basilone had already received the MOH for his actions on Guadalcanal and never had to fight again when he went back to be with the men on Iwo Jima. He gave his life. RIP Marine. 

[BeenHereBefore 1,359]

45 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Flag raising on Iwo Jima. Ooh-rah! 

 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,947]

4 minutes ago, BeenHereBefore said:

 

Sad what happened with him and some of the others. RIP Marine 

[BeenHereBefore 1,359]

19 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Sad what happened with him and some of the others. RIP Marine 

Yea it is, he is supposed to be one of the ones in the pic raising the flag.

[The Real timschochet 3,198]

A great, heroic moment in American history. 

[Pimpadeaux 2,333]

1 hour ago, Engorgeous George said:

Some of those Iwo Jimo boys had seen prior action at Guadacanal and Tarawa.  Tough men.  Boys hardened by honor, duty, patriotism.

And/or Peleliu, only to go on to Okinawa.

 

[Engorgeous George 1,294]

3 hours ago, Pimpadeaux said:

And/or Peleliu, only to go on to Okinawa.

 

Indeed.

 

40 years ago I became obsessed with the Pacific campaign.  In two months or so I read at least one book on each major island campaign, Several on the Phillipines.  more than one on Wake Island and Peleliu.  I remember one book on maybe just the first 24 hours on Betio in what came to be subsumed in most minds as the Tarawa campaign.  I read multiple tomes on Douglas MacArther and Bull Halsey.  One on Nimitz.  I read one by a survivor of the Bataan Death March.  Fascinating and brutal bit of history and one where the survivors and the dead have my respect. 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,947]

1 minute ago, Engorgeous George said:

Indeed.

 

40 years ago I became obsessed with the Pacific campaign.  In two months or so I read at least one book on each major island campaign, Several on the Phillipines.  more than one on Wake Island and Peleliu.  I remember one book on maybe just the first 24 hours on Betio in what came to be subsumed in most minds as the Tarawa campaign.  I read multiple tomes on Douglas MacArther and Bull Halsey.  One on Nimitz.  I read one by a survivor of the Bataan Death March.  Fascinating and brutal bit of history and one where the survivors and the dead have my respect. 

Did you read Flyboys? 

[Engorgeous George 1,294]

5 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Did you read Flyboys? 

At that time, no, as i don't think that even came out for another two decades or so.  I did read it maybe 15 years ago.  I seem to recall maybe its a movie now.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,947]

4 minutes ago, Engorgeous George said:

At that time, no, as i don't think that even came out for another two decades or so.  I did read it maybe 15 years ago.  I seem to recall maybe its a movie now.

That movie is about WW 1 and sucks. The Book Flyboys is by James Bradley, who wrote Flags Of Our Fathers 

[Voltaire 4,587]

The beginning of the end. 

[League Champion 1,593]

18 hours ago, The Real timschochet said:

A great, heroic moment in American history. 

And now we're raising rainbow flags

 

[The Real timschochet 3,198]

9 minutes ago, League Champion said:

And now we're raising rainbow flags

 

I have a great uncle, who I never met, who survived the Bataan Death March, and after the war he went to live in San Francisco. He was gay, and chose to live in the only city during the 50s and 60s in which it was acceptable to be gay. He died in the late 60s. 

I’d like to think we raise rainbow flags in honor of my great uncle and all of the other thousands of gay men who served their country in World War II and our other wars, hiding who they truly were. 

[Engorgeous George 1,294]

9 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

I have a great uncle, who I never met, who survived the Bataan Death March, and after the war he went to live in San Francisco. He was gay, and chose to live in the only city during the 50s and 60s in which it was acceptable to be gay. He died in the late 60s. 

I’d like to think we raise rainbow flags in honor of my great uncle and all of the other thousands of gay men who served their country in World War II and our other wars, hiding who they truly were. 

He died relatively young.  Lots of those survivors did from my understanding.  That event took years from their lives.

[The Real timschochet 3,198]

4 minutes ago, Engorgeous George said:

He died relatively young.  Lots of those survivors did from my understanding.  That event took years from their lives.

Yeah I think he was in his early 50s. Not sure though. 
I know he arrived in Manila only a few weeks before the war started. In November of 1941. Talk about bad luck.