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N0KFQ > TODAY 19.02.12 23:43l 38 Lines 1650 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 17936_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Feb 19
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<IK6ZDE<VE2PKT<F1BBI<CX2SA<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 120219/2135Z 17936@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.48
Feb 19, 1945:
Marines invade Iwo Jima
On this day, Operation Detachment, the U.S. Marines' invasion of
Iwo Jima, is launched. Iwo Jima was a barren Pacific island
guarded by Japanese artillery, but to American military minds, it
was prime real estate on which to build airfields to launch
bombing raids against Japan, only 660 miles away.
The Americans began applying pressure to the Japanese defense of
the island in February 1944, when B-24 and B-25 bombers raided
the island for 74 days. It was the longest pre-invasion
bombardment of the war, necessary because of the extent to which
the Japanese--21,000 strong--fortified the island, above and
below ground, including a network of caves. Underwater demolition
teams ("frogmen") were dispatched by the Americans just before
the actual invasion. When the Japanese fired on the frogmen, they
gave away many of their "secret" gun positions.
The amphibious landings of Marines began the morning of February
19 as the secretary of the navy, James Forrestal, accompanied by
journalists, surveyed the scene from a command ship offshore. As
the Marines made their way onto the island, seven Japanese
battalions opened fire on them. By evening, more than 550 Marines
were dead and more than 1,800 were wounded. The capture of Mount
Suribachi, the highest point of the island and bastion of the
Japanese defense, took four more days and many more casualties.
When the American flag was finally raised on Iwo Jima, the
memorable image was captured in a famous photograph that later
won the Pulitzer Prize.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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