Veterans Remember Iwo Jima
CAMP KINSER, OKINWA, Japan -- In the spirit of forgiveness and the celebration of an alliance between once bitter enemies, U.S. and Japanese veterans, their families, and political figures gathered on Iwo Jima for a commemoration of the 62nd anniversary of the battle for the island.
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Marine Corps News | March 23, 2007
More than 200 servicemembers from III Marine Expeditionary Force supported the commemoration March 12-15. A formal ceremony took place March 14.
Every year, Iwo Jima hosts a ceremony to honor those who fought and gave their lives in a battle that raged for 36 days on an island smaller than Manhattan.
Bill Griggs, who landed on the beaches as a rifleman with the 3rd Marine Division, made his second trip to the island since the battle in 1945. In the 62 years since he first trudged the beaches, the war-torn landscape had transformed, and so had the relationship between the U.S. and Japan.
"Everything has changed," he said.
The sentiment of forgiveness rang true for veterans on both sides.
"Understanding that both sides were fighting for their countries and forgiving them is important," said Kiyoshi Endo, the president of the Japanese Iwo Jima Association and veteran of the battle. "Just as important though, is never forgetting, because never forgetting will be instrumental in never allowing such a war to happen again."
Hurb Thompson, a U.S. veteran of the battle, said his trip was to help finalize his personal ambition to forgive those he had once called enemy.
"We are all human beings created equally," he said. "I can only hope they can forgive us as I have done my best to forgive them. We have to work together now to make the world a better place."
Embodying the alliance at the individual level is important, said retired Lt. Gen. Lawrence F. Snowden, a veteran of the battle and the senior-ranking veteran attending the ceremony. However, at the time, he could not have imagined sharing common ground with those he once called enemy.
"Those of us who survived the dreadful 36 days of combat can only be amazed that we gather here as citizens of two powerful nations, which stand together as close allies," Snowden said. "It is a testament to that bond between us veterans."
Lt. Gen. Joseph F. Weber, the III Marine Expeditionary Force commanding general, said the bond between the two nations is one to be proud of.
"It is commendable that we return to this hallowed ground not as advocacies but as devoted friends and allies," he said. "Our nations enjoy a dedicated alliance and friendship that none would have predicted 62 years ago.