Iwo Jima from the Japanese Infantryman's Perspective
2022 ж. 20 Қаз.
2 292 690 Рет қаралды
The Battle for Iwo Jima would becoming one of the hardest fights of WW2 for the US Marines. In this video we look at some of the stories from the Japanese infantry tasked with defending the island to the death.
Bibliography
Alexander, Joseph H. Closing in: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima. Glasgow, UK: Good Press, 2019.
Bradley, James, and Ron Powers. Flags of Our Fathers. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2016.
Kakehashi, Kumiko. So Sad to Fall in Battle: An Account of War. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 2007.
King, Dan, and Linda Ryan. A Tomb Called Iwo Jima: Firsthand Accounts from Japanese Survivors. Rockwall, TX: Dan King, 2020.
Leckie, Robert, and Ted Burwell. The Battle for Iwo Jima. New York, NY: Random House, 1967.
My father Edgar Dale Mackan was on Iwo and was bayoneted by a Japanese soldier. Thanks for your sacrifice Dad I miss you very much
May I ask did he survive? God bless him and all the soldiers who sacrificed for our freedom
@@raineypeter Yes he did but he struggled with what he went through the rest of his life
@@gerardmackan4372 yeah I can't imagine.. My grandfather was at Guadalcanal/Tulagi with the marines and dropped a mortar on his foot. Sent to NZ for recovery where he met my grandmother 🕊️
@@raineypeter my sister recently got a copy of his DD-214 and it says wounded in action on March 26th 1945. It was the last day of the battle for Iwo. What luck
@@gerardmackan4372 Yeah that's the worst luck... And now look at what Russia is doing... We need our Greatest Generation to sound the bugle again
My Uncle Zivo Bodroski was killed in action on Iwo Jima he was 21 years old and killed on the 2nd day of battle between yellow beach (where the 4th landed) and the airfield. He was in the 4th Marine Division 23rd Marines. He was from Dearborn Michigan. He was killed instantly. A shell landed directly in the hole he was in and blew him to pieces. What a horrible and terrible price to pay! Never having had a chance to have lived a full life that he so much deserved, as they all deserved! I want as many people as I can tell to remember his name. They deserve to have their names remembered! Semper Fidelis Uncle and all of the men who lost their lives. Rest in God's Peace!
Lest we forget.
your folks were from macedonia?
oh wait it's probably Bodroški
Semper Fi from a old Marine
We may have won the war, but each loss deeply impacts the loved ones who remain.
We were on a train from Tokyo to Nikko n.p. as part of our honeymoon, back in 1975. We were the only gaijin on the train. Seated across from us was a Japanese businessman who owned a couple of small hotels and a golf course. As the trip progressed, he got progressively more and more drunk...and loosened up. His English was good. He brought up the subject of the war; not us. Turns out he was on Iwo Jima. Of his entire company, only he and his sargeant survived. Suddenly he realized what he was talking about and started waving a hand and mumbling, "War was a big mistake, big mistake," and then he went quiet. We just sat and listened.
Thank you for sharing that Mr Foster. I was expecting some typical _profoundly enlightened_ nonsense to cap your experience. But I like how you kept it simple and TRUTHFUL and honest. I felt like I was in the train. Thanks again. (And hopefully the PTSD suffering man found some sort of peace)
Yes, war is a mistake by leadership of each country.
The Japanese are great people. Like everything else, it was Government beating the war drums.
@@diegoolivarez1 Idk man? I'm sure they're good people overall, but I've always said they were just as bad as the Nazis in WW2. They didn't mass murder like the Germans, but it wasn't from a lack of effort. They literally built pyramids of severed Chinese heads.
that gave me chills. thanks for this story
My Father was a Marine at Iwo Jima. He never said a word. I didn't even know until I sent for his Military Records 47 years after he had died.
He did NOT want to talk about it.
@@hededcdn i always think of these words from a song talking about their father ; "He bought our house on a G.I. Bill, but it wasn't worth all he had to kill to get it. 😔
They didn't call it the silent generation for nothing.
@Phillip Banes Depends on when he was born. He could have been a young-ish marine and part of the silent generation. You are right that he could have been part of greatest, true.
@Phillip Banes It's possible the date range I got for that generation is wrong.
I was on Iwo jima for the joint (US/Japanese) commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Battle. I spoke with one of the Japanese survivors about his experience. He said that he had been wounded and was evacuated into one of the caves, and that the Marines flooded the cave with water and then poured gasoline onto the water and ignited it. He passed out expecting to suffocate but woke up in an American hospital. He told me that he has been told that if the Marines took him prisoner that they would kill and eat him. He spent some time there waiting to be killed and eaten and was surprised when it never happened.
The Japanese were documented to have eaten POWs in their custody; no wonder it was so believable to their soldiers. ='[.]'=
Metal.
Did he say "Oh, Pearl Harbor sneak attack - bad mistake, bad mistake."?
interesting story. Anyway, the americans have plenty of food. No need to eat people.
@@boiledliddo The GI's were the only army that could serve the soldiers with ice cream.
My father was a machine gunner in the first wave at Iwo Jima, beach yellow 2. They were amazed at how close to the first airfield they advanced without any enemy fire. As they were setting up, my father looked up and saw three Japanese soldiers about 100 yards away walking casually horizontal to their position. His fellow Marine asked, "Do they even know we're here?" And then all hell broke loose.
Couldn't possibly imagine witnessing firsthand the initial ripsaw that ate those first waves alive. Your father was a brave man, luckily blessed or blessed with luck.
Thank you for your father's extremely valuable service. The son carries on the valiant service of his father. Otherwise narrators like this one on this channel would slant it away from the positive view of the American Military and into the we were horrible people categories. And tall is Japanese to put our men and bamboo and clothes baskets basically and threw them overboard to feed the sharks.
wow!!!
@@CAROLDDISCOVER-FINDER2525I can say for certain this narrator is not trying to make Americans seem like terrible human beings. He made a video on his other channel, The Operations Room, that covers this battle from the American perspective. I agree that the Japanese were despicable during the war but it’s still worth seeing the perspective from the other side, whether that be for entertainment or education.
@CAROLDDISCOVER-FINDER2525 the narrator isn't doing anything other than showing what it was like on the other side both tactically and mentally. War is war, don't be so sensitive
I'd highly recommend "Letters from Iwo Jima" if you haven't seen it already. It's a pretty great movie about the Japanese perspective on Iwo Jima
Was about to come here and say this. VERY underrated movie
It's ok. Flags of our fathers better.
@@briancooper2112 flags of our fathers really isn't that good imo
@@briancooper2112 I find Letters from Iwo Jima more memorable for some reason though, maybe it's the subterranean atmosphere or maybe because the Japanese soldier perspective hasn't been explored as much
Also would highly recommend "So Sad to Fall in Battle", which focuses on the perspective of General Kuribayashi and his perspective and logic in defiantly opposing the American giant he and other officers who studied in the Ivy Tower of Harvard University knew was unstoppable but still had to answer the call of the Emperor... The fact that he was punitively assigned to Iwo Jima because of his pro-peace views as an informal death sentence and still fulfilled his obligations while writing a memo condemning the stupidity of the war effort and his superiors demonstrates the paradox of trying to be an honorable soldier in a dishonorable war.
My first wife’s father served in the marines that landed on Iwo Jima. He told me stories about how the Japanese would come out with a white flag to surrender, hands up, then the one in front would drop to all fours with a machine gun strapped to his back while all the others threw grenades. He said after that happened, they stopped taking prisoners. He lost a lot of friends and was anti Japanese until the day he died. I don’t share his sentiment, but I also don’t blame him
Isn't faking surrender nowadays considered a war crime?
@@tiagodecastro2929so was how Russia began their invasion of Ukraine but that didnt stop them
@@tiagodecastro2929 Look, the Japanese had no intention of surrendering. EVER. The family of any soldier who did were publicly humiliated by being given a box of fake ashes in their death ceremonies, meaning that from then on, that soldier was dead to his family. The proof of this is that _2 atom bombs_ had to be dropped, because the Prime Minister who was also the top general of the army-Hideki Tojo-refused to surrender after the first. When that first group of soldiers faked a surrender and then threw hand grenades to blow up the Marines, obviously no international court. If there had been one, wouldn’t have faulted them. After Emperor Hirohito had recorded his surrender message to be played for the Japanese people, an group of Army fanatics broke into the grounds of the palace and then the Palace itself, fully armed and firing, in an attempt to find the recording and destroy it. Troops loyal to the Emperor, _whom they regarded as a God,_ finally fought them off. If you had an understanding of Japanese culture at that time, you would know how absolutely insane that was!
@tiagodecastro2929 Yes. (though so are using flamethrowers, strategic bombing, and other practices employed by both sides in WWII.)
@@ryanjensen1945 None of those were viewed as war crimes in World War Two, and since.
My Great Uncle was on IWO from D-day through the end. He said his company went ashore with 230 + Marines. When they were taken off of Iwo on D+30, there was 13 left. Of that 13, 10 were walking wounded...he never got a scratch. He lived with that horror the rest of his life!
I knew a guy who was under aged when he joined the Marines during the Korean War. Before he was about to be shipped out to Korea the Marines found out how old he was and sent him home. His whole platoon was wiped out nobody made it back. Until the day Bill died he suffered greatly from that.
D-Day was in Europe June 6, 1944. We stormed Iwo in the Pacific on Feb 19, 1945, just for your info.
My uncle Joe Gamez was in the third wave with the 5th Marines. 28 days later he walked off wound three times with 7 of his original platoon members. He lived to the young age of 98. They do not make men like that anymore! Thank You Uncle Joe Simper Fi
Thank your uncle!! But!!! Just because YOU CAnT DO THINGS,,, does NOT MEAN all others are incompetent as well!!!!!
Semper Fi
I'll live the rest of my life trying to prove you wrong but honestly I hope I never have to
[My Uncle Thomas Bogia was on Iwo. He was an unarmed medical soldier who went onto the battlefields to rescue wounded Americans. He slept away from the make shift field hospitals because the Japanese would sneak into them at night and kill all that they could. He survived the war. He was from Glassboro NJ. He became a teacher, school principal and retired from the NJ Department of Education. He passed away several years ago.
I am named after my Dad's best friend, Marine Sgt, Lawrence Wayne, of Gassaway, WV, who was killed on Iwo. I met Lawrence's sister. She recounted, through tears many years after, how devastating the loss was on the family. On Dad too.
My dad was with the 4th Marines on Iwo Jima, Saipan, Tinian, and Kwajalein, and he found some of his dead friends in the jungle with their genitals cut off and stuffed into their mouths. He was in charge of getting an amphibious tractor up to the beach to unload the troops, then directing his driver where to “park” it. On Iwo, he jumped off one side and his driver the other, except his driver landed on a mine and blew his legs off. My dad came home with a severe case of PTSD and an even worse case of survivor’s guilt which kept him from using VA medical care for 50 years, even though he was spending more than half of his pension on medications. He self medicated liberally with alcohol but, after two suicide attempts, finally beat it about 14 years before he died. You might say that his horrific experiences in the Pacific ruined his life.
God Bless , and Peace ...in the End we see the one's we love and that loved us. Again ...
I also am named after my fathers best friend killed on Iwo.
My father never got over what he experienced on Iwo.
@@voraciousreader3341 Blessings on all those who were there….. what a hell hole!
My father was on Mt. Suribachi the day the flags went up. He will always be my hero. I spent two tours as a combat medic in Vietnam.
This may sound cheesy or fake, but welcome home! Heard tons of Vietnam vets getting spat on after seeing horrors they didn’t want to see.
@@robertoroberto9798 it’s not. I appreciate it.
I met a guy who was in one of the group photos after the raising of the flag (not the rosenthal one, the one I. The credits of flags of our fathers). It was in high school and it was a “have lunch with a veteran event”. I believe his name was earl reinhardt. Talking with him was something I’ll never forget
Thanks for you and your Dad. I served as well. Desert Storm and Somalia. Thanks again.
god bless you and welcome home, something ive been waiting on for 50 years
My father in law went in on day 1, he made it to day 14 when he was wounded. He lost an arm, then went on to drive an 18 wheeler. Thank you for your service R.F. Postel.
Of the 20,000 strong Japanese garrison on Iwo Jima, 1,083 survived. The last Japanese defenders surrendered in 1949.
John Toland covers some of the Japanese holdouts on Iwo Jima very well in his book on the Pacific War. An insane existence I don't think most westerners could even conceive of. Hiding in a scorching hot cave, naked most of the time because of the unbearable heat, no food or water, with a few comrades, on and island full of enemies constantly trying to dynamite and flamethrower you. These men had to survive by sneaking out at night and trying to scavenge, or raid American camps for food and water, either completely unarmed or with a grenade or two. What few men surrendered usually had to be coaxed out by their former comrades who had already done so.
How? Where did they hide?
You have to assume that the remaining Japanese holdouts, who fought on because their orders were to fight on until death, were foraging at night among ample American logistics supply dumps for food, fuel, and even weapons and ammunition. Once the US had the island, and the Army and Army Air Force took over, rooting out the remaining Japanese was more of a cleanup and sanitation operation than an aggressive Marine Corp action. The Japanese holdouts surely didn't have their own resources to rely on, two or three years after the battle ended! Kurabayashi ordered each one to take ten enemy with them when they died. And, in the Japanese military ethos and system, they were just following orders!
@@robertmandell526 I literally said that they were in my reply.
That’s some dedication to the work from the Japanese dude ngl. Reminds me of the time when the VC literally built a tunnel network right next to an American airfield during the Vietnam War, people really underestimate how stealthy people can be.
A really great read from the desperate Japanese perspective on Okinawa (not Iwo Jima) was "The Battle for Okinawa" by Col. Hiromichi Yahara. He was a senior staff member there and the highest ranked surviving officer. One of the most memorable books I've ever read about the war.
Thanks, I will be reading this book soon!!!!!
Many Thanks Saylor Tusk, I'm buying a copy of it also.
I was stationed on Okinawa multiple times. The underground complexes around the Suri line were amazingly impressive.
True. Colonel Yahara was the brain behind the Okinawa defense. It's rare that a japanese officer so high ranking survived and was able to tell us the story from his perspective that made so many important decisions, it was very rare. He is a man known with a keen strategic mind. When the Americans captured him, he was interrogated. He willingly answered questions about the battle in the island but was otherwise reluctant to talk about anything else. At the end of his interrogation, he was asked that if here were to invade Japan, where would he do it. He answered, nonchalantly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, that it would be in Kujikuri-hama. The interrogators never told him, that the american high command also came to the same conclusion after many internal argument.
My dad who was a young Marine in 1943 was wounded at Bougainville. He had a very good friend, Lenny, who was at Iwo. In his living room, Lenny had a large framed color photo of an aerial view of the Amtracks heading to shore with plums of water rising up all around them from the Japanese artillery. I'll never forget that picture! RIP Ken and Lenny. Thanks for your service!
My uncle went MIA at Bougainville. I was named after him.
My great uncle fought on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Okinawa. As the series "The Pacific" demonstrated battles against the Japanese during the war were brutal and no quarter was given. He survived the war (died in 1982 from a heart attack) with numerous medical issues (including bullet wounds, dysentery, malaria, parasites, and stuff they couldn't even begin to figure out.). RIP to all Marines and all Armed Forces who served in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
I'd like to thank all of the gentlemen for posting the stories of the fallen. The one thing I've learned over all these years is that no one wants to be forgotten when falling on foreign soil. Thank you all again!
I talked to an old sailor that told me the only time he felt sorry for the enemy was when the battle ships would open up on them. The shells are literally so large you can see them fly through the air and when they're coming at you, there's not a damned thing you can do about it.
The shellings didnt make impact the allies had hope as the Japanese had learnt from previous battles they had carved extensive underground system.
The shells were the size of VW Beetles. They had zero impact on the enemy bc they were dug in to solid rock.
@@lootusmaximus7378 Zero impact? Overstatement for effect?
@@lootusmaximus7378 they had a fuck ton of effect of them 😂
@@lonewolftech There was a story about NJ during the Vietnam war sinking a fortified island after shelling it to hell
I was honored to know and talk to a marine who fought on this island. He was in his 80's and worked as a warehouse check in for sparkle market in Courtland Ohio. What a great man as he talked to me. I believe his name was lester. I'm proud to talk to this marine. God rest his soul..
My father served on a L.C.I. that ferried marines to the Iwo Jima shores. He never spoke about the war. Later, he was invited to attend the unveiling of the Iwo Jima memorial in D.C. That was the first time I ever saw him cry..
My Grandfather fought on Iwo Jima. He was 25 at the time. He was wounded on the 3rd day. He talked about it a few times. But it really affected him the rest of his life.
Your Grandpa and mine were ":old men" on Iwo Jima. Mine was born in 1918.
Such brave men. Nothing but pure admiration and respect.
Semper fi to them both
From my perspective, the Japanese soldiers were our enemy, but hearing what they went through, in particular the man who lost touch with reality and was waiting for his parents, broke my heart. We needed to win, but I mourn the dead and suffering on both sides.
I agree with you. This was heartbreaking to watch. The poor soldiers think they are doing a noble thing by defending their country. In reality, they were used as pawns in a game that only the politicians and bankrollers won. It is my personal opinion that Japan intentionally entered this war to cull their own population. The country was outgrowing itself and was already lacking the resources it needed to continue growing. All those people on that tiny island. They should have concentrated on growing more food instead of focusing on industry. There is no way the politicians could have realistically expected to win the war. No matter how hardened and determined they were, they were still just a tiny island too far from America to actually ever invade. There would be a gun behind every blade of grass in America. Poor soldiers used as pawns and all the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed in the horrendous firebombing campaign. Far more people were killed by the firebombing than were killed by the publicity stunt known as nuclear bombs.
@@phoenixrising4073 Nah, they weren't intentionally trying to kill their own population, that's some psycho stuff. The thing is, the politicians did think that the war would be winnable (though by the time the war started the political leaders were actually the heads of the military). For this logic, we have to look at recent Japanese history from the time. Within living memory, the Empire of Japan had fought the Russo-Japanese War, the First Sino-Japanese War, and the First World War on the side of the Entente. In each of those wars, Japan had won stunning victories that led to a negotiated settlement and significant territorial gains for the Empire. From the Russo-Japanese War, they gained South Sakhalin and Port Arthur, and significant economic concessions in Manchuria and Korea. The First Sino-Japanese War led to the annexation of Korea and Manchuria, leading to the formation of the puppet-states of Manchukuo and Mengkukuo. The First World War resulted in Japan gaining the Treaty port of Tsingtao (modern-day Qingdao), as well as dozens of islands across the western Pacific that the Germans had been using as coaling stations. This allowed Japan's navy to now project power almost to the coast of Australia, massively increasing Japan's standing in the world. So, from 3 wars within the lifetimes of every man making these decisions on behalf of the empire, Japan had gone from a medium-sized fish in a small pond to a *shark* in a much bigger ocean. They now considered themselves more than equal to the established world powers. This was Japan's time to shine. Crucially though, there was no evidence to suggest that any of the European powers would follow a doctrine of "total war" in pursuit of an unconditional surrender. The thought of fighting for an unconditional surrender probably never occurred to Tojo or any of the other decision-makers as even an option. Every time Japan had fought a European power, they kicked their arses and won some territory. It was logical therefore, to assume that France, the British Empire and the United States would all follow this same pattern of behaviour. We'll smash their navy (just like we smashed the Russians at Tsushima), they'll realise we have complete naval dominance over the Western Pacific, and they'll come to the negotiating table. Yamamoto was one of the few senior Japanese officers who realised that the USA wasn't going to settle for a negotiated peace ("we'll have to dictate terms in the White House" was a warning, not a boast), but Yamamoto and the Navy weren't running the government at the time the fateful decisions were being made. Tojo and the Army were in charge, and they saw the war with the US as a sideshow to the more important fight in China, which was already dragging on a lot longer than anticipated. Interestingly, China continued to be the main focus of the Japanese even after Midway and Guadalcanal. It wasn't until US troops landed on Iwo Jima that the army changed tack and started to take the US seriously. In conclusion (at last), everything the Japanese military did was rational. It was motivated by racism, embedded in a horrifically violent and abusive military culture, and based on a misunderstanding of enemy psychology, but it was all internally consistent. Japan wanted to be a superpower on parity with the USA and the British Empire and honestly believed they had a shot at winning everything they dreamed of. They were drunk on success, and didn't believe that they could fail. Events proved otherwise.
@@phoenixrising4073 don’t see why they are less noble for defending their country than any American, soviet, French etc. soldier. They where doing it for their country and their honour. I suggest reading into the Japanese culture around honour. Even now it’s vastly different from anything else on the planet and even more back then.
@@luttren you’re not ‘defending your country’ when doing imperialism. Their ‘honour’ involved the Nanking Rapings, Unit 731 and countless death camps. If they didn’t want to have ‘defend their country’, they simply should’ve stayed within their own borders.
Before anyone whataboutisms me: yes, imperialism is bad, regardless of who does it. British and US imperialism are also bad.
That’s fucking terrifying. Imagine being slowly broken by an unstoppable enemy, and no matter how many you killed, there was gonna be more.
People who have fought the US military describe it as trying to build a sand castle on the beach despite the tide coming in. Try though you might, you'll not succeed. It just keeps coming...
I imagine that's what it was like on the Eastern front for the Germans too. Just hordes of Russian soldiers and tanks. Doesn't matter how many you kill there's always more coming.
@@MarvelousSeven *Vietnam has entered the chat* Oh really?
@@adamp.2517 The US could have easily invaded NV and bomb them to no end, or simply nuke them, but Vietnam was an insurgency for the US, a war where conventional forces ALWAYS needs to tie their hands around their back (unless they decide to massacre settlements Mongol-style but such a tactic is not politically viable in the modern world).
@@imgvillasrc1608 Blahblahblah could've would've should've
Liutenant Colonel Baron Nishi was also a gold medalist in the 1932 olympics. The americans offered him to surrender because they knew him
Just go show the American Military much more honorable than the talk up Japanese military world War. They put our men in what amounts to enclose bamboo baskets and threw him overboard to feed the sharks.
I'm interested to know how the Americans knew he was there opposing them, and did he surrender?
He died there 😢
What may be one of his spurs was found on the island.
My best friend's father in law was a Marine scout on Iwo. He refused to talk about it other than saying he saw hell. War is not hell, its worse, there are no innocent people in hell.
We don’t know what Hell is, or if there is one, so war seems a reasonable facsimile. And there were a lot of innocent and very young men during WWII who wouldn’t have hurt anything before their countries were attacked. The German Soviet, and Japanese soldiers were there because of psychopath dictators brainwashed them and forced them to fight, with the Soviets losing between 11 to 25 MILLION men and women in uniform. My father enlisted and was placed in the 4th Marines and saw action at Kwajalein, Tinian, Saipan, and Iwo Jima. He suffered from intense PTSD and survivor’s guilt because of the manner in which his dead buddies were found-with their own genitals stuffed in their mouths, and the driver of my dad’s amphibious tractor jumped off if after “parking” it right onto a land mine which blew his legs off-so you could say he never got past it. I don’t think experiences in war can be “got over,” but my dad drank a whole lot of brandy trying to forget.
Damn right.
@@voraciousreader3341 I think that what the mortal patriots on any side experienced as Hell on Earth is just a taste of what real, spiritual Hell will be for those complicitly evil while on Earth. death bring a sort of mercy; eternal torment does not relent.
😢
My father-in-law, Cpl Elbert Beaver, was assigned to the 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Platoon, Easy Company which landed on Green Beach. He was apart of the platoon that raised the initial, unstaged flag at Mt Suribachi. Joe Rosenthal later in life recognized his participation in the initial raising, by sending him an autographed picture of the famous picture, of his participation...my wife still has the autographed picture to her dad. Eb resided in Ducktown, TN til his death in the early 90s. Finest man you would have ever met....
Awesome story. The first I have read of someone who likely knew my father Sgt Marvin Funderburk. He was chosen to be in the second famous photo but declined. My dad was a machine gun mechanic (wrote some of the M1 Garand field repair manual), said his work enabled his buddies to live and didn't care about being in a photo. His best friend Ira Hayes and couple others were flown out days later to go on the legendary fundraising tour depicted in a few movies. Dad regretted that decision the rest of his life.
Thank you Joey. Well done! As a Marine Corps Veteran, of coarse I've followed the history which includes the flag raising on Iwo Jima. I have believed, that the identity of the flag raisers is important at the very least to the families. Regardless though, all Marines identified correctly or incorrectly, STILL served with dignity and honor in defense of the of the UNTIED STATES OF AMERICA! God bless them all and all the men and women who have served or are serving in all branches in her defense. 🇺🇸
In the late 80's I was lucky enough to meet a gentleman who served as a photographer in the Pacific during WWII. I was installing siding on his house...and he invited me in for lunch. After chatting a bit, he pulled out a stack of photo albums....What I saw in those photos is etched into my brain for the rest of my life... And those were JUST PHOTOS!!
"This island will be our tomb". Great pep talk thanks general.
My father, Earl Hitson was a Marine on Iwo. He was wounded and sent off the Island on day 11. He told many stories and was later stationed in occupied Japan. He came home with admiration for the Japanese people.
This is why I would love to see the war through the other sides point of view. Hearing the other side of the story is just amazing and saddening
Here's the other side dumbass the m************ bomb Pearl harbor they try to pull a fast one and they got their asses handed to him I wish you would have dropped three more f****** bombs on those b******
Especially when America is always the one landing on your beach... we seem to win beaches...
My father served in the Pacific theater and later Iwo Jima. I spent most of my young life hearing his anti-Japanese and and anti-German rhetoric. (He threw a party with his Marine buddies when Hirohito died) This is certainly interesting seeing the other side of the story.
Hirohito should have been hanged for war crimes. The US was too lenient with him
These have been really, really great! I've seen a bunch of documentaries on this battle but the actual footage doesn't give you the big picture like these animations do. It's remarkable that an island that small, was packed with so many people trying to kill each other. The island is not that much bigger than the island I live on now and I can't fathom that much carnage and action happening on a place that is just 4sq miles smaller!!
My grandfather was a Marine and he was killed, along with the other Marines at the battle of Iwo Jima. My granddad was facing death, he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, my granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport name of Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he’d never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, my granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to my grandmother, delivering to my infant father, his dad’s gold watch.
Took me a second
I was sure I'd heard this story somewhere before hahaha
Did he have to hide it from the gooks up his ass?
@@nugget0428 what is it in reference to?
@@dong7474 kill bill
Honestly, one of the most interesting WW2 videos ive ever seen. Never saw this footage and all of the breakfown is so good
My brother's father in law was a marine in WWII. He was on Tarawa & I believe Saipan. I was fortunate enough to hear his stories first hand, amazing and filled with brutal combat. My father in law also was in the Navy in WWII, a torpedo man in the destroyer escort fleet. Joined the Navy 12/8/41 at 16 years of age. By early 1942 he was doing convoy duty in the North Atlantic. He made 37 trips through the Panama Canal seeing Naval combat in both the Atlantic & Pacific theaters. I will never forget these men or their stories. We miss you Brownie & Norm. FLY NAVY!!!
Just a historical note: the 2nd Marine Division was on Tarawa & Okinawa but not Iwo. Not from personal experience but I know a lot of my brother Marines whoo went on before. One, Still living had his 18th birthday on Saipan.
Which DE was he on?
@@briancooper2112 He was on 3 different ones , but the one he talked about the most was DE 347 USS Jesse Rutherford. I know somewhere in his discharge paperwork the other two are listed. FLY NAVY!!!
USN Veteran, thank you for your service
@@jimsmith9819 Thanks for your support but like many others I just did my job. Fortunately I made it back home unlike some others who were no so fortunate. FLY NAVY!!!
Love the idea of a series documenting an opponent’s perception/accounts during a war or battle. I’d love to see a video on this channel covering the German perspective on D-Day and that time frame. I’ve reads bits and short pieces of German accounts, but to have a video collecting and weaving it all together like you did here would be amazing.
Read Paul Carrell for German perspectives. “Invasion, They’re Coming” for DDay.
In the movie 'The longest day" there is a plotline for Plusskat, a German officer. Him looking at the sea from the bunker while the invasion fleet approaches is still a great scene
Re your comment about the Germans, did you know our govt & military leaders After the war was Over kept German POW's in camps and killed 1,000's of them by not feeding them, or giving them water or marching them in large groups till they died of exhaustion. They did this to them for years out of bitterness & hatred. Both parties committed unspeakable atrocities on the other. War is cruel and unforgiving, especially to innocent civilians like what's happening in Russia/Ukraine now. A world war is coming that will literally kill Billions not Millions is what the Bible says. Tragically sad. Mankind never seems to learn his lesson(s) and repeats history yet again albeit with new "players."
"The greatest story never told"... Look it up
This is the most concise and clearest description of the Battle for Iwo Jima I’ve ever heard. Good job!
A Tomb Called Iwo Jima is an amazing book. The author is a great person
I agree. I think I've read it at least three times. Very informative and absolutely terrifying. It gives you an unfiltered understanding of what life was like for the common Japanese soldier. It's an essential book for anyone interested in th Pacific War.
I was on the USS Suribachi very proud of my right to be free Thanx to these sailors soldiers and Marines air force. It could be a different world
The series on Iwo Jima has been high quality. Thank you for this excellent content.
I had A great uncle who was a first wave Marine. " He survived, Evo Jima, Guadalcanal Bougainville ". He never spoke of his experiences. I can only imagine the literal Hell that was Evo Jima.
This is a great but little seen perspective of such a costly battle. Great work, sir!
It is easy to understand only one perspective when it comes to war and especially WWII, however, It is only when you seek to understand both sides that you can begin to understand the shocking depravity of war. It is through collecting stories like these that we gain the most basic "understanding" of just how horrific the fighting in the Pacific was. The anguished accounts from survivors of the war are a grim reminder of the human cost we so often forget or overlook. Thank you for sharing the unique perspective of the Japanese - their stories are rarely told when it comes to WWII history.
Hell on earth as only humans can create. We are surprisingly dangerous to each other. Lucky we have plenty of good humans on earth. Our biggest problem are the elites. We give them power unimaginable wealth. All due to humans ability to love, hate, and fear. Hate and fear are the emotions the elites exoplanet the most. Sheeple only feel good if they hate, fear or are being told what to think.
So well said. Why is this not posted at the top. It is only as I've seen my own sons grow up through their 20's and now 30 that I can't help but imagine my son's stuck in these dire situations. And it's heartbreaking! Through this lens I know that this scene plays on the other side too. War is truly heartbreaking on a mass scale.
Remember, the Germans created zyklon B to "prevent undue stress and mental anguish on our fighting men, through the liquidation of women and children." The Japanese said; "I've got a bayonet, I've got a Chinese baby, what's the problem?"
It's good hearing the Japanese side, as its good to know the the misery and suffering they went through. I've read much on the misery and suffering they caused over the local population they ruled and killing for the sake of killing like these senseless battles that were lost before they begun. Any General with any humanity would've surrendered, but not these a-holes. The US was victorious but does Japan today look like a conquered nation? If Japan won, I shudder to think what the lives of those they conquered would be like. I have no sympathy for ww2 Japan and I'm glad they were nuked and their defeat was so complete that I hope the memory is burned into their culture for a thousand years. Yes, sometimes you need to go to war, but it's also important the way you wage war. Imperial Japan was an evil empire.
I got to spend a week on Iwo exploring when I was in the corps. Some of the tunnels were left untouched. So wild seeing the combats footage.
My uncle Jean Payne was a US Marine Staff Sergeant who was badly wounded there by Japanese artillery fire, shrapnel all over in his body and went through many operations.
Worthy work. This compliments well your regular series on topic, which I follow with interest.
Really enjoying your Iwo Jima series on both channels. Must’ve take a huge amount of research and work to pull off! 👏
Such a great addition to the main channel. To me Operations Room is finding a new niche for history focused KZhead channels with the way these two channels are connected with their content.
As always, another great video & description of what life was like for these troopers. I do hope your channel (both of them) expand to include descriptions of other battles/ wars, like the Bush Wars of Africa. Great stuff.
My great uncle was on iwo jima. The only story with specific details he ever told was how he was taking place in a battle advancing on a Japanese position under heavy fire. In the confusion he spotted what he thought to be a bomb crater ahead of him and ran to it for cover. After landing in what he initially thought was mud the smell hit him. He had jumped in a cess pit full of shit and piss. Nevertheless it gave him lifesaving cover but he spent the next couple days with dried shit on his trousers until he was able to obtain some clean(ish) ones.
🤢
Thank you for your efforts on this channel as well as over on T.O.R. channel. Quite a bit of new information I've never read/heard.
This was a riveting account from the point of the doomed defenders. Great video.
Love this channel. Ever thought about visualize the hunt of an U-Boat like the first one in “The Good Shepard” by CS Forester or historical convoy battles as brilliantly reported in Brian B. Schofield’s book? Thrilling stuff but hard to imagine.
This video is great and helps understand the bigger picture. It seems that loosing control of the air and water around the island critically weakened it. I always knew that line about how the Japanese had 40 years to garrison the island was ridiculous and that they didn't bother building defenses till after they lost Saipan, but I didn't know how much their construction efforts were hampered by supply ships being intercepted, which seems to have had a greater impact than the bombardment. Less supplies means less overall construction, and then prioritizing construction equipment and supplies means even worse health, safety, and strength of the soldiers building the defenses. Also, it seems that Mt. Suribachi fell so quickly primarily due to ammo shortages. The biggest takeaway from this video that I got is that supply shortages severely weakened the construction of defenses, and ammo shortages led to the loss of positions that were still defensible.
pssst. I'm not sure that "loosing" is actually a word but losing is the one you intended. It's a common and obvious mistake but your resumes will look better with the correct spelling.
@@emintey What are you talking about? This wasn't a resume. Also, "loosing" is a word (i.e. "loosing volleys of arrows), though it is not the word I intended to write.
@@davidhoffman6980 I'm just telling you that you shouldn't make yourself look like an ignorant ass if you want to be taken seriously, but obviously you are...stupid and unashamed.
@Edwin Mintey Except I don't look ignorant. I wrote an intelligent comment using my phone and thus missed that I had either misspelled 2 words or they auto-corrected to those words as I use them often. People do take me seriously. My comments on this channel get engagement and mostly well thought out replies. Yet you insulted me and implied that my 2 trivial errors (you only mentioned the word "loosing", but I also wrote "strengthen" when I intended to write "strength". I have since edited that one) were somehow detracting from my contributions to the discussion. You didn't disagree with my analysis of Iwo Jima. You just picked on my "misspelling". Anyone who studied spelling and had it drilled into him or her by rote, can spell and observe trivial spelling errors. It takes more more intelligence, critical thinking skills and knowledge to be able to make cogent analyses, and limit the biases in one's reasoning. So I challenge you to demonstrate that you are smarter than me; not by pointing out my spelling errors, but by offering your own analysis of the battle and strategic situation of Iwo Jima, with emphasis on the weaknesses of my analysis. If you can do that, then I'll admit that I look more ignorant than you, but if you can't, then I'll assume your comment was in bad faith.
My father was a WWII Marine Corps aviator. He, like almost every WWII Marine, had a very hard attitude toward the Japanese which persisted, for my father, into the 1970s at least. The generation who fought Japan in WWII gave the Japanese soldier / airman no breaks. No mercy. The Pacific War was "payback" for Pearl Harbor. Neither Americans nor Japanese, on Iwo Jima, expected any quarter or gave any quarter....it was a fight to the death. As a Marine Corps Captain stationed on Okinawa, I visited Iwo Jima in 1989 and stood atop Mount Suribachi, and looking North I could see 90% of the island. Visualize ocean to my left and right. Lined up below here, were THREE US Marine Corps Divisions, shoulder to shoulder, fighting forward.... the battle took four weeks and then there were still over 2,000 Japanese soldiers in hiding, who had to be rooted out (killed). Roughly the same CASUALTIES on each side; however, approximately 23000 dead Japanese and a handful of survivors; versus, approximately 8500 dead Marines and 14500 wounded Marines. Then, the US AAF developed Iwo's airfields into a B29 base and P51 fighter escort base, and Japan was further bombed into submission. Yes, the two atomic bombs came from Tinian. "Horrific" does not begin to describe the Okinawa campaign.
I was there in 1982. The vet I was assigned to told me things that were hard to believe. He told me to dig my hand into the ash as far as I could and pull out A hand full. Of course I did as he asked. I pulled out 3 bullets and some other shattered steel. He told me that wasn't even 1 step worth during the fight. I kept 1 of those rounds. I had nightmares of the story's he told me. I personally saw what hell on earth left behind.
WOW.. My father was 4th Mar Div .. 23rd Marines on IWO JIMA also.. 60mm mortars…. i attend the reunions every FEBRUARY at Camp Pendleton.. an incredible time for those MARINES on IWO.. GOD BLESS your Uncle…and all the brave men who sacrificed thier lives for our FREEDOMS.. SEMPER FI. 🇺🇸 🙏💖 🇺🇸
Brilliant. Thanks 👍👍👏👏👏👏
My father was wounded there on 6 March. Fourth Division marines. Iwo was probably the bloodiest fight in USMC history.
Wow John, your father and my Gramps may have known each other! I mentioned above that my Grandfather was also shot on March 6, 1945 On Iwo. He was a Private 1st Class in Company Foxtrot, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division (USMR). Marines delivered by APA 207 USS Mifflin as the right Assault Battalion on yellow beach, Iwo Jima.
@@loyalrammy let me do some research on my father's unit. 23d Marines sounds right.
@@johnparrott2052 Excellent!
This video made me subscribe, really cool to see another perspective on the other great video you made :)
My dad was a sailor on an LST that landed on Iwo Jima. His ship was to land at Okinawa invasion, but lost one screw on a coral reef. His ship picked up Japanese POWs from China and delivered them to Okinawa at the end if the war.
My father also landed on a Iwo Jima beach in an LST (LST 477) his ship was hit on the way in by a kamikaze and mistakenly reported sunk by the navy. That report was thankfully wrong the ship was hit by the kamikaze but was not sunk. I/we owe so much to these brave men they truly were the greatest generation and I’m so proud of my father and the rest of his buddies.
At 7:51 the Americans hit Suribachi so hard the Japanese had error artifacts on their left flank
Letters from Iwo Jima is a excellent movie about this. A rare view from te side of what then was the enemy. Seen with the movie Flag of our Fathers it becomes brilliant. Highly recommended.
Letters is quite good. Flags of our Fathers kinda sucks, at least as a companion film to letters. Letters is about Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective. Flags of our Fathers is about the trauma American soldiers suffered on Iwo Jima and the fundraising campaign stemming from the iconic photo of the flag being raised. The editing of Flags of our Fathers is rather jarring, too. One second you are in an intense battle on Iwo Jima. The next you are at a dinner party in DC. Such a wasted opportunity.
Thank you team Intel Report. A bright and friendly smile at 2:36
love the new vids man keep it up!!
Very well done. The information was very informative and factual, as well as the video content. One of the better productions of Iwo Jima I have seen.
I can recommend a book on this subject, called "A Tomb called Iwo Jima", it follows the stories and historical events of a few fighters, with plenty of quotes from them. Much of the book is about the time before the battle, still, it is worthwhile As for film sources, there is really only one, "Letters ftom Iwo Jima". I like it, although the timeline is quite messy When it comes to stuff alike Videogames, not one seems to really get it right. I guess that is because of the fighting largely occuring with Japanese defending bunkers, tunnels and caves, which would be rather difficult to replicate in videogames.
Rising Storm 2 Vietnam is pretty close to it.
@@dragonace119 Rising Storm is even closer, atleast in theme and era, being set in WW2, and featuring the battle for the pacific between US and IJ, in numerous battles, one of which is indeed, Iwo Jima. While the map design is in theory, proper, it really fails to display it accurately. There are no underground tunnels, and the map is on a somewhat steep hillside, such as which i can not recall existing on any part of the beach landing. To the map's credit, it does feature the steep sandbank on the beaches, and the concrete bunkers have been battered badly by artillery
@@darthmongoltheunwise8776 Yeah thats why I said Rising Storm 2 Vietnam since there's a beach landing map that has a lot of tunnels that go under a fortified hill.
Battlefield 5 had a Pacifc update earlier this year which added american and Japanese planes, and it had iwo Jima and Okinawa maps I do believe.. and on the iwo Jima map there were underground tunnels you can go through. You could even find a Japanese sword and do Bonsai Attacks and you could also be a flamethrower infantryman too
@@QCnc7OH4battlefield 5 was literally the worst depiction of Iwo Jima in any media. There wasn't any vegetation on the island, and the American side doesn't even have Marine uniforms. And there weren't females fighting on either side. That game was an abomination.
I’m 70, most of the male relatives in my family including my mother served in the military during WW2. I heard all their stories and never once thought what did the military of Japan live. I was enlightened when I saw Letters from Iwo Jima. Now I try to see this from both sides.
Fascinating video thank you!
Usually I hear battles from American perspective nice to have a channel that tells about the Japanese side of the war great job
I heard an old Marine vet who fought on Iwo recount the time a flamethrower operator's weapon malfunctioned. The Japanese ran out and dragged him in and tortured him to death. He said they could hear his screams all day.
Fuuurk that's terrible 😢
The original American flamethrower did not work as well as the Japanese model. So the US reverse-engineered the IJA flamethrower and modified it a bit. Those soldiers were getting burned out by an improved version of their own kit.
I watched that interview account on KZhead. It was horrible to imagine
My Father served on an LST - Landing Ship, Tank (What he called a Large Stationary Target) for the US Navy during WWII. I believe Iwo Jima was the place where it was destroyed. I am named after his friend who was killed by the Japanese on that island.
As usual we’ll done! This is amazing to step in the shoes of the Japanese. Keep them coming!
My grandfather fighting as a Marine in the Pacific is why i joined the Marines
Great presentation, I really enjoyed the composition.
I have wanted to hear stories from the losing side. Great video!
High quality content, very nice.
I always been amazed that our Nation could carry out such massive incredibly organized plans in the most remote unpredictable environments so far from home
My simple understanding looks at the calculations of stuff like how many eggs, cans of spam , so how many chicken barns, how many pig yards then how many acp 45 rounds a week do you plan on the guys using on the front lines. Something to think they had people doing cold hard figure's for every detail
@@phillipbanes5484 ummmm *cough cough" afghanistan
Excellent video! Thanks
I can see you having a show on the History channel. Love it!
man the general really demanded a kd ratio from his men O.O
Terrible boss,requires great results but does fuckall to help achieve it.
ofc ofc
@@naamadossantossilva4736 To be fair his hands were pretty tied. No supplies no support nothing at all but the men he already had on the island. If he wanted something more, he had to make it himself.
@@naamadossantossilva4736 On the contrary, his defensive preparations and strategy seem to have been quite effective.
@@naamadossantossilva4736 Huh? He was arguably one of the best military commanders in history...
My heart shattered when I heard about the soldier asking if his parents were here yet
Great work Thank you
Thank each and everyone who helped tell this story.
This is the first time I've heard much of anything about the Japanese perspective on Iwo Jima. Very interesting. One of my grandfathers served aboard one of the ships that bombarded the island...until a kamikaze hit her, and my grandfather had to help clean up. He apparently complained about it for years afterward. I keep hoping to find footage of that ship, but I keep forgetting the name, which doesn't help.
Awesome work.
My Dad was shot on +11 day. Bullet went through his bicep, almost bled to death. Woke up on Hospital Ship 3 days later. 4th Division. 24th Regiment.
Letters from Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood, is like top 3, maybe top 1, all time war movies. And you have to watch it in the original Japanese language as intended.
Love it! I bought the dvd many years ago.
Because the Japanese fought so ferociously on Iwo Jima, an invasion of the Japanese mainland seemed very unappetizing. Hence the 2 nuclear bombings.
Superb!!
Man , I thought I was having a miserable night. Now I feel a little better.
I'm deeply appreciative of these reports. We now know that incredible feats of bravery were commonplace on both sides in that awful cauldron we call "the battle of Iwo Jima" and, by extension, must also be true in others like Tarawa, Guadalcanal and Okinawa. Thank you so much.
The best videos on war are the worst of nightmares Thank you for this Iwo Jima series
Excellent
I worked with a veteran by the name of Jack Curl. Told me about Iwo.
The story about the LT punching all the new arrivals in the face is a huge reason why the war in the Pacific was so brutal. Japanese social structure was (and still remains so today in certain areas) straight up abusive, with the lower ranks unleashing their pent-up anger on the opposing forces, and civilians.
pretty similar to the usmc training doctrine. it's strategically ingenious.
@@simunator Not really. The purpose of the USMC doctrine is to break you down, and rebuild you into a proper marine. The Japan just broke you down, and you out like a rabid dog. This was evident from the initial conflicts the US marines experienced against the Japanese.
Yep it seems weird that one would point that out in the enemy and apparently not see it in his own military. It's pretty well known that the marines and many army units can be extremely abusive too from day 1 of training, and that armed forces just *are*, in general, nearly by nature : the need for strict "obediance" nearly commands it. Ofc US army will say that it's only a few isolated elements causing problems when something big comes out. One could not expect any different.
@@justalonesoul5825 and somehow we don't bayonet babies. Rape cities, or pillage. It's almost a miracle, isn't it?
For a Japanese perspective on the internal brutality of IJA watch the movie(s) the Human Condition directed by Masaki Kobayashi (1959). The movie has been heralded for being truthful about IJA.
Seems like a lot more marines would have survived had be just blockaded the island for as little as 30 more days. With their food/water and living conditions I imagine disease would have had a ginormous impact and our marines a much easier time of it. I wonder how much our Intel guys knew of the horrible conditions on Iwo? But we really needed the airfield.
About 1987 , drove my dump truck into a gravel pit for material. The old loader operator walked w horrible gimp and pain. He opened up, he fought in Iwo Jima, got burned from phosphorus grenade. As he laid on his stomach screaming in pain, a Japanese soldier began hitting him in lower back w/ gun but, cracking vertebrae. Attacker was shot, he survived but was crippled and burned. Tough old guy, hated Japenese.