Recalling the bloody battle for Iwo Jima
By Diane C. Lade
Sixty years ago, young Allen Schweizer splashed ashore on the island of Iwo Jima, unaware he would become part of what would prove to be the Marine Corps’ bloodiest battle — and one of the most gripping years in the nation’s history.
Iwo Jima’s capture during the final months of World War II cost 6,891 American lives. The 60-year anniversary is one of many from the war that will roll like a military convoy this year.
In 1945, the U.S. flag was raised on Iwo Jima on Feb. 23; the Army crossed the Rhine; America’s president died; the Germans surrendered in the spring, and two atomic bombs brought Japan to its knees in the summer.
That year marked points of tumultuous change in the world that we can clearly see today with the advantage of time.
World War II gave birth to the atomic age, the United Nations, women in the workplace and much of our modern technology. Veterans like Schweizer, 83, sometimes seem almost surprised when…
asked to look back, they see themselves as players in such an enormous drama.
“It wasn’t about heroics. Don’t make me a hero,” said Schweizer. The Highland Beach, Fla., resident recently told his story for an Iwo Jima documentary, describing his terrifying demolition missions to flush the Japanese out of the island’s caves.
There is a special poignancy attached to this 60th anniversary year, however. The Greatest Generation warriors are dying. Their ranks will be even thinner when the 70th anniversary comes. With them will vanish their invaluable first-hand accounts.
The 3.5 million World War II vets remaining among the 16 million who served are dying at a rate of about 1,200 a day.
Veterans will be able to gather at six nationwide events the Defense Department’s World War II 60th Anniversary Commemoration Committee is planning. The first will be Saturday in Tampa. The committee picked Florida as the kickoff state because it’s home to a large World War II veteran population, more than 438,700 men and women.
Other events are planned later this year in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Diego, San Antonio and Boston.
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