U.S. Marine Veterans Returning To Iwo Jima To Mark 70th Anniversary

Above, the famous flag-raising photograph by Joe Rosenthal on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima on Februrary 23, 1945.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima, U.S. Marine veterans will make a journey to the island next month.

According to the Washington Times:

A return trip to the scene of one of World War II’s most famous and costly battles will not be easy for former Marines in their 80s and 90s. 

But a group of about 45 American veterans of the battle of Iwo Jima, some needing financial help, plan to make the long journey March 21 for a 70th anniversary ceremony in the shadow of Mount Suribachi and the 1945 iconic flag-raising.

There will be no Japanese counterparts. The dwindling cadre of the initial 1,083 survivors, who first had fought in China and were older than the primarily teenage American force, have grown too frail to travel. But hundreds of bereaved Japanese family members will join Americans who also lost loved ones in the February-to-March 1945 struggle.

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