From Black Sands to Suribachi’s Summit
Marines Reflect on Historic Battle
Story by Lance Cpl. Richard Blumenstein, MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa, Japan
Photos by Sgt. Ethan E. Rocke
Sweating, huffing and puffing their way up the paved road that spirals up Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi, more than 60 Marines with the 3rd Marine Division made the trek to one of the most storied battle positions in American military history.
Leaders within the division’s command staff sent their Marines to the Japanese island to give them “a greater appreciation for what those Marines went through back in 1945,” according to Maj. Christopher J. Galfano, division air officer, Headquarters Battalion.
“Warrior reflection is something we need to do as Marines,” said Galfano, adding that Marines identify themselves with Iwo Jima.
The Marines walked from the airfield in the central part of the island along famous battlegrounds to the southeast, including the infamous invasion beach where Marines from 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions stormed ashore and where many tinged the black sands red with their blood.
Walking the battlegrounds, Marines saw machine-gun nests and cave entrances to a maze of tunnels dug by Japanese defenders years ago in preparation for the battle.
“It was reported by Marines after the battle that they could hear voices as they hugged the ground for cover,” said Capt. Michael C. Nesbitt, the division’s assistant air officer. “Those were the voices of Japanese soldiers moving under the ground through the tunnels.”
After walking along invasion beach and collecting some of its black volcanic ash – a tradition among Marine visitors – the Marines headed to Mount Suribachi on the southeastern tip of the island, where Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal made his famous picture, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.”
At its highest point, the mountain, an active volcano that last erupted in 1727, is 354 feet above sea level, and its vertical slope is 80-85 degrees in some places. The walk up the mountain was a sobering experience for many of the Marines as they imagined those who fought, yard by yard, to the top of the steep, heavily defended mountain.
“You get a sense of pride coming up the hill,” Nesbitt said. “Walking up Mount Suribachi, you get an understanding of how hard the Marines fought to take Iwo Jima. When these Marines see movies or pictures of Iwo Jima, they’re going to say, ‘It was every bit as difficult as that.’”
On the summit, Marines saw a number of memorials paying tribute to both fallen Marines and Japanese defenders, and the view from atop the mountain allowed them to see the entire island.
“I didn’t realize the challenge the terrain presented,” Galfano said. “Pictures and movies don’t properly display how hard it was for those Marines to move through the island.”
For most of the Marines, the trip was their first time setting foot on the island’s hallowed ground where nearly 26,000 Marines were injured or killed fighting 23,000 Japanese defenders during the 45-day battle.
“There are so many Marines that don’t get a chance to do this,” said Lance Cpl. Taylor B. Scribner, a data network specialist with the division. “This is something I’ve wanted to see since I joined the Marine Corps.”
Nesbitt said the trip was important because it allowed the Marines to reflect on the Corps’ warrior ethos.
“While most Marines have heard stories, seen movies or read books about the battle, they won’t fully understand the hardships those Marines went through until they walk up Mount Suribachi,” he said.
