Kestrel
It is the plaster working model used by the sculptor Dr. Felix de Weldon to create the more famous one in Arlington Va. Yes, it is plaster, and yes it is the full size of 32 ft. tall........ not that much rain here and no freezing temps so with careful care it stays perfect in all details. To me, it is even more compelling than the bronze because the matte green has a look of authencity to the uniforms and the detail is astonishing.
. My eyes glaze over the minute history buffs start giving dates and generals and timelines, but with as few dates and numbers as possible, the story of the taking of the island of Iwo Jima is this:
The island of Iwo Jima is the nearest of the Mariannas to Japan (approx. 700 miles) . The Us Government wanted this island as a stopping off place about half way between Us bombing bases and Japan. The orders were to take Iwo Jima at all costs. Wake and Guam each took three days or less to conquor so it was thought that 3 days would be enough to take Iwo Jima, also. It took 36 days.
The island appeared to be bare volcanic ash with a dead volcano at one end. 100 planes bombed the apparently bare island and then the Navy bombed and finally sent in landing craft. They began landing without incident. There appeared to be no Japanesse left to fight.
Meanwhile, the former sulfur mining island of Iwo Jima was harboring 21,000 Japanese soldiers in more than 1000 connecting caves making a complete military base underground. General Kuribayashi, a samauri general whose family have been Samauri for over 600 years, commanded the island base . Note : not the diaper wearing samauri of movies but samauri trained military men.)
In order to inflict the most damage, Gen Kuribayashi waited one whole hour before he began bombing. At that point the troops on the beach had no place to hide and no where to go. The volcanic ash was too soft to even dig foxholes. The only thing they could do was to try to move forward. One soldier said it was like trying to run in the rain without getting wet. By sundown American casualties numbered 4,220.
The landing started on February 19, 1945. By February 23 rd a small American flag was raised on Mount Suribachiat one end of the island . This was the first raising of the flag on Iwo Jima, but not the one made famous by photographer Joe Rosenthal.
The Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, had decided the previous night that he wanted to go ashore and witness the fight for the mountain. (Not the final fight for the island, just that end of the triangular island where the mountain is ) Their boat touched the beach just after the flag went up, and the mood among the high command turned jubilant.
Forrestal was so taken with the event that he decided he wanted the Suribachi flag as a souvenir. The news of this wish did not sit well with 2nd Battalion Commander Chandler Johnson. The flag belonged to the battalion, as far as Johnson was concerned. He decided to remove it as soon as possible, and sent his assistant operations officer to the beach to scare up a replacement flag. As an afterthought, Johnson called after him, "And make it a bigger one."
This second raising of the flag is the famous photograph and the image that inspired the Iwo Jima statue. Three of the five men raising that flag died within days of the photo. In fact there were more Americans killed in that 36 day battle than Japanese. The Japanese troops never intended to survive. They were to fight to the death and each soldier was expected to kill 10 American soldiers before he died.
Actually about 3,000 Japanese soldiers did survive, could not bring themselves to commit suicide and hid in the many caves and tunnels, coming out at night to scrounge for provisions. It seems unbelievable but the last two of these survivors came out in 1951 having survived about 5 years underground.
In 1968, the island of Iwo Jima was returned to the Japanese and in 1985 a joint memorial service was held and a plaque presented with some message of peace and friendship.
To give some idea of the size of this memorial, the flag seen here is 12 ft by 16 feet.
The man in the front is Harlan Block, a native of Weslco, Tx. He is buried here.
It is very humbling to stand at that huge statue and know the story of these men.
We saw this little cat at the museum here. One side of his face is very dark, the other brindle. What unusual markings!
We also saw this variety palm tree that we had not seen before
It has little tiny .....I guess they are nuts like the nut that is showing them, but they look exactly like miniature coconuts,
Diabetic shoes? Sweet!
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