SOFTCOVER EDITION
Getting the Job Done on Iwo Jima
No moment in American military history is more deeply stamped into our national memory than the flag-raising that marked the capture by U.S. Marines of Mount Suribachi, on the tiny Pacific island of Iwo Jima, in February 1945. The famous photograph of that moment, widely reproduced in magazines, books, films, and statuary, has for nearly two-thirds of a century stood as the quintessential symbol of American patriotism and Marine valor. This is as it should be. The gallantry of the small band of Marines who first made it to the top and raised the flag was undeniably crucial to the success of the invasion.
But that moment, which took place on the fourth day after the initial landing, was far from the end of the battle. It would take another month of fierce fighting, covering 5,000 rocky acres and claiming the lives of 17,000 more Japanese soldiers and 6,000 more Marines, before full victory was achieved. The capture of Suribachi, militarily and psychologically important as it was, was only the end of the beginning.
This book combines narratives by two Marines who landed on the beaches on the first day of the invasion and took part in the grinding combat to the bitter end. These two men lived through the most intense weeks of their lives within a mile of each other, but never knew of each other's existence until this book began to take shape. Each soldier writes vividly and memorably about achievements they can be proud of and traumatic experiences that made them into different men than they would have been without the war.
About the Authors
Howard McLaughlin was a Fifth Marine Division combat engineer. Because of heavy U.S. casualties in the early hours of the Iwo Jima invasion, he came ashore on the first day as a member of a machine gun crew. For the next month he destroyed enemy fortifications to enable infantry units to conquer the island, yard by yard. After the war, McLaughlin re¡turned to California, where he became a civil engineer. He had a forty-year career in high¡way construction followed by fifteen years as the owner of a Fuchsia nursery, and was active for many years as a volunteer in community service.
Ray Miller was an armorer with the 28th Marine Regiment, Fifth Marine Division. He landed near Mount Suribachi on the first day of the invasion. After the summit was captured he took part as an infantryman throughout the grinding northward march to overcome bitter Japanese opposition and conquer the island. Miller lived in Wisconsin and Illinois after the war and eventually moved to Maine, his present home. He became a skilled machinist, tool designer, and inventor as well as earning a de¡gree in Psychology. He is also a fine singer and has pursued a lifelong interest in music and music education.
