Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 19, 1991 TAG: 9102190167
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT MCCARTNEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: JACKSON, MISS. LENGTH: Medium
"I saw so many dead Marines I'll never see anything like that this side of the grave," said Rimmer, one of only two in his squad to survive Iwo Jima.
Survivors of one of the biggest and bloodiest battles of World War II, which began Feb. 19, 1945, say there are similarities between Iwo Jima and the battle looming to take Kuwait, and there may even be some lessons for the 17,000 Marines waiting in the Persian Gulf to once again storm an enemy beach.
Gathered at a beer-guzzling, flag-waving weekend reunion, they said the Gulf War has stirred the horrors they have harbored since 1945, horrors of leaping into a hole and landing on eight dead soldiers or looking over at your best buddy and seeing part of his head gone.
At Iwo Jima, a tiny Pacific island that proved crucial to successful bombing of Japan, Japanese troops had time to dig in and wait for the Marines, much as Iraq's Army has done, the survivors said.
And at Iwo Jima, two months of aerial and naval bombardment was thought to have softened up the Japanese. What was expected to be a four-day sweep turned into 36 days, claiming 6,821 American lives and four times as many Japanese lives.
"They have to go in and dig them out just like we did, and it's going to cost some lives," said Rimmer, 63, holding the bullet-scarred helmet that saved his life at Iwo Jima.
"It brings back all the memories. I saw some pictures of Marines under artillery fire, and I felt like I could crawl up inside this helmet and hide."
Iwo Jima, a battle of attrition rather than maneuvers, became a symbol of American valor, memorialized by an Associated Press photograph of the flag-raising on the island. Kuwait, the veterans said, will be different because there is more room to maneuver, more air cover and better weapons.
But storming a beach is still one of the most difficult and costliest ways to take ground in war.
"Hitting a beach is the hardest thing because you're so vulnerable," said Gene Davis, 67, a marine supplier from Metairie, La. "Everyone here can relate to what's going on in the gulf. If you've been in combat and seen your buddy die, you can relate."
"I have a lot of feelings deep down in my own heart for those guys," Davis added, "They don't know what to expect. We know what to expect."
"I hope they don't run into what we ran into," said survivor Harry Charowsky. "I hope they don't run into hell and high water when they go in, because our beach was littered with wounded 20 minutes after we landed."
Herman Johnson was one of only five in his company of 300 leathernecks to fight the whole battle - the rest were killed or wounded. He had bullet holes in his shirt and pants, but Johnson escaped without a scratch.
Fighting the Gulf War on the ground might be even bloodier, he said, because weapons are more accurate, and more deadly.
by CNB