July 2010
The Iwo Jima Memorial (also known as the US National Marine Corps War Memorial) was built to remember those who have fought so bravely and fallen in that historical and one of the bloodiest battle of War World II at the Pacific.
US launched an offensive on Iwo Jima with 70,000 soldiers on February 19, 1945. Capturing the island which was the base where the Japanese was launching kamikaze attacks on the US warships was crucial to the Allied Forces both to stop the launch as well as to prepare a base to launch Allied Forces bombing raids on Japanese mainland.
Defending the island, a total of over 6800 Allied Forces and 23,000 Japanese soldiers were killed. On the 23 February, Allied Forces captured the Mount Suribachi, the highest point at Iwo Jima. A group of 5 Marines and a Navy corpsman raised the American flag and the historical moment was captured and immortalised by news photographer Joe Rozenthal, which ultimately became the symbol of the war in Pacific.
Incidentally, 3 of the original 6 soldiers who put up the flag that historical moment did not make it and were later killed in Iwo Jima.
As I walked round the memorial, I just can’t help to feel sad that so many has to die to defend freedom and tyranny and all rather unnecessarily if only the human race knows how to control their greed for power, fame and pure insanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment