When is a few square miles of rock and ash a valuable piece of real estate? When it lays between the Japanese mainland and American bases in the Pacific during World War II.
Every business day I'm twice reminded of the heroism on that seemingly insignificant island by driving past the Iwo Jima Memorial, immortalizing the raising of Old Glory atop Mt. Suribachi by five Marines and a Navy corpsman and serving as a remembrance to the sacrifices made by Americans on February 19, 1945 and for more than a month thereafter. The battle was like no other. Marines above terra firma fought an enemy sniping from beneath the earth. Because of this, Americans sustained a casualty rate of about 33 percent. Because of the tenacity and courage of the Marines, and the no-surrender mindset of the enemy, the Japanese survival rate sank below one percent. If you are ever confused on what drove Harry Truman to drop a giant bomb on Hiroshima, reread accounts of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Belleau Wood. The Frozen Chosin. Hue City. They all pale, though not in Marine Corps lore but certainly in the public's imagination, beside Iwo Jima. Semper Fidelis to all of my fellow Marines--stateside, in Iraq, Afghanistan, or points beyond--on this important anniversary. You have a proud tradition to uphold.
Sir,
My father served in the Corps in the Pacific, Korea and Vietnam. Regarding the Chosin Reservoir Campaign (he was fortunate to have missed that), I get goosebumps whenever I think of it or see it mentioned.
It is a DAMN shame events like this do not have the prominence in our history books that they deserve. I cannot put into words the revulsion that I feel for the left when they disparge our men in uniform, as they so frequently do. The loyalty of these men to each other is a totally alien concept to the Clintons, Kerrys and Moores.
Oh, but wait. 2008 Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has had a change of heart from the days she roamed the White House and she now loves our men in uniform.
However, when she was Bill's partner in crime and a high ranking General wished her a good day whilst wandering the WH halls, she went out of her way to tell him that she had contempt for him and for everything he stood for. Then told him not to address her unless she spoke to him first.
I'm sure some have all of the details but suffice it to say, the politically expedient Clintons still feel the aame way about our military.
These are very good stories. Most of what our media and our history text books want to focus on is slavery, internment of Japanese, treatment of indians. and the like. These are all part of our history and should not be excused but the good things that America has done should not be overlooked. Many thanks to flynnfiles for bringing the ligth to these stories.
Our history books growing up were written by anti-American leftists who tell sensational history. I can't tell you how disgusted I am when I encounter a young, impressionable mind, a senior in high school, or a freshman in college who has just began to develop political views and look at the world around him.
I'm not disgusted at the student, i'm disgusted at the person who tought them that America is evil. That we oppress other nations. That George W. Bush is stupid and is conducting a war for oil. That we killed thousands of innocent Japanese to flex our nuclear muscles during WW2, and that we continue to kill because we are powerful and we can.
How do you debate with a young person who's mind has soaked this up at such a tender age...who's been taught that we need to be compassionate and give our money to other country's because we are rich and they are poor. That our government owes it to others because of our oppressive imperialism. I am sickened by liberalism in this country. I'm tired of watching hardball and seeing James Carville pander to 20 year old college girls and have them cheer when he says that Bush is dumb. I'm tired of seeing the sacrifice of our soldiers' lives for freedom, disrespected and counted as just another casualty for "Bush's war".
How many Michael Moore's does it take for us to stand up and demand that these Marxist's be silenced? Why are they allowed to lie, why is Clinton allowed to lie, but when a man stands up for freedom, he is called a liar, and trashed in the New York Times every day?
And we continue to put Marines on trial for protecting us and their fellow corpsman? We don't let them do their jobs! We send them over there to fight, and then second guess their every move! Let them do their job or bring them home! I'm tired of his hypocracy!
Christopher,
I agree that reflexive, irrational, anti-Americanism is dihonest and anti-intellecual.
However, just as dishonest is the seemingly obligatory hyper-patriotism of the so-called "Right" in the US - folks who recoil in horror whenever someone attempts to point out some of the facts about America's past foreign policy indiscretions. Or, God forbid, particularly in our current climate, suggest in the least that we are not hated in the world for who we are, but for what we do. These people react to a current or historical criticism of American policy as some sort of personal attack.
The fact is, that the United States has launched unconstitutional, illegal, and essentially imperialistic wars in the past. That thousands of innocent Japense did die from the dropping of the atomic bomb. That the United States did apply a double standard to the behavior of the British and German navies durin World War I -- that we actively supported a British blockade of Germany that resulted in famine, starvation, and the death of thousands of innocent German men, women, and children -- all the while deploring the U-boat.
Recognizing reality does not make one a part of the "hate America" crowd. Patriots should recognize the past, particularly the errors, in order to spare future generations.
On the decision to drop the atomic bomb, I commend this article by Ralph Raico to all of you.
Raico doesn't mention it in this piece, but when I read Thomas Fleming's New Dealer's War, I remember him discussing the fact that one of the atomic bombs (dropped on Nagasaki, I think) annihilated Japan's Catholic Christian community.
Note also, in Raico's piece, the revulsion on the Old Right at the nuclear holocaust.
James,
I will never apolgize for being America first. We have given more money and help to other countries than any other in modern history.
Further, i'm sure you know this point of view, but if we didn't drop the bomb on Japan, thousands of Americans would have died in a land invasion.
Like Pearl Harbor, we were attacked first on 9/11. Our actions now are reactionary, just as they were then. Has the United States always done the right thing? Probably not. But we have a better track record than any other super power.
"Further, i'm sure you know this point of view, but if we didn't drop the bomb on Japan, thousands of Americans would have died in a land invasion."
If you believe this, then you need to read Raico's article. I'd also recommend the latter chapters of Thomas Fleming's The New Dealer's War on this issue.
Pearl Harbor - an attack on a military target -does not justify the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians (the atomic bomb was just one example of Allied atrocities during World War II, one could point to the firebombings of Dresden and Tokyo for additional evidence).
Truman's decision to drop the atom bombs amounted to a wholesale disregard of thousands of years of Christian teaching about just war and how a Christian nation should conduct itself in war.
James and Christopher
Interesting discussion. I'm not sure what the right decision was. I read the article that James posted. Here is an article that presents the other side of this. http://oror.esortment.com/presidenttruman_rywp.htm Again, this is to present some additional information.
