- Harlon Block was identified originally in the picture as Harry Hansen
- Iwo Jima translates to "Sulfur Island"
- The island stinks like sulfur
- There is no vegetation on the island because there is no freshwater source
- When my father visited, he found skeletons, c4, other explosives, ammunition, and coke bottles (I still have some). He has been there 3 times
- Iwo Jima was last battle before Okinawa. Okinawa was the last battle before the bombings on Nagasaki and Hiroshima
- Japanese would allow first wave of marines and then fire at the unaware next waves from little hidden bunker named spider holes. In the spider holes, they had 12"-14" shelves dug into the walls completely filled with morphine. The Japanese would drink so much morphine that they could be shot 7 or 8 times and not realize it. They would ultimately bleed out without knowing that they had even been shot
- Flamethrowers were hugely important for the Americans. Most Medal of Honors were awarded to those with flamethrowers.
- 27 medals of Honor awarded at Iwo Jima - most for any campaign ever
- The was no vegetation for the Americans to hide behind. They were essentially just sitting ducks waiting to die.
- The island was divided into two- Army side and Marine side. The army took left while the marines took right. The Army was accidentally shooting at the backs of the marines because the marines were so fast (same thing happened in Desert Storm. Maj. Tommy Maris's major project in the military was preventing that. It was"friend or foe" as he called it.
- Traditionally, navy would bombard an area for 7 days and then the marines would come in and sweep up. At Iwo Jima, they only did 3. This caused the marines to be unprepared in battle.
- US gave Iwo Jima back to Japan about 10 years ago
- The Japanese knew they had to fight to the death
- Sands would come up knee deep as you would try to walk through it. It was almost impossible to climb a hill in any timely manor
- The first thing they have you do after joining the marine corps is take you to see "The Sands of Iwo Jima featuring John Wayne." John Wayne played Sergeant Striker.
- Most fighting was up close or hand to hand.
- Numerous movies were created, depicting the battle (Flags of our Fathers, Iwo Jima: 36 days in Hell, and The Sands of Iwo Jima)