HITTING THE BEACH at IWO JIMA Marine Recalls

#avc #history #military #militaryhistory #ww2 #marines

----------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------

[americanveteranscenter]

HISTORY LOVERS — before you comment, be sure to subscribe to this YouTube channel and ring the notification bell so you never miss a future upload!

[ericmichels]

I have nothing but respect for our greatest generation.

[robertkaler]

Thank you for our freedom, and bless those who did not return.

[imgoldleader]

When he said "Marine bodies in the water..." I missed a step and fell, but I'll pick myself up. I owe the Marines they saved my life.

[satyricon]

He is one of many reasons I always stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. This man went through hades to give me the choice to stand or sit.

[bkb]

My stepfather was in Iwo Jima, 5th Marine Division. Thanks for your service.

[guitarshredddddder]

Heros Never Wore Capes.
They carried M1 Grands.
& They led the way & Wore red white & blue

[TheEndisnear]

I have saw Iwo jima with my own eyes!! It is amazing how much death, destruction, heroism, terror and triumph that happened on that small rock. When I was in Navy our ship circled the island a few times dropping wreaths and paying our respects to both sides!!!

[eddiemanuk]

This amazing man will be very old. Can't believe how active and alert he is.

[tomato]

In this soft age, we have NO IDEA what these men went through. God bless them all with peace and comfort.

[LaVander-htne]

Thank you for your service, "Uncle".
My father also served in WW2, Navy, and last name Graves.

[hokage]

Its always a pleasure to hear old war stories. They dont have too much time left in life. Might aswell listen to them now before theyre gone.

[GlennMaske]

Thank you for your service During WW2 God bless you 🙏

[berniemadoff]

God bless you, Sir.
You're the Greatest Generation.

[AmericanBacon.]

GOD BLESS YOU MARINE!! without YOU SIR I wouldn't be here today, the greatest generation to ever live and BY FAR the BIGGEST HARRIEST BALLS of any generation NOW!! 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

[alanb]

The entire island was completely covered by the Japanese yet somehow someway Marines push forward. Incredible heroism and courage🇺🇸⚓️🇺🇸⚓️🇺🇸

[markshimaji]

Thank you for your service to our country 🇺🇸.

[yuritahdid]

Mr. Graves was an absolute beast with plot armor in combat! Thank you for your service sir! ❤

[Intim]

What they went through island after island was a hell that no one who wasn't there could imagine, the movies and documentaries and even the stories from those who lived it cannot give us who weren't there a true feeling of what it was to be there on the blood soaked beach with bodies all around and the chaos of nonstop machinegun fire from all directions and explosions everywhere and marines literally being blown to pieces everywhere. My grandfather and several of his brothers as well as his brothers in law served in WWII, I heard stories from each that I knew and stories about those who didn't return home...one story that really hit me was from my late great uncle Ken who was a Marine and made this journey through hell multiple times throughout the Pacific theater. I was really close with my great uncle Ken, he was my grandmother's (maternal) big brother and he really didn't talk much about his time in the corps and talked even less about the war until one day a few weeks before he passed he just started to open up about one specific landing which I cannot honestly remember which island it was and I wish we had the cell phone technology of today then because I would of recorded him but because it was unexpected I had no way to preserve what he was saying other than my own memory. What sticks with me the most is his description of his surroundings as he made his way onto the beach through the bodies of the fallen marines, the water and waves blood red and crawling up onto the blood soaked sand of the beach, the scent of bodies burning and a strong smell of iron from the blood plus the burning of wood and grasses just above the beach, tears ran down his face as he went into detail about what he seen heard and smelled...we had been sitting at the fire pit drinking a cold beer on a typical Minnesota summer day and the scent of the burning wood reminded him of his time in hell. After talking about the beach landing and the next few hours at the berm and eventually beginning to move inland he began taking about his days in boot camp and a friend he made there before switching to stories of the good ol days before the war. To this day I still feel honored that he trusted me enough to open up about the worst hours of his life, he never brought up his service again.

[mattspencer]

Thank you for your sacrifices Sir. You are a true hero