Film stirs Iwo Jima memories.Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard CORRECTION (ran 10/24/2006): The wrong word appeared in a story on Page F1 Sunday about a ceremony honoring Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (ē`wō jē`mə, ē`wô), Jap. Io-jima, volcanic island, c.8 sq mi (21 sq km), W Pacific, largest and most important of the Volcano Islands. Mt. survivors. The sentence should have read: "The 36-day campaign was a symbolic win reflected in the famous Joe Rosenthal Joe Rosenthal (October 9 1911 – August 20 2006) was an American photographer who received the Pulitzer Prize for his iconic World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima. photograph of Marines raising one of two flags on the island." SPRINGFIELD - Tom Williams Tom Williams can refer to:
"For a 17-year-old Marine ... it scared the hell out of me," said Williams, now 80 and living in Eugene. "You could not describe the carnage that was on the beach or the carnage that took place, 24-7. No matter where we were, the Japanese shot at us. It was just horrific hor·rif·ic adj. Causing horror; terrifying. [Latin horrificus : horr  re, to tremble + -ficus, -fic. ."
Then Williams sustained an injury that will remind him of that day forever. "The Japanese were dropping shells right and left," he recalled. "I'll always remember this perfectly blue flash and then, in a millisecond One thousandth of a second. See space/time and ohnosecond. (unit) millisecond - (ms) One thousandth of a second, one thousand microseconds. A long time for a modern computer. , I was gone. It just knocked me out." Williams was hit by a mortar shell on the fifth day of the Iwo Jima invasion. He spent the next seven months recovering at a naval hospital in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . The former infantryman had occasion to look back on the bloody World War II battle Saturday, as he and six of his fellow Marines were honored in a Marine Corps color guard ceremony that coincided with a screening of the new film "Flags of Our Fathers" at the Cinemark 17 theater in Springfield. The movie is based on the James Bradley
James Bradley (March 1693 – July 13, 1762) was an English astronomer, Astronomer Royal from 1742. book about the six soldiers who raised an American flag on Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. Before the film started, Thad Lukasik, a Marine League member who helped organize the event, welcomed an audience that included veterans, Marines and their family members, plus a few surprised people who just came to see the film. "The veterans of World War II are leaving us too fast," Lukasik said. "I thought it would be appropriate that we honor the Eugene-area Iwo Jima survivors." Lukasik introduced the seven Marines to the sounds of sustained applause from the audience. A bagpipe bagpipe, musical instrument whose ancient origin was probably in Mesopotamia from which it was carried east and west by Celtic migrations. It was used in ancient Greece and Rome and has been long known in India. player and side drummer played "The Marines' Hymn hymn, song of praise, devotion, or thanksgiving, especially of a religious character (see also cantata). Early Christian hymnody consisted mainly of the Psalms and the great canticles Nunc dimittis, Magnificat, and Benedictus " and other songs, and a Marine Color Guard from the 6th Engineer Support Battalion in Eugene marched with flags and rifles. The ceremony made an impression on Alex Sotelo and Tyler Buchanan, both 14, two future Marines-in-training who belong to the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. "I think it's pretty cool seeing these Marines here," Buchanan said. "(Iwo Jima) was a great victory," Sotelo added. Many of those who fought at Iwo Jima were also in their teens. Lukasik said the average age of the Marines who served was 19. He cited other Iwo Jima statistics at Saturday's ceremony: 6,821 U.S. soldiers killed 19,500 wounded 21,000 Japanese soldiers killed Williams said he was too young at the time to understand fully the significance of the battle. The 36-day campaign was a symbolic win reflected in the infamous Joe Rosenthal photograph of Marines raising one of two flags on the island. It was also a huge strategic gain that made the skies safer for American bombers and paved pave tr.v. paved, pav·ing, paves 1. To cover with a pavement. 2. To cover uniformly, as if with pavement. 3. To be or compose the pavement of. the way for eventual victory. "The sacrifices that were made were immeasurable," Williams said. "I was ever so grateful to be a part of history, to be able to know that I did my itsy bit to help defend my nation against an enemy. If I had to do it again, I'd do it." |
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