IWO JIMA VETERANS OK WITH `LETTERS'.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
The World War II Marines walked out of the theater Thursday, lost in their thoughts until a woman in the lobby asked them for their take on the movie they had just seen: Clint Clint is the diminutive word for the given name Clinton and may refer to: People:
It tells the story from the Japanese perspective of the bloody, 36-day battle for the capture of that tiny island in the Pacific that was key to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. defeating Japan in World War II. The 2 1/2-hour movie comes on the heels of Eastwood's ``Flags of Our Fathers,'' which depicted the lives of the six men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi -- in one of the most celebrated war photos ever taken. ``I think this movie made them (the Japanese soldiers) more human,'' said 80-year-old Chan Bachtel of North Hills, who was there at 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. for the real thing as a 19-year-old Marine 61 years ago. John Welsh There have been several well-known people named John Welsh:
Old hatreds die slowly, especially in a battle like this where both sides often fought face to face. They weren't dropping bombs Dropping bombs is a bebop drumming technique developed and popularized by jazz drummer Kenny Clarke in the 1940s in which a drummer plays spontaneous, accented hits on the snare drum or the bass drum. from 5,000 feet or firing Scud missiles. It was up close and very personal. Kill or be killed. If anything, the old Marines said, ``Letters From Iwo Jima'' could help old enemies from that era understand one another just a little better. The Japanese soldiers had mothers and fathers, wives and children, waiting for them to come home safely, just like they did, the men said. They felt the same fear, shed the same tears when a buddy died. ``No side was lily white,'' Swerdlow said. ``There was good and bad on both sides, just like there is in any war.'' It was a shame, though, Bachtel said. ``If they had just surrendered This article has multiple issues: * It needs additional references or sources for verification. * Its notability is in question. If notability cannot be established, this article may be listed for deletion. , they could have saved 20,000 lives,'' he said. Still, it is a Hollywood movie, and not all the scenes resonated authentic, especially a part where the Marines are landing on the beach and quickly running across the black sand. ``We sank in that sand; we didn't run. ``We could hardly walk through it,'' Welsh said. At one point in the movie, he leaned forward in his seat and whispered to Swerdlow, who was a medic medic: see alfalfa. at Iwo Jima, that the attacking Marines weren't throwing enough grenades. ``That battle was won with grenades and flamethrowers,'' he said later over lunch. ``They needed more of both. But as far as acting and photography, I thought it was very good.'' Out of four stars, the old Iwo Jima Marines would give Eastwood's efforts 2 1/2, maybe three. But they all liked it better than ``Flags of Our Fathers.'' ``I tell you one thing,'' Swerdlow said over an iced tea and tuna melt. ``Seeing these two Eastwood war movies, I'm not joining up anymore.'' The other guys laughed. At 86, he didn't have anything to worry about, they said. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: World War II veterans went to see ``Letters From Iwo Jima'' in Hollywood. They are from left to right, Chan Bachtel, Dave Swerdlow and John Welsh. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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