Color footage of Iwo Jima

2,037 Views | 5 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Aggies Revenge
marcel ledbetter
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I found this video today and was impressed with the quality of the footage so I thought maybe some of y'all might appreciate seeing it. I've seen segments of it before, but in black and white. In color, the detail and clarity is much greater than I've seen before.

A few things that stood out: A sailor in a gun turret helping operate a pair of what looked like 40mm cannons while in shorts and barefoot. The scenes of the beach head full of equipment was new to me. It makes sense but was surprising how much material was packed into a small area.

In one scene, some stretcher bearers are transporting a casualty as an artillery shell screams in. They drop the stretcher with the man on it and dive for cover just before the shell explodes in front of the camera. The narrator said they were carrying a kia, but he didn't look dead to me when they dropped him. I think it was this footage that I remember reading that the cameraman was killed by the explosion.

If you haven't seen it, its well worth checking out.
Cen-Tex
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AG
Noticed the Sherman 'Zippo' tank. The flame tanks were used more frequently in the last two years of the war.
OldArmy71
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AG
Basilone's pack....
Cardiac Saturday
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AG
That was a tough 26 days at the office....
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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AG
Elmo Ellis, Austin, USMC, KIA, Iwo Jima
Iowaggie
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AG
I don't know how many have an interest on reading a little on the Iwo Jima survivors, but here are two that were published in Memphis paper. The one on Keep is an archived story, and he has since passed away.


Jimmy Keep
As recon men, Keep and Cirulla were among those charged with the task of clearing the tunnels. Every other day for about two weeks, they descended into the darkness to flush out the enemy.


The close-quarter fighting was beyond terrifying. Once, when Keep and Cirulla neared a corner in a tunnel, they knew there were many Japanese troops on the other side they could smell them.

Robert Arata

Fast, indeed. Back in the early days of World War II, the then-teenager from North Memphis signed up for the Marines and almost immediately was marched with other recruits down Main Street to Court Square to be sworn in. After training in California, Arata was shipped off to the Pacific war against the Japanese.

Serving with the Third Marine Division, he fought in hellish places like Bougainville and Guam. Then came the worst battle of all Iwo Jima.
Aggies Revenge
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AG
I think I posted these a while back.

These artifacts belonged to Isaac Hutchin, one of those Marines we all hear about but will probably never know the full scope of what he did.

He enlisted prior to the war and was stationed in China in 1938. A sick father and request for compassionate relief returned him stateside in the summer of 1941. Once the war started he joined the newly formed Para-Marines and conducted numerous raids with them. A sniper's bullet creased his skull at one point (we have the helmet liner).

When the Para-Marines were disbanded in late 1944, the were folded in to the recently formed 5th Marine Division. Now a Platoon Sgt, Hutchin went into the fight in Iwo having survived 3 years of fighting.


Helmet liner, combat knife (a bayonet, Hutchin crudely fit with a metal hand guard), and newspaper article written about Hutchins when he was home on leave in 1944.


Paramarine Patch, EGA, and Photo Album that traces Hutchin from shortly after joining the Marines till airborne school.


You can see the bullet hole in the helmet liner. Blue Star flag that Hutchin's mother flew at home. If you notice 2 stars on it, it is because Hutchin's sister served in the Corps as well and remained until retiring in the late 60s.


Early War training


Sketch Hutchin made from his memory when a Japanese officer tried to dispatch him with a sword. Hutchin was a bit faster.




The face of a man who has seen 3 years of hell. Hutchin while home on leave in 1944.
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