Iwo Jim Entertainment In The Vietnam War

The fight for control of Iwo Jima lasted thirty eight days. Over that course of time the U.S. lost almost six thousand Marines with another eighteen thousand men wounded. The Japanese however lost around twenty one thousand men. This was the only battle during the war with Japan when the U.S. suffered more casualties than the Japanese. Being one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the taking of Iwo Jima served as a valuable lesson for the upcoming Okinawa campaign. In the weeks following, the battle fell under heavy scrutiny from the press and the public. Many viewed it as an unnecessary fight and loss of

In February of 1944, the U.S. launched Operation Detachment, an effort to seize control of an important island close to Japan. Iwo Jima could provide a launching point for bombers flying to the Japanese Home Islands and help to defeat the Japanese.

he Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the Second World War in which the US Armed Forces captured the Iwo Jima Island from the Japanese. More than 6800 American servicemen lost their lives in the battle and thus the battle has come to known as the deadliest battle in Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima was an island strategically positioned and highly fortified as its three airfields were used to stage attacks on the US at the Pacific War. It was therefore Americas target to capture the island and use it to stage attacks on Japans mainland and use the airfields as emergency landing strips for the US Navy planes damaged during war. According to The Washington Post a small group gathered on Thursday February 18th

Slowly but surely the American soldiers made progress and secured some of the airfields because by the beginning of March, two thirds of the island was captured by American soldiers because they had a strong Marine base and were able to push the Japanese back.

The military had a unique plan created by General MacArthur “to island-hop all the way to Japan, capturing each of those islands as they went” (Page 55). In Sioux Code Talkers of World War II, Page explains all the different islands throughout the world that the United States had to take back from the Axis Powers like New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon, and the Philippines. The United States also saved many people that had been captured by the Axis Powers. The Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the Philippines was a huge victory when they were able to save all the people captured within being deprived of food, water, and shelter; “Go to Manila, Go around the nips, bounce off the Nips, but go to Manila, MacArthur insisted” (Page 77). The United States traveled from island to island fighting the Axis Powers and saving innocent people from dying.

Who knew that such a small island could lead to the loss of so many? Approximately 70,000 Americans against 22,000 Japanese, the outcome was already known. The Battle of Iwo Jima was expected to last about 5 days according to “American intelligence”. It quickly escalated from February 16 until March 26 when the island was successfully captured by the Americans and victory was presented in the raising of the American flag. Every inch of Iwo Jima was known as a battleground and was also the only Marine battle where American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese. Although, a significant difference in soldiers was present, the Japanese put up a hard battle. (Cyril J. O’Brien, Military.com)

Eight ships were sunk and most of the others in the harbour were severely damaged by bombs or machine gun fire. The only air defence our allied forces could muster were ten fighter planes that engaged the Japanese planes. Only one allied fighter survived the first attack, with the Japanese suffering only 1-2

Entertainment during the war had been hard to find, as everyone fears for their safety, as well as the safety of those fighting the war. From what I have heard the soldiers have actually enjoyed some of entertainment of their own, while still fighting for the freedom of America. George Ewing actually recalled several instances where General Washington joined the men in playing Wicket, while stationed at Valley Forge. “Wicket was a form of cricket. Wicket required a long, shovel-shaped bat which was straight on one side and spoon-shaped on the other. The ball was bowled at the wicket which was defended by the player with the bat. If he struck the ball, he had to run to the base of the one who bowled the ball and return to the wicket” (Ledbetter,

The Island was approximately 760 miles away from south Japan. This was an advantage the US wanted because they could easily attack Japan. The Japanese island was heavily fortified with heavy artillery weapons, countless

Japanese Admiral Keiji Shibasaki, confident in his command, reportedly bragged that the U.S. couldn’t take Tarawa with a million men in 100 years.” The two mile long island was covered with Japanese pillboxes, coastal guns, antiaircraft guns, light tanks, and a trench system that allowed efficient defensive movements for the Japanese. Day one of the battle was where the problems arose. The unexpectedly low tide caused problems for the landing Marines because their vehicles could not reach the beach. The Japanese bombarded the stranded Marines and began diminishing their resources. Due to this problem, the landing Marines were forced to leave the safety of their vehicles and walk through chest high water to the beach. This destroyed a lot of the electronics that the Marines were carrying to the beach. Since the Marines were easy targets, the “shore became congested with disabled landing crafts and bloodied bodies, which hindered the dispatching of reinforcements.” On day two of the battle, the tide began to rises allowing the United States Navy to provide bombardment from its destroyers. Finally, the Marines were able to move into the middle of the island and start their offensive. The final day of the battle, November 22nd, 1943, the United States forces were advancing into the Japanese defenses. The Marines kept destroying enemy pillboxes and defensive weapons. By the

On February 19, 1945, four years after Japanese fighters attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, U.S. Marines landed on the Island of Iwo Jima, launching Operation Detachment. The Marines trudged through the heavily occupied island in an effort to make a stronghold atop the island’s highest point: Mt. Suribachi. Marines were certain that capturing this part of the island would give them the advantage over the Japanese troops that occupied the island. Destruction from the pre-invasion bombing by U.S. B-24 and B-25 bombers, as well as rapid fire from Japanese battalions, made advancement across the island nearly impossible. Then, on February 23, 1945, Marines reached the summit of Mt. Suribachi. A symbol of victory, strength and valor was

Brown led the Army’s 7th Division of three regiments of infantry, four battalions of artillery, the 13th Combat Engineer Battalion, and the attachment of the 50th Combat Engineer Battalion.1 Nearly a year before the battle took place, June 3rd, 1942, the Japanese seized Attu with only natives living there. The Japanese reestablished a base on Attu on October 29, 1942 under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Hiroshi Yanekawa.1 The Japanese set up strong defensive positions with antiaircraft and numerous caches of arms, ammunition and food spread across different locations on the island. U.S. forces did not have such advantage and had a difficult time with logistics due to the unforgiving elements. The islands beaches consisted of muskeg which created very difficult circumstances for U.S. vehicles that the engineers were crucial in resolving. Although the harsh climate and terrain caused many problems for both sides, it was more impactful against the Japanese due to the long period of acclimation they endured.2

The island was 350 miles away from their homeland ,Kyushu, making it a easy flight.The command of this invasion force was divided between MG John R. Hodge and MajGen Roy S. Geiger. Before the invasion they had dusted the area by land bombing before invading their mainland.The Japanese was led by GEN Mitsuru Ushijima with the number of 130,00 men. Japan lost a vast number of man due to the fact they couldn’t contend with newly trained troops. They were willing to fight to the bitter end instead of calling defeat. It brung honor to their family name to die with “pride” instead of coming home defeated. Some even committed suicide.

(jeff kaplan)The American military detachment at Wake Island surrenders.the Americans accounted for at least 1,000 Japanese casualties and 4 Japanese navy warships.

The Great War involved most of the adult population either 'head on' or discretely. On average, 6 million men served in Britain's armed forces during the course of the war. Many millions of innocent civilians had their lives affects to the overall changes, both economic and social that the war caused or added to. The impact of the war varied greatly between the different regions of the sommunity. There were many differences and considerations ; these being gender and social class, so it is had to dinstinguish and measure the war's exact impact on people's attitudes, beliefs and values.