WWII Marine Veterans Remember Iwo Jima

On December 5, 2022, Kim Monson presents special rebroadcasts of America’s Veterans Stories featuring WWII Marine veterans Al Jennings and Jim Blane. Both men fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest Pacific Theater engagements, and share vivid accounts of combat, sacrifice, and the brotherhood forged under fire.

Landing on Volcanic Ash Under Fire

Start listening at 3:06 – Hour 1

Al Jennings, 96 years old at the time of recording, recounts his path from an Oklahoma farm to the volcanic beaches of Iwo Jima. The third of three brothers to serve, Jennings enlisted in the Marines in December 1943, determined to prove his Marine brother wrong about being “too squirrely” for the Corps. Assigned to the 5th Marine Division’s 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, he landed on Iwo Jima on February 26, 1945, as part of the floating reserve.

The young radio operator describes beaches so crowded with vehicles and casualties that movement was nearly impossible. The volcanic ash swallowed feet with every step, making foxholes collapse as fast as Marines could dig them. Jennings witnessed the raising of both flags on Mount Suribachi and served 36 days on the island before returning to Hawaii. He shares the emotional story of a fellow Marine, a former paratrooper, who burned to death when a bullet struck his flamethrower, remaining unidentified until 1949.

“That sand over there, you take two steps forward and fall back one. It was so loose you couldn’t hardly walk or crawl.”

Al Jennings, WWII Marine Veteran

Strategic Context of Pacific Island Hopping

Start listening at 60:00 – Hour 2

Jim Blane, then 95, traces his Marine Corps journey from Peoria, Illinois through four Pacific battles. He and two friends hitchhiked to Chicago to enlist at age 17, eventually serving with the 4th Marine Division’s Engineer Battalion. His combat experience began at Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands and continued through Saipan and Tinian before the bloody assault on Iwo Jima.

Blane provides strategic context for the Pacific campaign, explaining how Tinian became the launching point for B-29 bombers striking Tokyo while Iwo Jima was needed for fighter escort range. He describes Japanese General Kuribayashi, trained at Fort Leavenworth, who constructed 16 miles of caves and tunnels that made the island a fortress. On D-Day, Blane went ashore at midnight with his commanding officer, later pulling bodies from the surf to clear landing zones.

The battle cost 2,000 Marines in the first two days alone. Blane notes that 27 Medals of Honor were awarded at Iwo Jima, a world record for an eight-square-mile battlefield. He credits the atomic bombs with saving countless American and Japanese lives that would have been lost in a mainland invasion.

“27 Medals of Honor were issued in that single battle, which is a world record for an eight square mile island.”

Jim Blane, WWII Marine Veteran