Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific [Hardcover]

Larry Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2008

The men who fought and survived the deadliest battle of the Pacific come to life in this powerful oral history.

On February 19, 1945, nearly 70,000 American soldiers invaded a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific. Over the next thirty-five days, approximately 28,000 soldiers died, including nearly 22,000 Japanese and 6,821 Americans, making Iwo Jima one of the costliest battles of World War II. Best-selling oral historian Larry Smith dug deep for exclusive stories from Iwo Jima veterans, including the last surviving flag raiser on Mount Suribachi, a Navajo "Code Talker," a retired general, two Medal of Honor recipients, B-29 flyers, and other die-hard Marines who secured the island. Along the way, Smith investigates the controversy surrounding the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal and presents the groundbreaking story of Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, rumored to have committed suicide rather than submit to capture. With dozens of photographs and maps, Iwo Jima is an unprecedented look at this pivotal battle and an inspiring study in courage, perseverance, and humanity.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An experienced interviewer of veterans (Beyond Glory, 2003; The Few and the Proud, 2006) now turns to survivors of Iwo Jima. There is no shortage of material on that brutal battle, but this book has one virtue that sets it slightly apart. Smith has cast his net widely and generated interviews with a wide range of veterans, so his book affords a broader-than-usual view of the battle. Marine riflemen are well to the fore, and leading them is Medal of Honor winner Hershel Williams. But navy medics, leaders of heavy weapons units, Navajo talkers, sailors on the ships offshore—especially men on those unglamorous but essential logistics mainstays, the LSTs—and air-force pilots who flew missions from Iwo Jima’s runways before the guns, and the Japanese, had cooled are all called to testify. Eminently readable and historiographically useful. --Roland Green

Review

"Larry Smith's interviews with the surviving American veterans and relatives of the Japanese defenders makes for fascinating reading and provides a sobering insight into the bitter Far East campaign. Iwo Jima is both emotional and compelling." Soldier Magazine --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First edition (May 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393062341
• ISBN-13: 978-0393062342
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb collection of personal histories, June 30, 2008

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific (Hardcover)

Author Larry Smith says it himself in his introduction: "This book does not presume to offer a definitive account of what has been called the thirty-six days in hell of Iwo Jima . . . Rather, it is a series of snapshots offering a glimpse into the lives of twenty-two men who took part in various aspects rof the conflict and how they have faired since."

It is a remarkable and remarkably well done effort.

Smith groups the twenty-two stories into seven topical sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of the battle, except for two which deal with the aftermath and the use of Iwo Jima as a base for fighters and emergency landing field for B-29s flying back from bombing Japan.

Smith is both an excellent interviewer and writer. He truly does let each of the veterans speak for themselves and tell their stories. What is a bit unique in Smith's approach is that he lets the veterans tell of their experiences on Iwo Jima and their lives since then.

It is sad in a way to see the contrasting photographs for most of these men as they appeared when young and in their warrior prime and now when they are in their eighties and nineties.

It is good that Smith reached these men before they passed taking their stories with them. It was a different America back then, an America when young men were willing to give their lives in the name of freedom. Smith doesn't ask these veterans for their opinion of today's American society.

Several of the men received major awards for valor. Almost all received the Purple Heart, the medal signifying that the holder was wounded in combat.

From the pre-invasion jitters to the post-conflict burying of the dead by the graves registration unit, Smith and the veterans recall the battle. Pilots who flew after Iwo Jima was won tell their stories as well.

All in all, a unique and well done collection of personal histories and well worth reading.

Jerry

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Old men forget, yet all shall be forgot but he'll ..., August 18, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific (Hardcover)

remember, with advantage, what feats he did that day."

Shakespeare was prescient with respect to 22 men who participated in this great battle, at least if they have an superb reporter like Larry Smith to listen to their stories and record their memories. Smith interviewed 22 men who were teenagers during that battle, "all in their eighties now." Somehow these 22 men -- and Smith -- make their memories fresh and true.

The book is divided into seven sections, each section focusing on from two to five participants. Throughout, Smith emphasizes four main themes: "the landing, the raising of the flags on Suribachie; the at times seemingly hopeless attempt to conquer the rest of the island; and the arrival of the B-29s, which had been one of the two major objectives of the invasion."

In the end though, Smith focuses on the stories of the 22 heroes of his book: "it is a series of snapshots offering a glimpse into the lives of twenty-two men who took part in various aspects of the conflict and how they have fared since. Their stories speak for themselves."

The words speak. The photos from 1945 speak. The recent photos speak.

Read and look. You won't be able to forget the "feats they did that day."

Robert C. Ross 2008

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We are indeed fortunate, October 22, 2009

By 

Timothy J. May (Appleton Wi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific (Paperback)

We are fortunate that Latty Smith took the time to search out and find these unsung heros, before they pass on forever, taking their memories with them. He packages the thoughts into 24 chapters, one chapter per individual. Not many photos in the book, the words expressed by the men in the stories paint the picture in your mind. In the end, Col. John Ripley ponders the question asked by the modern world, if the tiny piece of land had been worth the fight. Over and over he states that yes, yes it was worth the fight. And we must not let the world forget why we fought and why we sacrificed so much. Words that must not be extinguished.