CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan -- Nearly a thousand people were on Iwo Jima to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima Wednesday. During that battle in 1945, nearly 110,000 Marines stormed the beaches of the island.
III Marine Expeditionary Force, in conjunction with Marine Forces Pacific and the Japan Self-Defense Forces, coordinated the 65th Reunion of Honor -- the largest memorial service thus far to be held on the island -- which featured the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Japanese State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Wednesday. The ceremony was a solemn time for Japanese and American leaders who reflected on the relationship between the nations and how far it has come while honoring those who served on both sides of the brutal conflict.
"This year is significant because we have distinguished visitors from both the Japanese and American sides to include the Battle Colors Detachment from Washington D.C. and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Band," said Ishiki Masaaki, a community relations specialist for Marine Corps Bases Japan G-5. "There are also not many surviving veterans from the battle, so that makes it more important to everyone."
Each year, fewer and fewer veterans remain from the battle and so fewer U.S. and Japanese veterans are present to reflect and share firsthand stories of those who sacrificed all during the battle.
Joe Weinmeier, 83, is one of those dwindling veterans of the Battle of Iwo Jima. Weinmeier, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from June 8, 1944, to Aug. 15, 1946, clearly remembers his first visit to the island as a member of the 5th Division in February 1945.
"The ships were already (there) looking for battle," he said. Weinmeir remembered the "bombing and strafing to soften up the landing for us. We got there early morning and (the U.S. military was) just constantly bombing," he said. "They were just pounding and pounding and pounding, and I thought, ‘We won't have to go in there; they are going to sink that island.'"
Weinmeier said the first waves of troops began storming the island about 9 a.m. but his group did not hit the beach until about noon.
"The beach, of course, was just a shambles with disabled vehicles, dead bodies, even some of the landing craft that got hit by shellfire, there were bodies on the water," he said.
"We lost so many men that first day, that first morning, and so many wounded," Weinmeier remembered.
Weinmeier and 10 other veterans were among the many that flocked to the island Wednesday.
The ceremony included remarks by U.S. and Japanese dignitaries, a wreath laying, rifle volley and moment of silence. The significance of the joint ceremony displayed the growth of the U.S. – Japanese alliance over the past 65 years.