It's only been about five years that Weinmeier has been telling his story about his experience during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Not even his family knew.

"The majority of men just didn't talk about (war)," Weinmeier said, only a day after returning from his recent pilgrimage to Mount Suribachi. "My family asked why I never told them about anything and I said, ‘You never asked!'"

But for the past several years, Weinmeier became involved with The Greatest Generation, an organization that brings veterans back to their old battlefields. Being a part of the organization has taken him all over the world to tell his story and made him a subject in several World War II documentaries.

In light of the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, Weinmeier and 10 other Marine Corps World War II veterans returned to the island, renamed Iwo To in 2007, and shared their stories of what happened more than half a century later.

Still a senior in high school, Weinmeier knew if he didn't volunteer for the military, he would eventually get drafted. He didn't want to join the Army because his older brother was already serving there. His choice was the Marines.

However, his father would only agree to sign for him if he graduated high school. As soon as he graduated, at the age of 17, Weinmeier enlisted in the Marine Corps and was shipped off to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., on June 8, 1944.

Weinmeier spent two months at boot camp and was then sent to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., for about four months conducting nothing but weapons training, where he learned about and became familiar with the M2 A1-7 flamethrower.

On Dec. 1, 1944, he was put on a troop train and sent to MCB Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he would join the still-developing 5th Marine Division, 3rd Battalion Headquarters Demolition Platoon. 

"I heard the platoon sergeant yell, ‘I need a flame thrower!' And I raised my hand," said Weinmeier. "We worked and trained with tons of explosives every day."

Around the beginning of February 1945, there was all kinds of activity going on around Camp Pendleton, but the Marines never really knew what that activity was about.

"We knew we were getting ready to go. We just didn't know where or when," Weinmeier said while sipping on a cup of coffee. "Then, we were loaded up on ship and went to Maui (Hawaii) where we conducted more training and mock beach landings."

After a brief stop in Honolulu, the Marines were back on ship and two days after shipping out of Hawaii, were told they were headed to a little island most of them had never heard of, Iwo Jima. On the way, 5th MarDiv ships stopped in Saipan to meet up with 3rd and 4th Marine Divisions.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 19, 1945, the three Marine Divisions arrived off Red Beach, the allies' amphibious landing sight on Iwo Jima.

"Ships were already there, and the island was all shelled up," said Weinmeier. "We were told we were only going to be there for three or four days then we would be going to Okinawa."

Little did he know, he would be there for 36 grueling days, and in just the first day of fighting, 600 of the men around him would lose their lives.

"They waited for the first wave of Marines to get to the top of the mountain, and then they attacked almost completely wiping them all out," said Weinmeier about the Japanese defenders. "We were in the rear echelon and weren't supposed to go i n until later that evening, but because the first wave was hit so badly, we ended up getting called in early at around noon. When we started going in, the wounded were already being brought out."

Flame throwers were paramount for the progression up Muont Suribachi. Their job was to shut down the network of caves and tunnels, which was one of the defenders' advantages against the Marines.

In a classroom of the Headquarters and Service Battalion building at Camp Foster March 5, Weinmeier described briefly about what combat was like for him.

"It was unbelievable for an island that small to have so many people on it … all fighting," he said. "They were attacking us from on top of the mountain and from underneath. They could see us, but we couldn't see them. The daytime was nonstop fierce fighting and at night time, it would quiet down a little, but they would come out at night as well.

"Combat is a funny thing. You are always so busy. You had to always be alert," he said. "Your mind is so numb from everything that's going on, but you had a job to do and you had to keep moving. It became common to see a guy get hit with a shell or shot by a sniper. The majority of the time, you just took it how it was."

Weinmeier was good friends with Ira Hayes, the Pima Native American who helped raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi, Feb. 19, 1945.

"(Hayes) saved many men on that island," said Weinmeier. "He was a true hero."

Weinmeier knew this year's trip back to Iwo To would be emotional. He was reluctant to come back, but was told by other veterans planning to make the trip, it would be the chance of a lifetime.

"I didn't think too much about it, until I saw the island … then I fell apart," Weinmeier said referring to March 3, the day he flew on to the island's airstrip, as he fought back his emotion. "When I stepped onto the island, I dropped down to my knees and said a prayer for the fallen and that I was fortunate to have survived."

Weinmeier said he felt better after returning to Iwo To and towards the people he fought against 65 years ago.
"All these years, I always had something in my mind about Japanese people," he said. "But I know it wasn't the Japanese people who were at fault. I blame their leaders – their leaders who started everything, their leaders who convinced the people in Japan that we were bad – their leaders who took 27 months of my life."

After Weinmeier got out of the Marine Corps, he still didn't really know what he wanted to do as far as a career. He loved to roller skate and got a job at a local roller rink as a roller guard.

"I was actually pretty good at skating," he said with a chuckle. "My manager approached me and said I should try out for the roller derby. He told me I was young and single and should give it a try. So, I did."

He ended up spending three years on a professional roller derby team, traveling all over the country for regularly televised matches and performances. He married a girl from his team, got a job as a speedometer technician and moved to Denver. They had two sons, then divorced a few years after.

A year later, he would meet his second wife, Florence, and they would be married for 46 years until she died in 2007 from Parkinson's disease.

Weinmeier retired after 20 years as a speedometer technician and now spends the majority of his time golfing.

"A lot of the guys who came back from the war did not take care of themselves and suffered from severe depression and other mental problems," Weinmeier said. "I attribute my good health to my time in the roller derby. It was its own therapy because it was something I loved to do and it kept my mind off from what I had been through."

Weinmeier says his memories of the Battle of Iwo Jima are still very clear and he still thinks about it. But returning here with some of the men he fought next to for 36 days, has given him much needed and deserved closure and peace of mind.