1945: Marine Corps Combat Correspondents and Photographers Tell the Iwo Jima Story
TSgt Keyes Beech, one of the first Marine combat correspondents to reach the summit of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, types an account of the battle for the heavily fortified, stubbornly defended crest. Beech’s unit took the heights on 23 Feb. 1945, after five days of heavy fighting.
Photo by TSgt B. F. Ferneyhough
From left: WO Obie E. Newcomb Jr. and WO Norman T. Hatch, photographic officers of the Fifth Marine Division, get together on Iwo Jima, 25 Feb. 1945.
Photo by SSgt Meyers A. Cornelius
Staff Sergeants Alvin Josephy, Toni Smith and David Dempsey were among the Marine combat correspondents on Iwo Jima. A radio specialist, Josephy carried the heavy equipment ashore to broadcast from the beaches. Click here to listen to Josephy’s reports from the Iwo Jima beachhead: http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/audio/leatherneck-salutes-iwo-jim...
USMC
LTJG Estella Malcar, a Navy nurse who arrived on Iwo Jima aboard an aircraft for evacuating wounded, is interviewed by SSgt Alvin Josephy.
USMC
Percy Finch was a civilian foreign correspondent from Reuters on Iwo Jima.
Photo by TSgt J. A. Mundell
From left: 2dLt Jim G. Lucas, the assistant public relations officer, 4thMarDiv; Chaplain Thomas Driscoll; and Capt Joseph J. McCarthy, who was wounded on 21 Feb. 1945 as he led an assault team to eliminate a strong Japanese position. McCarthy was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Photo by TSgt H. N. Gillespie
Sgt Richard “Dick” Mawson, a 4thMarDiv combat radio correspondent, records the action as Marines move toward the Iwo Jima beaches. His recordings will be broadcast later in the States.
Photo by TSgt H. N. Gillespie
The original caption on this photograph indicates that this is a cave area on Hill 382 where combat motion-picture cameraman Sgt William H. “Bill” Genaust was killed on 4 March 1945. On 23 Feb., Genaust filmed the second flag raising atop Mt. Suribachi with a 16 mm handheld Bell & Howell motion-picture camera.
Photo by PFC Robert Campbell
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Related Content
- Iwo Jima - From Our Archives (Photo Gallery)
- Iwo Jima - Rare Photos, Map And 21st Marine Regiment Action Report (Photo Gallery)
- Iwo Jima Today: Not Easy Then, Not Easy Now (Photo Gallery)
- Weekend Extra - Febuary 23, 2013 (Magazine Page)
- From Our Archives: Iwo Jima (Magazine Page)
Today in USMC History
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1900 - Marines landed at Taku, China, to establish Legation Guard at Peking.
Related Article: The Marines In China By LtCol C. H. Metcalf Marine Corps Gazette (Sept 1938)
Historic Leatherneck Magazine Covers
Leatherneck Staff Artist, Technical Sergeant Robert Fleischauer, felt that our July cover should be commemorative of the Fourth of July. Since the members of the missile units are probably the Corps' best rocketeers, he picked them to perform a standard Fourth of July action. Whether or not the "Honest Johnny" is useful as a combat piece is a matter for debate, but you can't beat it for morale." [July 1957.]
“The Join Up on the Nick” by Major Alex Durr, USMCR, a member of the History Division, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
Hospitalman Daniel T. Bobic, assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 3d Battalion, Second Marine Regiment, rappelled at the Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa, Japan, in late April, 2002.
The oldest post of the Marine Corps, Washington, DC, is celebrating 200 years of excellence. Posed near the Barracks main gate were members of the official Color Guard of the United States Marine Corps (left to right): LCpl Joseph N. Keough, rifleman; Sgt Blake L. Richardson, Color Sergeant of the Marine Corps; Cpl Gerardo A. Guajardo, organizational color bearer; and LCpl Gregory A. Serwo, rifleman.
GySgt Verlando Frazier, East Coast Food Service Management Team, looked ready to dig into some of the new items included in MREs.
This photo by Sgt Earnie Grafton of Marines from Fox Co., 2/4 shows varied emotions as they greeted the coalition forces outside Kuwait city.
A fleet of trucks was needed to transport Dr. Felix de Weldon’s original model of the Iwo Jima flag-raising statue from the sculptor’s home in Newport, R.I., to the grounds of the Marine Military Academy at Harlingen, Texas. After the statue’s arrival, a nearly around-the-clock effort by skilled workmen was required in order to have the memorial reassembled and ready for dedication ceremonies on April 16, 1982.
In April this year (1981), two squadrons of AV-8A “Harriers” sailed for the Mediterranean aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau. Purpose of the cruise was to demonstrate the Navy/Marine Corps team’s capability to augment naval forces in any area of the World on short notice and to provide at-sea training for Marine Harrier pilots.
The cover of Leatherneck’s Bicentennial issue is an oil painting by the late Colonel Donald L. Dickson, USMCR. The painting depicts General George Washington’s Colonial troops at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Va., during the French and Indian War.
Sightseeing tours for the men of the Marine Barracks, San Juan, Puerto Rico, include a trip to the El Morro Fortress. San Juan is now retired as a Post of the Corps.
The Marines in Vietnam have found that the programs which work best are those which operate close to the people. Our July cover is a mixed media (acrylic and charcoal) by Art Editor James L. Hopewell. It catches the spirit of Marines who enjoy their relationship with the Vietnamese around them.
In Naples, Italy, Marines are responsible for the internal security of the Headquarters of NATO’s Southern European Command, while the elite Carabinieri Corpa provides external security. PFC Robert M. Mallard’s NATO shield was admired by a Carabiniere as the two men prepared to take up their side-by-side posts at the entrance of the imposing NATO Headquarters, which appears in the background of this cover.
"We've Fought In Every Clime And Place": Stamping out the Caco Insurrection in the Republic d' Haiti.
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES: U.S. Marines And Miskito Indians: The Rio Coco Patrol Of 1928, published in the Marine Corps Gazette, November 1996.
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES: U.S. Marines And Miskito Indians: The Rio Coco Patrol Of 1928, published in the Marine Corps Gazette, November 1996.
January 2002: The Marines engraved another mark in the rich history of the Corps when they came from more than 400 miles offshore to establish a forward operating base south of Kandahar in the war on terrorism. The Marine CH-46 helicopter on the cover, photographed by PH1(AW/SW) Greg Messier, USN, fought in the desert sand to land and resupply Marines such as the ones (inset) photographed by Sgt Joseph R. Chenelly.
January 2001: This firefight during the Frozen Chosin Reservoir Campaign of 1950 was painted by “Chosin Few” veteran Jack Cannon, who served with Company B, 1st Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment and resides in the warmer climes of New Mexico. The cover was part of Leatherneck’s 50th anniversary salute to the Korean War veterans.
January 1992: This cover photograph of runners during Marine Corps Marathon XVI in Washington, D.C., was photographed by Sgt Deirdre Hallett.
January 1991: This month’s cover by Ross Simpson captures the Marines’ waiting-but-ready posture in the Middle East.
January 1982: Participants in the Sixth Annual Marine Corps Marathon presented a colorful spectacle as they began the 26-mile, 385-yard run in Washington, D.C., November 1, 1981. The cover photo, by Tom Bartlett, was taken from a bridge overlooking Highway 50 about a half-mile from the starting line.
January 1981: Nearly 7,800 runners participated in the Fifth Annual Marine Corps Marathon held in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. The oldest finisher was 78; the youngest was 10. Leatherneck staffer Ron Lunn pre-positioned himself near the Nation’s Capitol to photograph runners during their 14th mile of the 26-mile, 385-yard course.
January 1972: This month’s cover, by Marine Combat Artist Peter Gish, shows members of the New Corps sightseeing in the Old World. While on liberty in Athens, Greece, the 3d Bn, Eighth Marines, were able to tour the Erektheon Porch and Cariatides. The water color is from the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Art collection.
Originally Published December 1983 -- Something tells us that we could date the cover without knowing when it was published.
Originally Published December 1972 -- We're not sure what's more interesting, Santa or the old style gas pump.
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This November 1992 article in the Marine Corps Gazette looked at the uniform regulations of 1859 and the attempt to standardize uniforms within the Corps. Read the story and see more pics.
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