The Real Men- Sands Of Iwo Jima

There are 16 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 5,522 times. The latest Post () was by Ben Cartwright SASS.

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    I wanted to jump into this thread because I recently created a website for my father, Sgt Leon Padell, and his men who fought on Iwo Jima.
    Dad always would point out the landing craft while watching "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and say we were right there!
    He fought and survived the entire battle.

    The website is www.hq224usmc.com there are actual battle pictures, some never seen anywhere else even in the National Archives as well as stories about and by the men who fought there.

    Dad was attributed a rare honor when 6 months after he died, some of his ashes were scattered by Harlan Glenn on top of Mt Suribachi.

    You can see the ash scattering ceremony on the "On Demand" on the Military Channel show "BATTLE RATS: Iwo Jima" it highlites the end of the show and is very stirring.

    Please check out the website as well as the TV show and let me know what you think, post your thoughts in this thread.

    Ben Cartwright SASS
    a good motto to live by
    "WWJWD"
    What would John Wayne Do"


    Ben,
    Thanks so much for this post, and your fitting, and truly sincere,
    tribute to your father and his fellows.
    You must be very proud of him, and I feel sure he would be equally proud of your tribute.
    It's a great web-site, and I am sure many of our members,
    will be so interested in this, and will respond accordingly.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited once, last by ethanedwards ().

    I hope I am not wrong in posting this here, but my father who fought with the 4th Marine Division, was a big fan of John Wayne partly because of the movie Sands of Iwo Jima. Everytime he watched the movie he would point at the landing craft and say "I was right there"
    This documents the path to Iwo Jima as seen by Sgt Leon Padell USMC from Parris Island to Camp Pendleton to Camp Maui and then Iwo Jima and home as a survivor.
    There is more on his website that I set up www.hq224usmc.com


    Turn the sound way up!
    [extendedmedia]

    [/extendedmedia]

    Ben Cartwright SASS
    a good motto to live by
    "WWJWD"
    What would John Wayne Do"

    Edited once, last by ethanedwards ().

    Jeff, Andy or Tom,
    As a retired GI, I have a special place in my heart for those who wear the uniform. Especially those of the "Greatest Generation" who fought and died defending freedom's cause in WW2. I must admit while looking through your tribute to your Dad that my eyes misted over several times. There's not a doubt in my military mind that your Dad would be extremely proud of your effort and the finished product that shows nothing so much as a son's lasting love and respect for his father.
    Jim

    Semper Fi

    De gustibus non est disputandum

    My father's friends were killed in Iwojima.
    However,my father kept his mouth firmly shut about the any details.
    It might be appearance of respect to soldiers who fought in Iwojima
    that the homepage of the force that fought in Iwojima.
    I thought that the Japanese had also to learn this.

    regards,
    Taka

    Sometimes kids ask me what a pro is. I just point to the Duke.
    ~Steve McQueen~

    Thank you for all the kind words. I grew up with Dad's Marine Buddy's around quite a bit, in 1972 I was going to join the Marines, but Dad said "it will kill you" and he wasn't talking about Vietnam, which was still going on, he was talking about boot camp, I wasn't in the best of shape.
    Instead I joined the Navy, serving from 1972-1976 as a US Navy Photographer.

    One of my happiest moments was being able to show my Dad the beginnings of the webpage before he passed away in the nursing home.

    He didn't wear the Marines on his sleeve but unlike so many others he had no problem talking about it if he was asked. He saw some really gruesome things, as he told me about his landing on the beach on Iwo Jima, as the landing ramp went down the first thing he saw was a good friend of his who had been cut in half by a Jap shell.
    After all he had seen he always had a tough time with religion and church going, he did it mostly for the family, since as he said he had seen so many good church going men cut down.

    Ben Cartwright SASS
    a good motto to live by
    "WWJWD"
    What would John Wayne Do"

    Quote from Stumpy

    A lot of good, brave men on both sides died on those Pacific islands. Let us hope and pray it never happens again.


    Thank you Jim, for this.
    We have members, from many nations,
    and we must remember at all times,
    that everyone's feelings are recognized.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Hope Ben doesn't mind me forming
    a thread for him, and placing his YouTube
    here as well.
    The YouTube forum is more for film/entertainment related clips,
    and feel something as serious as Ben's post deserves more.
    I have also edited Ben's post as his YouTube link
    somehow was disfuctional.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 2 times, last by ethanedwards ().

    Keith
    Thank you very much! I am honored and I am sure so are my Dad and his men.

    Ben Cartwright SASS
    a good motto to live by
    "WWJWD"
    What would John Wayne Do"

    If you want to read some of the stories of the real men of Iwo Jima see http://www.hq224usmc.com The website I did is from the American point of view, very few of the islands defenders survived.


    March 14th the new series "The Pacific" comes to HBO, check it out

    Ben Cartwright SASS
    a good motto to live by
    "WWJWD"
    What would John Wayne Do"

    I don't know of any single list of all the men who fought on Iwo Jima, there were Marines, Navy and Japanese.
    I do have the landing craft assignment lists for the HQ Company that I will be scanning and posting soon.


    You might contact http://www.fightingfourth.com this is the Official site of the 4th Marine Division in WWII, they are very helpful and made up of veterans from the Fourth, I am the son of a veteran and doing this out of respect for Dad and his men.

    Ben Cartwright SASS
    a good motto to live by
    "WWJWD"
    What would John Wayne Do"