Roy Exum: Our Flag At Iwo Jima Wednesday, February 24, 2021 - by Roy Exum
Roy Exum
This morning marks the 76
th anniversary of the sun coming up on Mount Suribachi and, as it lit the dawn, every warrior in one of the most merciless battles in the Pacific theater could see the American flag on the crest of the 554-feet-tall hill. The battle to secure the island was perhaps the most intense fighting in World War II.
Almost 7,000 Marines and Navy Seabees were killed on the heavily fortified 8-square-mile island between February 19 and March 26 in 1945 while the Japanese lost approximately - get this number 28,000. (Remember, in just five weeks!) Only 214 of the enemy were able to surrender after five weeks of horrors, with as many as 3,000 Japanese hiding in the 11 miles of tunnels on the three-by-five-mile island.
Keelan: Celebrating diversity and inclusiveness on Nathaniel Boone Day reformer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reformer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Don t miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
There are dozens of Vermont organizations dedicated to diversity, inclusiveness, and the end of racism. The governor, as well, has created an office for such work, headed by Ms. Xusana Davis.
As we approach Nathaniel Boone Day, I wonder how many of these organizations and all Vermonters are aware of what Mr. Boone, now 93 years old, endured to receive the honor from Governor Scottâs proclamation of Feb. 17, 2017?
To fully understand the dayâs significance, one must go back to 1945-46 Englewood, N.J. It was then that a teenager decided that he wanted to go to college, but his family, absent his father who had passed away a few years earlier from injuries of being gassed in World War I, did not have the funds to send Mr. Boone to college. But there was the G.I. Bill, a government source of funding for veterans.