WEBVTT 00:00.137 --> 00:03.637 - I was 17 years old when I 00:05.843 --> 00:08.936 enlisted in the Marine Corps, and then from there 00:08.936 --> 00:13.103 I went to Parris Island and had boot camp training, 00:13.942 --> 00:17.775 and after that I left for Camp Lejeune 00:17.876 --> 00:21.709 in North Carolina, I was 17 years, 00:22.553 --> 00:24.868 and I can continued and after that 00:24.868 --> 00:29.035 I went home on a little leave, and then I went back, 00:29.473 --> 00:32.306 and then I went out to California. 00:34.075 --> 00:38.242 And after Camp Pendleton I boarded ship 00:38.608 --> 00:40.691 and came over 00:40.753 --> 00:44.836 and I went to Guam, 00:45.589 --> 00:49.422 which I was a liberator there. 00:49.910 --> 00:52.410 After I was in Guam, 00:53.775 --> 00:56.775 I was there for at least six months, 00:59.428 --> 01:03.211 doing the time I was in Guam, we were out looking 01:03.211 --> 01:07.128 for the enemy, Japanese, and 01:07.548 --> 01:10.548 at times we encountered them, 01:11.844 --> 01:15.927 but that went on after we had the island secured. 01:16.654 --> 01:20.821 And then, from there, to home base was six months, 01:21.339 --> 01:24.812 and I was over on Guam, 01:24.812 --> 01:27.455 and then we packed up 01:27.455 --> 01:30.591 to move out in, I think it was 01:30.591 --> 01:34.758 in end of January, and we boarded ship 01:35.138 --> 01:38.888 to go to Iwojima, and I was on Iwojima 01:39.331 --> 01:42.870 on the 20th, I was 01:42.870 --> 01:47.037 on the island here, and participating 01:47.069 --> 01:50.986 in the campaign, and I stayed here 01:51.568 --> 01:55.735 until the end, until we secured the island, which was, 01:56.207 --> 01:59.957 I'm not sure what day that was, but that was, 02:00.316 --> 02:03.891 it was the end of March, and when I 02:03.891 --> 02:08.058 came here there was, I didn't, myself, 02:08.176 --> 02:11.387 I didn't see any vegetation at all here, 02:11.387 --> 02:14.637 and I was with the 3rd Marine Division, 02:15.416 --> 02:17.583 21st Marine Regiment. 02:22.088 --> 02:25.792 It is different, there's vegetation around here. 02:25.792 --> 02:29.169 I don't think you've went around and planted it, but, 02:29.169 --> 02:33.336 it's here, but then, this is 72, or 73 years later. 02:35.808 --> 02:37.558 I'm 90 years old now. 02:40.162 --> 02:43.568 Well, my friends and that were after me, 02:43.568 --> 02:47.735 most all my buddies that I was here with, they're all gone, 02:48.396 --> 02:52.563 due to, not that they were killed in combat, 02:53.500 --> 02:57.250 some were, but the main reason is of old age, 02:58.926 --> 03:01.343 it'll catch up to all of you. 03:01.807 --> 03:04.224 Yes I'm, never in my lifetime 03:04.287 --> 03:07.370 that thought I'd ever come back here. 03:08.923 --> 03:12.383 My friends at home at that, and they found out 03:12.383 --> 03:16.550 about the tours and that, and they were encouraging me 03:16.898 --> 03:20.565 to come back here because of the difference. 03:22.325 --> 03:26.492 When I came and got off the ship and landed on shore, 03:27.726 --> 03:31.893 guns were blazing, all over, 03:33.078 --> 03:34.949 all over the base, you know. 03:34.949 --> 03:38.199 They're coming back and I didn't think, 03:38.248 --> 03:41.103 at first when I went home and that, 03:41.103 --> 03:43.686 there was times that I did have 03:45.240 --> 03:47.323 bad dreams about it, yes, 03:48.743 --> 03:51.876 and then, if you would have been asking me 03:51.876 --> 03:56.043 that question then, I would have a lot more to say, 03:56.722 --> 03:59.525 but throughout the day, 03:59.525 --> 04:01.573 and I was up on top 04:01.573 --> 04:05.740 by Mount Suribachi, and when I did land 04:05.961 --> 04:09.961 and come in, I was at the first airstrip, 04:10.134 --> 04:12.301 motor armor number one. 04:12.940 --> 04:17.107 And then I went to motor armor number two, but on, 04:19.054 --> 04:21.637 on the airstrip that was there, 04:23.229 --> 04:24.696 it was there that I could see 04:24.696 --> 04:28.029 the first flag go up on Mount Suribachi. 04:28.284 --> 04:29.390 - [Interviewer] So you watched it happen? 04:29.390 --> 04:32.973 - I watched, we could see. 04:33.251 --> 04:37.382 Today, that was so many, the bombing and that 04:37.382 --> 04:39.549 killed all the vegetation, 04:39.620 --> 04:41.288 which it did have something to do with it, 04:41.288 --> 04:44.228 but I thought there was, at that time, 04:44.228 --> 04:46.645 I thought it was the weather, 04:50.049 --> 04:52.049 because it was February, 04:53.076 --> 04:55.364 but I'm very much surprised 04:55.364 --> 04:58.908 when we come back and I see the green and that, 04:58.908 --> 05:02.741 which we didn't see, there was no hiding spots 05:02.770 --> 05:05.770 in that, where I came in and went up 05:06.678 --> 05:10.717 with the 21st Regiment, we were like 05:10.717 --> 05:13.838 out in the open, when we moved, 05:13.838 --> 05:16.921 it's what the Marine Corps taught us, 05:17.138 --> 05:20.471 move fast, and don't worry, 05:20.944 --> 05:23.031 if we wouldn't have wanted to move fast, 05:23.031 --> 05:25.186 they saw that we did move fast. 05:25.186 --> 05:28.519 I saw the first flag go up, 05:29.001 --> 05:32.501 and they passed the word around 05:32.638 --> 05:36.221 that, not that same day, the next day, 05:36.442 --> 05:40.609 that the Marines around the island couldn't see the flag, 05:41.651 --> 05:45.818 so they sent a runner down and picked up a larger flag, 05:46.797 --> 05:49.964 and the larger flag that you see today 05:51.664 --> 05:53.612 is the second flag.