Wow! Talk about a living hero. I am always amazed at the stories of both the U.S. and Japanese servicemen who fought at Iwo Jima. That is on my list of places I must visit in my life.
At 81, Japanese vet makes rare return to Iwo Jima
http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D93B6B400.html
IWO JIMA, Japan (AP) - The tunnels of Iwo Jima snake deep beneath the volcanic rock and soil, their entrances camouflaged by a dense tangle of vines and tall grasses.
In their stifling heat, Tsuruji Akikusa suffered months of hunger and thirst. The bodies of dead comrades lay around him. His closest buddy blew himself up with a grenade rather than surrender.
Finally, Akikusa was the only one left alive in his cave.
In May 1945, he says, U.S. troops found him wounded, unconscious and dehydrated. Out of 21,000 Japanese defenders of Iwo Jima, only about 1,000 had survived.
"But suppose everybody on our side felt that way?"
"Then I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way. Wouldn't I?"
Wow! Talk about a living hero. I am always amazed at the stories of both the U.S. and Japanese servicemen who fought at Iwo Jima. That is on my list of places I must visit in my life.
"But the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet withstanding, go out to meet it."
-Thucydides
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