I have just
experienced a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon reading about
your experiences on Iwo Jima as recorded on the
internet. It is apparent that you were there at
approximately the same time that I was serving as the Navy
doctor on Chichi Jima, your neighbor to the North. My
tour on Chichi was from Sept 64 to Aug 66. All of our
support was through Guam, and I landed on Iwo Jima, both on
my way up to Chichi as well as on our way back to the
States.
Your story
brought back many fond memories, ie., the boonie stomping,
the green glass Japanese fishballs, exploring the island for
war relics, etc. However, it would appear that I
enjoyed my military tour much more than you did your tour on
Iwo. Having been on both islands, although only
briefly on Iwo, I can see why. The thing that made the
difference was the fact that we had a population of about
120 indigenous Bonin Islanders on the island. These
were the islanders who had been interned up in Japan during
the war, but because of their western ancestry, had been
allowed to return to live on the island even during the time
our Navy administered the island. These were a wonderful
group of people who I got to know very well as I was charged
with providing their medical care. Of course, I also
provided care for the Navy and Marine personnel, as well as
their dependents. I suppose we had about 25 Navy, with
about an equal number of dependents, as well as 25 to 50
Marines. Marines only stayed on the island for about 3
months, before rotating back to Guam.
The island of
Chichi Jima was originally settled back in the 1830's by a
small band of men from various countries, including England,
Spain, United States, Madgascar, Hawaii and Guam.
Originally there were no Japanese. Later on, some of
these men brought in wives from Japan. So there was a
real mixture. All in all, a fine grop of people.
So fine, in fact, that I brough one home with me as my
wife. In 1965, I was married on Chichi to my
wife, Elsie Savory, the great-great grand-daughter of one of
the original settlers. Although my original assignment to
Chichi was only one year, I later extended my tour by an
additional year, thus I spent my entire active duty tour on
Chichi Jima. I continue to consider that the best two
years of my life. Chichi reverted back to Japan in
1968.
My most
memorable event of my Navy tour was getting to stand on top
of Mt Suribachi. It happened this way. My wife
and I flew on the Navy HU-16 to Guam, and then on to
Japan. On the return trip, on the way back up to
Chichi, we stopped at Iwo for fuel. When we got back
up to Chichi, the weather conditions were poor visibility,
and rough water in the harbor. The pilot elected to go
back to Iwo and we had to spend the night there. The
next day the weather was still unfavorable at Chichi so
while we were waiting for things to clear up, the Air Force
officer in charge at Iwo offered to take my wife and I up to
Suribachi in his Jeep. It was in February, 1965,
exactly 20 years after the invasion. It was breezy up
there, and too cool for comfort, but very clear. I
remember the monument with the American flag waving, and the
sound of the brass fittings of the flag pole banging in the
breeze. Even today, when I hear that sound, my mind
goes back to Iwo Jima. Looking down at that
invasion beach was the most awe inspiring experience of
my life.
Are you aware
of the web site on the internet that gives you an amazingly
detailed satellite view of Iwo Jima as it exists
today. You can even see the numbers on the
runway. If you have not seen it, let me know and I
will tell you how to get there.
Another thing
that helped make my tour enjoyable, was the fact that I had
amateur radio available to me. I was able to make many
phone patches into the States for me and other personnel
there. In fact, I frequently tallked to Iwo, mainly
the Coast Guard Loran Station there, but sometimes the
Air Force. We usually talked to Iwo and Kwajelein at
night when the radio propagation into the States was
down. We usually would commiserate, and compare notes
as to who had the shortest time to go. Some
times we would trade movies using the Navy plane on its way
to and from Chichi. Also audio tapes. Yes,
we also all had Akai and Sony reel-to-reel
recorders. We duped a lot of Iwo Tapes which we
played continuously in our mess hall. Someone on Iwo
sent me a bunch of large AFRTS records from their radio
station there. I still have some of those records
stored in my basement. (Iwo didn't want them
back.)
That's enough
for now. Thanks again for the memories.
John L. Wick,
M.D. (Retired)
Note:
To view images taken by the web master of World War II
Stories -- In Their Own Words during his year on Iwo Jima,
please click on the following link to my World War II
Stories Photo Album:
WW
II Stories: Iwo Jima Photo Album
1965-1966
Did YOU serve on Iwo Jima?
Did you
know that there is a group of veterans who have gotten
together to form an association of servicemen, no matter
what branch of service, who served at one time or another
starting at the invasion of the island on February 19, 1945
and continuing until the island was eventually returned to
the Japanese in 1968?
Iwo
Veterans Organization
We, at
the Iwo Jima Memoirs web site wish to
offer to Mr. John L. Wick our most profound THANK YOU
for his poignant story of his personal experiences -- during
his tour of Iwo Jima and especially for allowing us to share
those memories.
Original story transcribed on 15 October 2006
Did YOU serve on
Iwo Jima?
Do
YOU have a story to tell?
Do YOU
have a picture or pictures
that tells a story?
Contact me, Joe Richard and I can help by
adding YOUR story to my site devoted to veterans who served
on Iwo Jima.
Check out my
other web site on World War II. Click on the Image
Below:
