Image courtesy of The De Grummond Children’s Literature Collection
Seventy-five years ago this month, the debut installment in the beloved children’s series Curious George, written and illustrated by Hans and Margret Rey, reached store shelves for the first time. Though the titular monkey with a seemingly endless supply of curiosity had appeared in an earlier collection of stories by the Reys — 1939’s Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys — in those stories the character of “George” had been known as “Fifi.” Hans and Margret — both Jews living in Paris — fled Europe after the Nazi conquest of France in 1940, escaping over the Spanish border by bicycle; the illustrated manuscript of the book that would be published by Houghton Mifflin the following year was one of the few possessions they took along with them.
Despite being the first book in a series that has been adapted into dozens of spin-off titles, cartoons, and animated films, the major characters and tropes of the Curious George books were already well in place by 1941, with The Man In The Yellow Hat having to rescue George after he first falls off a ship transporting him across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa and then from a police station where he has wound up after making a “false alarm” report of a house fire.
Image courtesy of Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, “Photo Number 98-2437,” Photographer Unknown.
To commemorate Victory Over Japan Day 2016, Jay Mehta of Overland Park, Kansas, a 10th grader at the Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri, composed this guest blog detailing his experiences after traveling to The National WWII Museum in December 2015 and hearing the oral history of Lieutenant Commander James Starnes, who was officer of the deck aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed to officially bring WWII to a close. Jay later continued on his journey, traveling with family to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to visit “The Mighty Mo” herself.
“Beaches and Battleships,” by Jay Mehta
History shapes our lives. This saying often refers to the decisions and battles of times past that are still affecting the world today. However, over the course of the past year I have come to understand another facet of this saying: that understanding history not only informs our decisions, but also inspires us to experience new things.
Last summer, at the National History Day competition in College Park, Maryland, I was one of 51 students (representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia) to receive the Salute to Courage Award from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. In December, we each represented our state at the opening of the Museum’s new Richard C. Adkerson & Freeport McMoRan Foundation Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries. As a part of the award, each of us was privileged to study the life of one veteran or servicemember from our home state. When I received the name James Starnes and began watching his oral history, I was immediately befuddled. I represented the state of Missouri. James Starnes was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia. It was not until the end of his fascinating chronicle that I understood why a student from Missouri had been chosen to study him: James Starnes was the officer of the deck and navigator of the USS Missouri, the ship on which the Japanese formally surrendered to the Allied forces, thereby ending World War II.
The research drew me in rapidly. I began to watch footage of the historic event to try to spot a young Starnes or some aspect of the scene he described in his oral history. I also emailed the archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, to see if the museum had any artifacts relating to the surrender, which happened during Missouri native Harry S. Truman’s presidency. Most interesting, however, were the facts I uncovered about the USS Missouri itself.
I began to wonder why the USS Missouri had been chosen for the surrender. This was soon answered when I discovered that it was Margaret Truman—the daughter of the then junior senator from Missouri—who had actually christened the battleship by smashing the ceremonial bottle of bubbly on its hull. According to Starnes, on that day Truman promised his daughter that “the ‘Mighty Mo’ will steam into Tokyo Harbor someday, with guns a-blazing, and the war will be over.” It made perfect sense, then, that four years later, when he was president and was choosing a location to mark the end of one of the bloodiest conflicts in history, he chose the ship named for his home state and christened by his only child.
I also began to listen to Mr. Starnes’s words more carefully. He mentioned that as officer of the deck his duty was to give the Japanese delegation the official permission to board the ship. He spoke of positioning eight men, each over six feet tall, at the Japanese entry point to project an aura of dominance.
He spoke of the infamous wartime incident aboard the Missouri when a young Japanese kamikaze pilot, en route to collide with the ship, was shot down. His plane left a dent on the side of the ship, but there were no American casualties. However, recognizing their shared roles as pawns in a larger, international game, the crew of the USS Missouri decided to honor the pilot with a navy funeral. Realizing they had no Japanese flags on hand, the crew stayed up all night sewing a red sun.
I read about how General Douglas MacArthur dropped a pen nib cover during the Instrument of Surrender signing ceremony—which took place on what would from that day forward be known as the Surrender Deck—but was not willing to bend down and pick it up, as it would seem like bowing to the enemy.
These stories filled my mind while writing my oral-history project. After it was submitted, and only a week before the Road to Tokyo grand opening, I received an email from the Museum that I had been selected as the student speaker for the VIP gala the night before the grand opening. Writing that speech in the next few days allowed me a chance to reflect on what I had learned throughout the process. However, what best gave me a sense of the importance of studying and exploring history was the experience of actually delivering the speech in front of more than 600 people. I was floored to see the knowing looks on the faces of veterans throughout the audience as I spoke naively of battleships and campaigns. I was warmed to see their smiles as I read a poem that was included in the oral history I had researched. I was especially surprised when, after leaving the stage and heaving a sigh of relief, I ran into a gentleman who turned out to be the chief historian at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (a National Park at Pearl Harbor). The next morning, I carried the Missouri state flag into the grand opening along with my fellow students with a new sense of its historical weight. On the flight home, I discussed with my mother how incredible it would be to actually see the USS Missouri at its resting place in Pearl Harbor someday. My experience at the Museum was over, but my journey aboard the USS Missouri had only just begun.
Fast-forward a month or two. My family was planning a spring break trip to Maui, Hawaii, and my parents told me we were planning a day trip to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Missouri and the USS Arizona. I was ecstatic. On top of being a WWII nerd, I could not wait to stand aboard the ship I had spent months researching. Finally, March arrived, and my family and I flew west toward beaches and battleships.
When we arrived at the Missouri, I was immediately struck by its size and majesty. Even by today’s standards, the Iowa-class battleship—the last of its kind—is considered a leviathan. I began to recognize many historical odds and ends I had encountered in my research. After a guided tour, I began to explore on my own. I went to the navigation room in the high decks of the ship and sat in what would have been James Starnes’s seat. I found the Japanese entry point where the tall men had stood (marked by two poles which stand closer together than the rest). I saw the dent made by the kamikaze pilot (which, after countless paint jobs and modernizations, still has not been removed). I even saw the place where General MacArthur signed the Instrument of Surrender and where the pen nib cover was later found. However, the most incredible moment aboard the Missouri for me was standing on the highest deck open for tourists, where one can see the USS Arizona Memorial, which I would visit in the coming hours. The green outline of the sunken Arizona can be seen directly off the bow of the Missouri. Some nearby guide was telling a tourist that the ships, one above and one below water, were positioned in this way so that the Missouri could watch over the fallen servicemembers still on board the USS Arizona.
This visual summed up my entire experience learning about the war in the Pacific. In one body of water off the coast of Hawaii, in one day, a person can visit a ship that witnessed the beginning of World War II in the Pacific theater and the ship that witnessed its end. To have stood atop both of those ships and to have captured a glimpse of war and its consequences continues to inform my decisions today. My oral-history project and my trip to The National WWII Museum served as the impetus for visiting Pearl Harbor. However, my experience at Pearl Harbor was also, in turn, deeply enriched by my oral-history project and my trip to the Museum.
When I left Pearl Harbor, I remember scribbling down a note to myself. While writing this blog entry, I found it and pulled it out. To me, it sums up how I felt immediately after leaving the park and what thoughts were rushing through my mind about the war in the Pacific. The note reads as follows: “The fire of World War II was ignited by blood and smothered by a signature.”
74 years ago today, the 18th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee was held with eleven-year-old Richard Earnhart from El Paso, Texas taking the top prize. Wearing ‘lucky’ Number Thirteen, Earnhart captured the 1942 championship by correctly spelling the word ‘sacrilegious.’ For his prize, Earnhart received $500 and a two-day trip to New York City. When asked how he was enjoying Manhattan, Earnhart replied that he found it ‘swell…but I would kinda like to get back to normal life sometimes.’
The National Spelling Bee would not occur again until 1946; Scripps postponing all future contests until the successful conclusion of WWII.
This post by Collin Makamson, Student Programs Coordinator @ The National WWII Museum
On May 8, 1945, World War II ended in Europe and this year, 2015, marks the 70th anniversary of V-E [Victory in Europe] Day. While jubilant celebrations took place throughout the world, others lived this moment in a more quiet and reflective way.
Yesterday we received an email from a WWII vet, blogger and former POW, James Baynham, in which he shared his own personal V-E Day experience.
Jim Baynham
James C. Baynham served in the USAAF as a B-24 pilot in the 445th Bombardment Group (H) in the European Theater of Operations. Baynham flew 11 missions before being shot down on September 27, 1944 during the raid on Kassel, Germany when hundreds of German Fw190 and Me109 fighters attacked his squadron. He was captured and spent seven months in Stalag Luft I.
Jim Baynham with his B-24 Crew. Jim is in the second row, second from the right.
The months between January and May 1945 were some of the harshest for American POWs in Europe. The severe weather, overcrowding, forced marches, and mistreatment by captors who were on the brink of defeat all took a physical and mental toll on the POW population. In Europe during WWII, 1, 121 American prisoners of war died while captive, most in the waning months of the war. By 20 May 1945, all surviving American POWs were back in US hands, some held weeks after war’s end by Soviet forces.
Baynham recollected on his whereabouts seventy years ago:
Tomorrow will be V-E day. And those days seventy years ago are surprisingly fresh in my mind. I was three weeks shy of having my 21st birthday and woke up the morning of the seventh in a soft feather bed in Wismar, Germany. It was a town that British troops had taken, and I had arrived the day before after trekking through about 60 kilometers of Russian controlled territory. Pat Murphy, a fellow POW and I had left Stalag Luft One and made our way to Wismar on our own. We weren’t sure how we were going to get home but we figured if we kept going West we would find American troops and now, lying in luxury, out of the dangerous land of Russian convoys and safely in Allied territory, we were really and truly safe and for sure would see those beautiful G.I.s later that day. About a quarter million German troops had come to this town also, fleeing capture, and certain death by the Russians. They probably felt as relieved as Pat and me, but they were camped in fields all around the town while we were snug in bed. In a few weeks we would be home, but right then, seventy years ago this morning, we were good!
On May 7, 1945, the surrender of Germany was announced, officially ending the European phase of World War II. Allied leaders decided that May 8 would be celebrated as Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day). Join us the first week of May as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of V-E Day with a variety of events.
Upcoming V-E Day Commemorative Events
Wednesday May, 6, 2015
Lunchbox Lecture Guenter Bischof presents “1945: End of the War in Austria”
H. Mortimer Favrot Orientation Center
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
The Republic of Austria was incorporated into the Third Reich on March 13, 1938, after the invasion by the German Wehrmacht. During World War II Austrians fought in the Wehrmacht, participated in the Holocaust, and suffered from Nazi oppression and Allied bombing. By and large, public opinion in the “Ostmark” supported the Nazi regime to the end of the war. The territory of what would be called Austria again was liberated by the Red Army from the east, American forces from the north, and French forces from the west. On the basis of the Allied Moscow Declaration, the Provisional Renner Government proclaimed the re-establishment of Austria on April 27. Four-power Allied occupation government was finally established in September 1945 and continued until 1955. The road from war to independence seemed interminable for the Austrians. Guenter Bischof presents.
For more information visit us here or call 504-528-1944 x 229.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series on World War II “Eisenhower The Liberator: A Panel Discussion” Featuring the Grandchildren of Dwight D. Eisenhower
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation and Q&A
Join us for an enlightening evening as the grandchildren of General Dwight D. Eisenhower come to discuss their grandfather’s legacy and his experiences during the war.
Moderated by Dr. Keith Huxen, the Museum’s Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Director of Research and History, the panel will discuss Eisenhower in his role as Supreme Commander and chief amongst the liberators—including his personal encounter with the Holocaust as he inspected the camps at Ohrdruf and Buchenwald. One of Eisenhower’s lasting legacies as leader of the Allied Forces was to force soldiers, civilians, and media to tour the sites themselves in order to have eyewitnesses, written records, and photographic evidence of Holocaust crimes.
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of V-E Day
Friday, May 8, 2015
On May 8, 1945, World War II ended in Europe. While the mood was exuberant in neighborhoods, work places, and with families throughout the country, it was a bittersweet day—war still raged on in the Pacific and many veterans recall that they were being re-assigned to prepare for the invasion of the Japanese mainland.
The Museum will commemorate this important anniversary of World War II with speakers who will recollect receiving the news, footage from newsreels from 1945, and historians reflecting on the meanings and legacies of Victory in Europe.
Programming
New Orleans Military & Maritime Academy Performance US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
10:30 am – 11:00 am
V-E Day Ceremony US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Ceremony commemorating the end of the war in Europe, featuring reflections of those who remember the events of the day. Panelists are Robert Wolf who served in Germany, Anne Levy who was hiding with her family in Europe, Gene Geisert who was on the Home Front. Led by Bill Detweiler, The National WWII Museum’s Consultant for Military and Veterans Affairs. Can’t make it to the ceremony? Livestream it.
Living History Corps and artifacts from the war in Europe Battle Barksdale Parade Ground
All Day
For more information visit us here or call 504-528-1944 x 229.
Charlotte Weiss is a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz. Her oral history can be found online at The Digital Collections of The National WWII Museum at ww2online.org.
70 years ago in April 1945, Allied troops across Europe continued to find and liberate the prisoners of Nazi concentration and death camps. The horrific extent of the Holocaust was revealed as people all over the world learned about camps like Ohrdruf, Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen, and Dachau. To many soldiers, including General Eisenhower, the discovery of these camps reaffirmed the Allies’ moral justification for defeating the Nazis and other Axis countries. The National WWII Museum has powerful stories from Holocaust survivors and soldiers who liberated some of the camps in its collections, as well as photographs, and other classroom materials to help teachers present personal stories and explore larger ethical questions connected to the Holocaust.
Survivors and Eye-Witness Testimonies
The Digital Collections of The National WWII Museum currently contains two interviews from Holocaust survivors. Eva Aigner was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937 and fled to Hungary during the war. Her detailed account of life in Budapest and the liquidation of the ghetto there is a chilling story of escalating and deadly anti-Semitic policies in Hungary, and her family’s desire to survive at all costs. Charlotte Weiss‘s compelling story includes meeting the infamous Dr. Mengele in Auschwitz and being liberated by the American Army. Both women went on to dedicate their lives to speaking and educating others about the Holocaust and promoting tolerance.
There are also several oral histories with US soldiers who vividly recount liberating some of the concentrations camps. For German-American Karl Mann, Dauchau was an unforgettable “example of man’s inhumanity to man” and soldiers like Don Jackson described making the German townspeople come in to the camp to bury the numerous bodies they found. Photographs of camp conditions can also be found on ww2online.org.
Other resources include the free downloadable lesson plan “When They Came for Me” which uses Pastor Martin Niemoller’s famous quote and sources about WWII resistance movements to explore questions about personal and collective responsibility about the Holocaust. A one-page fact sheet, WWII Timeline lesson, and a link to The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s traveling exhibit, Deadly Medicine, are also available to help teachers provide students with a basic overview of the Holocaust and Nazi racial policies, and an understanding of these within the larger context of the war.
Vought Corsair skimming clouds at 400 miles per hour. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, Gift of Mary Noble, from the collection of The National WWII Museum.
One of WWII’s most iconic “warbirds” was the Corsair, manufactured from 1942 until 1953, with more than over 12,000 planes produced. The carrier-based F4U Corsair was used by the US Navy and Marine Corps, particularly in the Pacific Theater campaign. On the Corsair’s maiden flight, she broke the speed record for a single-seat fighter aircraft by exceeding 400 mph in level flight.
Pratt & Whitney produced the R-2800-18W engines for the aircraft, producing up to 2,450 horsepower. The Vought F4U Corsair on permanent display in The National WWII Museum’s US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center has been made possible through a generous gift by Pratt & Whitney.
Pratt & Whitney Donor Spotlight
David Hess
Former Pratt & Whitney President David Hess, a member of the Museum’s Board of Trustees, and now UTC Aerospace Business Development Senior Vice President, played a key role in the sponsorship of the plane. David has spent his entire career at United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney’s parent company. He spent his first 30 years at Hamilton Sundstrand before becoming Pratt & Whitney President in 2009. He was named to his current role in January 2015.
After learning of UTC’s support of the Museum, and his own reflections on the role Pratt & Whitney played in the war effort and its continued role in protecting the country’s freedom, David decided the Museum was a cause he would like to support.
Without question, Pratt & Whitney was instrumental in helping the United States win WWII. The company built almost half of all plane engines used during the war. The demand for airpower was so high that the company expanded from building 5,000 airplane engines a year to 50,000 at the height of the war. Employment at Pratt & Whitney soared from 3,000 individuals to 40,000. According to David, “It was a very exciting time for us.”
Since this surge of production was such a large part of the company’s history, David understood the importance of supporting the Museum, and became a member of the Board of Trustees. Although he has no personal family connection to WWII, his father was in the Navy ROTC in college and caught the tail end of the Korean War.
The sponsorship selection of the Vought F4U Corsair was a very deliberate choice by David and the company. Not only did Pratt & Whitney build the engine, but also the company that built the propellers (then called Hamilton Standard, today known as United Technologies Aerospace Systems) is also a member of United Technologies Corp. David states that most aerospace parts were built under United Technologies during that time, which speaks volumes to the major role the company played in the Allied victory.
Roosevelt visits Pratt & Whitney
David notes that his relationship with the Museum is strengthened by the role of President Nick Mueller and his involvement in “taking the Museum from a sleepy little one, to one of the top Museums in the world.” He went on to say that Dr. Mueller’s passion and dedication is inspiring, and that his energy is a major force in making the Museum the first rate institution that it is. “The Museum is a wonderful cause and I support it because it is vitally important that today’s Americans, as well as generations to come, understand the importance of this chapter in history, and the cost of freedom.”
The Museum is exceptionally grateful for the commitment and generosity of David Hess and Pratt & Whitney in helping the Museum complete our Road to Victory capital expansion.
Sybil Chandler, a WAC from Baton Rouge, Louisiana served in the Philippines from October 1944 to October 1945. One of the highlights of her time there was a visit and concert by composer Irving Berlin. After the war, she tried in vain to return to civilian employment, but nothing compared to Army life. She later said about her service “On March 1, 1967 I retired from the US Army, after serving 20 years, 13 days and 6 hours! Enjoyed every minute.” Tucker saved this card from Valentine’s Day 1945. She was definitely a girl in the service!
In 1945, Mardi Gras was on Tuesday, February 13th. It was the last Mardi Gras during which official, wide-scale celebrations were cancelled due to WWII.
Smaller celebrations happened both in New Orleans, and by celebrants scattered across the globe. One such celebration was documented by members of the US Army 24th General Hospital stationed in Italy. Almost all members of this hospital, including were graduates of or medical staff at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 24th General Hospital embarked in August 1943 for posts overseas, operating first out of North Africa and then, in Florence, Italy, where they celebrated Mardi Gras 1945.
In addition to masquerading, the hospital staff performed a “parody in pantomime” (think Chaplin’s The Great Dictator) celebrating the Third Anniversary Mardi Gras Carnival of the Mystic Krewe of Snafu. The play was co-written by Captain Weiss and the cast were various members of the 24th General Hospital. Characters included Mussolini (“Benito the man who is Finito”), multiple Hitlers, Hirohito (“the Imperial Mosquito”), the Roosevelts, Chiang Kai-shek and wife, Churchill, Stalin and the Court of Snafu. The skit is introduced as:
“The Axis gets axed and exits in two acts or King Snafu
or
King Snafu and his Merry Krewe
Pull the Big Four out of an Awful Stewe”
Images from the Thomas Weiss collection can be seen online here in our Digital Collections. For more on Wartime Carnival see our flickr set and a previous blog post. “Long Live SNAFU, the King of Merriment!”
February and March mark the 70th anniversary of one of bloodiest battles in Marine Corps History: Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was of strategic importance in the Pacific campaign, as a potential base for bombers under duress in the long journey to or from raids on the Japanese home islands. The cost to take the 2 mile wide by 4 mile long island was high: over 24,000 American casualties. In fact, Iwo Jima was the only battle in the Pacific war where American casualties outnumbered Japanese. Through the sacrifices of our troops on the island and at sea surrounding the rock, the hard fought and eventual victory saved the lives of 24,000 US Airmen during emergency landings. During the next two months, the Museum will host a student webinar and an adult webinar series to commemorate the battle and those who fought tirelessly to take the “sulphur island.”
There’s a program perfect for students and life-long learners alike, showcasing the Museum’s collection and staff. Some webinars will even feature artifacts not on view to the public and connect with partner institutions to learn about their Iwo Jima story. All you need to access these live webinars is a computer with a high speed internet connection.
STUDENT WEBINAR Now All Together: The 70th Anniversary of the Iwo Jima Flag Raising
Featuring the National Museum of the Marine Corps
Monday, February 23, 2015
12:00PM – 1:00PM CT
Cost: Free!
On the exact date of the 70th anniversary of the historic flag raising, uncover the myths, history, and significance of one of the most iconic and powerful photographs of WWII. Students will learn about the importance of the battle for Iwo Jima and how the flag raising occurred not just once, but twice atop Mount Suribachi. Hear first-hand accounts from Marines who participated in the bloody 5-week battle and even a photographer who witnessed those dramatic few seconds that would turn into the most inspiring image of the war. Students will also travel to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia to explore some of their most important artifacts, the flags from Mt. Suribachi, and learn about their mission share the stories of the Marine Corps on Iwo Jima for many generations to come.
WOUNDED MARINES ARE HELPED TO AN AIR STATION BY NAVY MEDICAL CORPSMAN AND FELLOW MARINES ON IWO JIMA IN FEBRUARY 1945. U.S. Navy Official photograph, Gift of Charles Ives, from the collection of The National World War II Museum.
LANDING CRAFT SMASH ASHORE AT IWO JIMA ON 19 FEBRUARY 1945.U.S. Navy Official photograph, Gift of Charles Ives, from the collection of The National World War II Museum.
FLIGHT NURSE AIDS WOUNDED ON IWO JIMA BATTLEFIELD ON 6 MARCH 1945. U.S. Navy Official photograph, Gift of Charles Ives, from the collection of The National World War II Museum.
SOLDIER WITH FLAME-THROWER IS SUPPORTED BY MARINE RIFLEMEN ON IWO JIMA IN FEBRUARY 1945. U.S. Navy Official photograph, Gift of Charles Ives, from the collection of The National World War II Museum.
A WAVE OF CHARGING FOURTH DIVISION MARINES BEGINS AN ATTACK FROM THE BEACH AT IWO JIMA ON D-DAY, 19 FEBRUARY 1945. U.S. Navy Official photograph, Gift of Charles Ives, from the collection of The National World War II Museum.
U. S. NAVY CARRIER-BASED GRUMMAN FIGHTER PLANES SWOOP DOWN TO ATTACK JAPANESE INSTALLATION ON IWO JIMA ON 21 FEBRUARY 1945. U.S. Navy Official photograph, Gift of Charles Ives, from the collection of The National World War II Museum.
Hershel "Woody" Williams, Medal of Honor recipient, Iwo Jima.
ADULT LEARNING WEBINAR SERIES: THE 70th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA Cost: Per program: $10 for non members; free for members
Purchase the package of three programs and receive a $10 discount!
Hershel “Woody” Williams, Medal of Honor recipient, Iwo Jima.
Part One: Landings and Flag Raising—Thursday, February 26th at 12:00pm CT
Hear harrowing accounts of the initial days on the island, from the landings of the Marine divisions on the black volcanic sand to scaling Mount Suribachi. Discover the surprising story of two flag raisings, and how the image snapped by Joe Rosenthal became one of the most famous and recognizable photographs in American history.
Part Two: Valor and Sacrifice—Thursday, March 12th at 12:00 pm CT
Learn about the impregnable Japanese fortifications, caves, and tunnels and the slow capture of the critical airfields on the central and northern parts of the island. Explore the important role of the Navy and the American Indian code talkers in the advance of the battle through the Museum’s collection and expert staff. Examine the Marine’s bloody pursuit of the Japanese and eventual overtaking of the area known as the “meat grinder.”
Part Three: Victory and Legacy—Thursday, March 26th at 12:00 pm CT
Explore the final phases of the operation, and the last, desperate banzai attempts of the Japanese army to attack the battle-worn Marines. Learn about the importance of the island in the overall bombing strategy for the remainder of the war and why the Marines on Iwo Jima will always be remembered for exhibiting “uncommon valor” as a “common virtue.”
