SWJ Book Review by Bill Van Horn
With more and more of the World War II generation passing away, oral history has become an important component of much recent scholarship, adding the memories and experiences of those who took part in the battles to what might otherwise be standard battlefield histories. Interest in Iwo Jima was revived by director Clint Eastwood's two fine movies (Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima), so it seems fitting that a book would come along combining the finest elements of oral history with the conflagration on Iwo Jima. Larry Smith has crafted such a work with Iwo Jima. Any reader with an interest in how combat impacts the individuals involved, and in seeing how a single battle can touch many different areas of military activity, would do well to read and re-read Iwo Jima.
Smith's Iwo Jima is not a conventional battle history. Nor does it blend the two elements in the same way as Bill Sloan's works on Peleliu and Okinawa. In many ways Smith's work is similar to the oral history done by Henry Berry, whose books follow Marines in combat through World War I, World War II, and Korea. Smith allows the veterans (and a handful of others who have impacted the story of Iwo Jima) to tell their stories with a minimum of narrative intrusion. Smith's masterful introduction sets the stage, explaining for the reader both the basics of the Iwo Jima campaign and the narrative's organization. From there the reader is in the hands of the veterans themselves.\
Iwo Jima does a superb job of bringing together a wide variety of perspectives on the battle. Not only do we hear from regular Marines like corporals Richard Nummer and James Hathaway, but more unique individuals like Samuel Tso (one of the Navajo "Code Talkers"), Thomas McPhatter (an African-American Marine who served with the Eighth Marine Ammo Company), and Charles Lindberg (the last surviving member of the group that raised the first flag on Mount Suribachi) are also represented. Smith also brings in the LST operators (the men who ran the landing craft that brought Marines on shore), pilots and other aviators who landed at Iwo Jima during and after the battle (which provides an interesting perspective on the necessity of the battle), and closes with a section on the aftermath of the battle. Two Medal of Honor winners also tell their stories here, accompanied by the official citations for their medals. The section devoted to John Ripley and his attempts to preserve Marine access to Iwo Jima is (in this reviewer's opinion) one of the most interesting of the entire book.
All of the veterans Smith interviewed were in their late 70s or early 80s when these stories were told. Some have since passed away, never able to see their words in print. All were chosen, it seems, for their ability to shed light on aspects of the battle that may have been missed in other accounts, or to provide a variety of perspectives on the same subject (such as the interviews devoted to the flag raisings and Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph). What strikes the reader throughout is the modesty of these men. No matter their accomplishments (ranging from surviving the war to winning the Medal of Honor on Iwo), they all speak of themselves as "regular Joes" doing a nasty job that needed to be done.
With both officers and enlisted men interviewed, it is interesting to see the gap in information between the two groups. In most cases the enlisted men had only a hazy idea of their role in the battle, aside from who was next to them and perhaps an immediate objective. The officers tended to be better-informed, but still less than standard battlefield histories might lead one to believe. The fog of war hangs heavy over most narratives, thinning only when the distance between direct combat increases. This is most obvious when reading the air crew interviews. These men often knew more about the battle than the men who were fighting. Smith's multitude of perspectives helps the lay reader gain a new appreciation for the lack of information common to most battlefields.
In the final section of the book, Smith focuses on the fate of Iwo Jima in the postwar years, including the struggle to preserve U.S. access to the island. Smith brings out the strong feelings held by some of the veterans regarding the return of Iwo Jima to Japan in 1968, and also the efforts by Colonel John Ripley to create and preserve a Marine presence on the island. Ripley's account closes out the book, and his passion for the battle comes through in every word. Many might be surprised to read that the American flag now flies over Iwo Jima only one day a year, according to Ripley's account. Ripley also has strong words for those who try to downplay the importance of Iwo Jima as a strategic objective; a wise caution for those who might be tempted to examine history without looking at the context of the events. This last section shows how battles in one time period can create cascading effects throughout the years; a factor often missed in more conventional battlefield histories.
While focused on a "big war" scenario as opposed to a small war, Iwo Jima repays reading by any individual interested in combat and the impact it has on those who take part. It is also an important look into the minds of those who fight. Smith's wide scope of interviews gives a reader a unique look at the motivations of a diverse group of people and also preserves the context of their role in the battle. Read in conjunction with a more conventional battlefield history, it shows the gaps that appear between the knowledge of individual fighting men and the results of their battles. The "fog of war" and Clausewitz's friction are both apparent in many of these accounts. Smith's uncluttered narrative allows these men to speak directly to readers in their own words. And taken as a whole it shows the remarkable achievements of these men, called on to serve in one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific Theater.
Highly recommended.