The Millstone Times March 2020

Semper Fidelis By Pam Teel

Eighty-year-old Melvyn (Mel) Meszaros never forgot his Marine Corps heritage. Mel served in the Marine Corps from 1960 to 1964. He was assigned to the air wing division and learned aviation electronics and radar. He was dis- charged with the rank of Lance Corporal. Upon entering the civilian world he became involved with the John Basilone Detachment #190 of the New Jersey Marine Corps League becoming a Commander of the Basilone Detachment League. (Basilone was a hero of Iwo Jima who gave up his life on the first day of fighting on February 19th 1945. He served as a machine gun section lead- er with the 5th Marine Division. His actions helped Marines penetrate the Japanese defense and get off the landing beach during the critical early stages of the invasion.) Since boot camp on Paris Island in South Carolina, where he first saw the famous statue of the flag raising, Mel always had the obsession of wanting to walk on the black sands of Iwo Jima and climb Mt. Suribachi. The opportunity became a reality when he learned Military Tours was running a special tour in March 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. For $5,000 Mel signed up for the tour along with 500 other people including Medal of Honor recipients, celebrities, and dignitaries. There were also young marines who were spending 3 days on the Island of Guam and 12 hours on Iwo Jima.(Sightseers are only allowed to spend a few hours on the island.) While on the tour, Mel became close friends with Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lucas and celebrity Lee Ermey.

Mel, with hat on and leather jacket, at base of pole helping to raise flag. Walking on the black sand is something Mel will remember and treasure for the rest of his life. Since black sand is the only souvenir the Japanese allow to be taken off the island, Mel filled 2 qt jars of the sacred sand. Little did he know that he would be a part of raising the American flag once again on top Mt. Suribachi; he, along with Jack Lucas and the Young Marines that were standing next to the monument where the famous flag raising took place. A few feet away was a 25 foot flagpole flying the American flag and because the hoisting rope was dry rotted it broke and the American flag fell to the ground. Mike Kessler, who was in charge of the Young Marines, quickly organized a group to lift the 25 ft pole out of its sleeve in the ground. After laying the pole on the ground and getting some new rope to replace the rotted rope, the American flag was now ready to be flown again. The group consisting of 10 Young Marines, Mike and Mel, proceeded to place the base of the pole into the sleeve and raise the pole and American flag upright. Mel was 65 years old then. This flag raising was captured on photo like the first flag raising. The photo was taken by the editor, Lee Webber, of the Pacific Daily News making Mel the oldest Marine to raise the American Flag on top of Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, not on Feb 23, 1945, which was the first time, but on March 23, 2005. For the last twenty years Mel has been going back to Paris Island to honor the new Marines graduating from boot camp. Mel has lived in Monroe Town- ship for the past 11 years. Below is a brief history of the invasion of Iwo Jima commemorating 75 years in History. February 19, 1945, the United States invaded Iwo Jima as part of its island-hopping strategy to defeat Japan. Iwo Jima originally was not a target, but the relatively quick fall of the Philippines left the Americans with a longer-than-expected lull prior to the planned invasion of Okinawa. Iwo Jima is located halfway between Japan and the Mariana Islands, where American long-range bombers were based, and was used by the Japanese as an early warning sta- tion, radioing warnings of incoming American bombers to the Japanese homeland. The Americans, after capturing the island, weakened the Japanese early warning system, and used it as an emergency landing strip for damaged bombers. Iwo Jima is a volcanic island. Marines described it as a large, gray pork chop. The island was heavily fortified, and the invading Marines suffered high casualties. Politically, the island is part of the prefecture of Tokyo. It would be the first Japanese homeland soil to be captured by the Americans, and it was a matter of honor for the Japanese to prevent its capture. The island is dominated by Mount Suribachi, a 546-foot dormant volcanic cone at the southern tip of the island. The top of Suribachi was one of the most important locations on the island. From that vantage point, the Japanese defenders were able to see the Americans clearly the landing beaches. The Japanese fought most of the battle from underground bunkers and pillboxes. It was common for Marines to disable a pillbox using grenades or flamethrowers, only to come under renewed fire from it a few minutes later, after replacement Japanese infantry arrived into the pillbox through a tunnel. The American effort concentrated on isolating and capturing Suribachi first, a goal that was achieved on February 23rd, four days after the battle began. Despite capturing Suri- bachi, the battle continued to rage for many days, and the island would not be declared "secure" until 31 days later, on March 26. The Japanese garrison on the island numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched men During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment of the 5th Division took the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak and most strategic position, and raised the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. Americans fighting for control of Suribachi’s slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman. Many of these men, including three of the six Marines seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March. What Mel learned from his life experiences was that if you have a dream or you want to do something or go somewhere, do it and don’t procrastinate because you never know what life will bring you.

6 The Millstone Times

March 2020