Wwii Marines Tsmg Pic

[guy sajer]

Cover photo of the June 2005 World War II magazine has a pretty good photo 7 men of the 6th Marines posing on a small island off Okinawa . Quite a variety of weapons . 1 1928 tsmg with the stamped (bent steel) rear sight . 2 BAR's . 3 Garands . 1 Reising .

 

Pretty good issue .

[Hawkeye_Joe]

I don't see any Reising, there are two Thompsons. Also did anyone notice the one B.A.R. with the vertical grip mounted??

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Hawkeye/cover.jpg

[JimFromFL]

Damn, that would make a nice poster.

 

[guy sajer]

I misinterpreted the man below the "A" as holding the Reising . Should have looked closer . Also , it appears there are 8 men . Thanks for the correction and for posting the pic .

 

 

[Ron Mills]

Amen, Phil. I can only imagine the horrors all those guys endured before victory. But they did it, and we sure are proud!

[85th Engineer]

You bet we're proud! And seeing that picture is especially meaningful to me after spending 7 days with the vets of Iwo Jima back in March during their 60th Anniversary Reunion. Walking the black sands with those men was an experience I'll never forget. Many were in wheelchairs, many had to be helped along as they walked, but the same spirit and character that

enabled them to charge across that Island against a shower of lead could be seen in every effort they made to re-visit the site where many of them suffered crippling wounds and lost best friends. Those faces worn with age would lite up as they recalled where ole Mac caught some shrapnel in the ass, and then tear up when they spotted where ole Jim breathed his last. One pointed to the spot where he was hunkered down in a shell crater near a Jap bunker (the bunker is still there as are most of them) when he saw the flag go up on Suribachi.

 

What impressed me most was I didn't hear a single one whining about what they had to endure. They weren't looking for reimbursment from anybody, they just accepted the fact that freedom was at stake and it was their turn to defend it. And their willingness to put up with someone like me asking endless questions was special too. They took me in like I was one of them even though I didn't deserve be in the same room with such royalty.

 

One of the first ones I met on the flight from Hawaii to Guam revealed to me he had terminal bladder cancer. He was passing serious amounts of blood with every piss, but he was determined to "go back to the Island" as his "last hoorah." I guess courage is just a part of the nature of men such as these. He kept saying "I hope I don't get too weak to make the tour." Man that tore me up, and I think I'd carried him if he hadn't had the strength. It was a special time seeing him fill a bag with the black sand from the beach where he'd layed it all on the line some 60 years ago.

 

Sorry this got a bit long, but I just had to chip in on the praise of the Greatest Generation.

[Ron Mills]

Wow 85th, quite an experience. Those kinds of stories can't be too long for me. My uncle, who served as a Sarge in the Pacific, told me many years ago that it was understood as their duty to protect our freedom, no matter how far away from home. And yes, he carried a Thompson. I've always wanted to go to Normandy or Iwo. Maybe I will someday, and pay humble tribute to all those brave souls. Thanks again for sharing your story!