[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
[February 19, 1995]
[Pages 233-235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Iwo Jima
in Arlington, Virginia
February 19, 1995

    Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I think we should give Colonel 
Barber a round of applause for his remarks and for his service. 
[Applause]
    General and Mrs. Mundy, Secretary and Mrs. Brown, honored veterans 
and families, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans. Today on this 
wonderfully quiet morning, within sight of so many of our Nation's great 
monuments and on the edge of our national cemetery, where some of those 
whom we honor today are buried, we recall the fury of war and a landmark 
in our history that is one of both loss and triumph. We gather in the 
company of heroes, those who served at Iwo Jima. Many of them do rest 
nearby, but we thank God that many are still here today.
    Fifty years ago, with their lives before them, they left everything, 
their families, their loved ones, the serenity and security of their 
homes, to fight for a just cause. They departed on a journey to places 
they had never heard of to confront dangers they could not have 
imagined. But they never wavered or faltered. And when they were done, 
our liberties and our homes were safe again.
    Last year at Normandy, I was privileged to say something I would 
like to say again because I think that the rest of us can never say it 
enough: To all of you who served at Iwo Jima, we are the children of 
your sacrifice, and we are grateful. On behalf of a grateful nation, I 
would like to ask all of those here who served at Iwo Jima to stand and 
be recognized. [Applause]
    Today the dimensions of their struggle still stagger us. As we have 
heard, when they attacked Iwo Jima, the enemy was so deeply dug in as to 
be invisible and all but impregnable. The carnage on the beaches was 
almost unimaginable. The sands were black and deep and so soft that one 
man said it was like walking on coffee grounds. Trying to claim just a 
few hundred yards, troops were raked by gunfire and pinned down. And as 
Secretary Brown said, on the first day 2,400 were killed. On hearing of 
the casualties, President Roosevelt was reported to have gasped with 
horror for the first time since Pearl Harbor.
    Securing Iwo Jima was supposed to take less than 2 weeks, but it 
took 5. Progress was a yard's advance. But never were the words ``issue 
in doubt,'' the call for withdrawal, uttered. The 75,000 who went ashore 
pulled together. Privates rose and took command. In just one case of 
many, a platoon suffered so many casualties that command passed to 12 
different marines. Navy corpsmen saved one life after another, pulling 
the wounded from battle. The Seabees did their vital construction work 
under constant fire.
    But 13 days into the battle, the first crippled B-29 touched down on 
an island landing strip. And eventually more than 2,200 of those B-29's 
made emergency landings on their return from bombing runs. Nearly 25,000 
airmen owed their lives to the troops who secured Iwo Jima.
    Admiral Nimitz put it perfectly: ``Among the Americans who served on 
Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.'' Our country saw the true 
definition of courage. Everyone who waded ashore on Iwo Jima shared that 
quality.
    Captain Robert Dunlap scrambled to an exposed position 200 yards 
ahead of our lines at the base of Mount Suribachi. Amid constant enemy 
fire, he directed the attack on pillboxes and emplacements, not for 1 or 
2 hours but for 48 hours. His extraordinary action helped to make it 
possible for the marines to sweep through the island's western beaches. 
``All in a day's work,'' he said.
    Douglas Jacobson, a private first class from Rochester, New York, 
showed what real strength of body and spirit can do. When a fellow 
marine was shot, he grabbed the man's bazooka and

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sprinted through the area called ``Meat Grinder,'' destroying 16 
positions before he ran out of ammunition. The bazooka, by the way, that 
he had was a two-man weapon, but he shouldered it alone.
    Captain Joseph McCarthy showed us the meaning of determination. With 
his company under merciless fire from several enemy strongholds, he 
charged through an open field to one of them and knocked it out with a 
carbine and grenades. He then repeated the feat three more times, using 
his bare hands when necessary. He cleared an essential ridge on the way 
to one of the island's airstrips.
    And Jack Lucas, whom I had the privilege of introducing at the State 
of the Union Address, was 17 years old when he threw himself on two 
grenades to save the lives of his comrades. Not long ago he said, ``It 
didn't matter who you were or where you were from, you relied on one 
another. And you did it for your country.''
    These are just a few of the countless feats of heroism from that 
distant place in time, deeds all of you who served performed for your 
Nation. And these stories are just 4 of the stories of the 27 Medal of 
Honor winners on Iwo Jima, the largest from any single battle in 
American history. We are honored to have these four winners today with 
us. And I ask them to be recognized at this time. [Applause] Thank you. 
Thank you.
    This is their legacy. This is the legacy of all of you who served. 
To those in the units that took Suribachi, to the nurses and doctors who 
worked under constant fire on the beachfronts, to the sailors on the 
hundreds of support ships, to the African-American Montford Point 
marines who fought off the last desperate attack by the enemy, to the 
families who so courageously endured at home, this is the legacy of 
bravery and dedication you have given us.
    To be worthy of that sacrifice, we must determine in this time to 
remain the strongest nation in the world so that our freedom is never 
again threatened. And we must work to create a nation worthy of the 
generation that saved it for our freedom. We must do it together.
    Ultimately no lesson from Iwo Jima looms larger than the one behind 
me. This image of the flag-raising over Mount Suribachi, known around 
the world from Joe Rosenthal's picture and captured before us in Felix 
de Weldon's great bronze memorial, tells it all. Instantly it became the 
symbol of our effort in World War II. It was published and republished 
until every American could see it with his eyes closed. Six men 
straining together, giving all they have, faces turned to the task of 
planting our flag: Block, Sousley, Hayes, Bradley--the Navy corpsman--
Gagnon and Strank. A real picture of America, a Texan and Kentuckian, a 
Wisconsin farm boy, a Native American, a New Englander of French 
Canadian stock, a kid from the coal country of Pennsylvania.
    Hard men wept when they saw the flag fly over Suribachi. President 
Roosevelt wanted the flag-raisers brought stateside as heroes to boost 
morale on the homefront. But three of them never got the chance. They 
were on Iwo Jima, their faces still turned to the task, when they were 
killed days later. They gave us still forever this picture of common 
purpose of striving together, of the unity that our Nation forged out of 
the many who make it up.
    For all Americans today, for those who still defend our liberty in 
uniform and those who fight for decency and civility in our towns and 
communities, the men and women of Iwo Jima will forever stir our hearts, 
spur our conscience, and summon us to action. With our eyes closed, we 
can all still see the flag rising atop the hill.
    May God bless them all, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:25 a.m. at the Iwo Jima Memorial. In his 
remarks, he referred to Col. William Barber, USMC (Ret.), Iwo Jima 
veteran; Gen. C.E. Mundy, Jr., USMC, Commandant, Marine Corps; and 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown.

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