Sergeant Willie Blake
5th Marine Division, Iwo Jima
30th March 1945
Victory is upon us. Our win at Iwo Jima meant only one thing: that the Japanese have finally become weak enough to not be able to defend their own homeland. Iwo Jima also provided us with emergency landing strips for the thousands of planes flying the three-thousand mile trip from Tinian and Saipan. Okinawa should fall in no time. However the fight has not been easy. The Japanese have resorted to suicide kamikaze soldiers to inflict maximum damage on our ships. Thank goodness the British ships are tougher than any of ours and could withstood the attacks with minimal damage. On land, their defence has been stronger than expected. We have been fighting a war of attrition for a few days now. Our technology may have been better, but the harsh terrain nullified any of the potential benefits they may bring. What disturbed me most are the local Okinawans, peaceful traditional agricultural communities torn apart by attacks on both sides. While we have in place policies to deal with them, it is really difficult sorting them out as some of the women are fighting side by side with the Japanese soldiers!
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