Press Release
WORLD WAR II VETERANS TO MAKE FIRST JOURNEY TO GUAM, SAIPAN, TINIAN, AND IWO JIMA IN 67 YEARS
(DENVER, COLORADO) – Almost 70 years ago, nearly 12,000 American soldiers perished in the battles of Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. Another 37,000 were wounded in some of the deadliest battles in World War II.
This March, American World War II veterans will return for the first time to these islands in the Pacific to commemorate the battles that claimed the lives of their comrades in a program sponsored by The Greatest Generations Foundation. Accompanying the veterans are military history students from the Ohio State University who will document and preserve the veterans’ stories of heroism and sacrifice.
“The knowledge that the veterans possess is invaluable, and I believe that [this program] will allow the students to engage with the battlefields and learn about WWII in ways that no other source could provide,” said OSU student Nick Brill.
The program will include visits to battle sites, bunkers, monuments, and landing beaches on Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and a special visit to the uninhabited island of Iwo Jima. Private memorial services will be held to honor those who were wounded and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“Everyone [in the war] worked together, fought together, died together,” said Jim Baize, Iwo Jima Survivor and program participant. “Now, it’s time to return together to honor the guys we lost.”
Jim served in the US Navy aboard the USS Highlands, participating in the battles of Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. He was wounded on Saipan, sent to a hospital, and discharged shortly after to fight in the Battle of Guam. Following Guam, he was sent to the small island of Iwo Jima where he was one of the few Navy sailors to fight in hand-to-hand combat alongside the 4th Marine Division.
“Within twenty yards of the Iwo Jima beach, [our ship] took a direct hit,” Jim said. “I got thrown out, but the Marines pulled me out of the water onto shore. I laid there and didn’t know what to do. I had scrap metal through my back. Then a Marine by the name of Jack said, ‘You’ll be alright. Stick with me.’ So we took some gear off of a dead comrade and headed to take the airfield.”
As Jim and Jack moved toward the airfield, they were joined by seven other Marines. Together, the group fought their way under the cover of darkness to the airstrip. When they were fifty feet from the runway, US Navy planes dropped flares, illuminating the Marines’ advance to the enemy.
“The Japs saw us coming and opened up again with full arms. Jack was cut down by machine gun fire. I dove to find a hole and got hit again. It knocked me out. I don’t know how I came off the island.”
Somehow, Jim was evacuated from Iwo Jima and sent to Guam. He would spend the remainder of the war in various hospitals. He was honorably discharged from the US Naval Hospital in Oregon on July 10, 1945, and awarded the Purple Heart.
This March, Jim will make his first return in 67 years to the islands where he fought.
“If I had to, I’d do it all over again; I would,” he said. Even knowing that I’d be wounded twice, I would still go and fight.”
For more information, please contact Alicia Harms at aharms@tggf.org.
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