Friday, December 21, 2012

Marx Iwo Jima Giant Playset

Merry Christmas and happy New Year with the Marx Iwo Jima Giant Playset....may your Christmas tree have at least one of these underneath this year! Best Wishes for 2013!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Iwo Jima Books and Bibliography

This is a bibliography of books about the battle of Iwo Jima. I have separated this list by divisions, regiments and other units for ease of research.


    V Amphibious Corps
  • Coral and Brass - General Holland M. Smith
  • Pacific War Marine - Clyde Holloway - 2nd 155mm Howitzer Battalion
  • The History of the Eighth Field Depot and Eighth Service Regiment, U.S. Marines, in World War II


  • 4th Marine Division
  • My War - PFC Dewey C Pickard - P Battery 4th 105mm Howitzer Battalion 14th Marines
  • Life, the Hard Way: Up from Poverty Flat-Eugene Curnow- USS Sanborn Corpsman attached to 4th Mardiv


  • 24th Marines 4th MarDiv
  • A Virginia Marine on Iwo Jima-Robert K. Krick - I Co, 3rd Battalion 24th Marines
  • The Last Lieutenant - John C. Shively - L Co, 3rd Battalion 24th Marines


  • 25th Marines 4th MarDiv
  • The Assault - Allen R. Matthews - HQ Co, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
  • Uncommon Survivor From Sand To Bronze - Ana M. Ward - B Co, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
  • The Road To Iwo Jima - Tom McGraham - C Co 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
  • This Here is 'G' Company", FMF- John E Lane- G Co, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines


  • 5th Marine Division
  • Spearhead: The World War History of the Fifth Marine Division-Howard M. Conner
  • Complete 5th Marine Division Unit Rosters: Compiled from January 1945 Muster Roll - Brent Spenser
  • Iwo Assault on Hell - James F Christ - General 5th MarDiv History
  • War Shots Norm Hatch & the US Marine Combat Cameramen of WWII - Charles Jones - HQ Battalion, 5th MarDiv
  • Corky's Boy - Bert Clayton - HQ Battalion, 5th MarDiv
  • Iwo Jima One Man Remembers - George Nations - 5th Tank Battalion, 5th MarDiv
  • My Life As A Jarhead USMC 1941-1945 Ralph Walker Willis - 5th Pioneer, 5th MarDiv
  • Every Island is Not A Paradise (Download) - Walter Muller - 5th Pioneer, 5th MarDiv
  • The Return To Iwo Jima 1945-1985 - Lucian Caste - 5th Pioneer, 5th MarDiv
  • Don't Let Me Die Dirty - Carlie Thrasher Downey - 31st Replacement Draft


  • 26th Marines 5th MarDiv
  • Indestructible - Jack H. Lucas - 1st Battalion, 26th Marines
  • God Isn't Here - Richard E Overton (corpsman) HQ Co, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines
  • The Quiet Hero: The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima Gary W. Toyn - F Co, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines
  • Iwo Jima The Battle The Men of F Co, The Memories - Rudolph T. Mueller - F Co 2nd Battalion 26th Marines
  • Mustang A Combat Marine - Gerald P. Averill - Hq Co, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines


  • 27th Marines 5th MarDiv
  • Red Blood, Black Sand - Chuck Tatum - HQ co. 1st Battalion 27th Marines
  • Trust. Truth. Evil. An Interview with a US Marine - Bill Onstad - B Co, 1st Battalion 27th Marines
  • A Marine Remembers Iwo Jima: Dog Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines - Alfred R. Stone
  • We Were In The First Waves Of Steel Amtracs Who Landed on Iwo Jima- John Ryland Thurman-F Co 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines
  • Battle Wounds of Iwo Jima- F Co, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines-Thomas M Brown, MD.
  • Surgeon on Iwo: Up Front With the 27th Marines-James S. Vedder HQ CO, 3rd Battalion 27th Marines.


  • 28th Marines 5th MarDiv
  • The Lions Of Iwo Jima- MaGen Fred Haynes & James A Warren - H&S Co, 28th Marines
  • From the Sands of Iwo Jima - William R. Henderson - H&S Co 28th Marines
  • The First Battalion of the 28th Marines- Robert E Allen - 1st Battalion, 28th Marines
  • Preparing for the Rain on Iwo Jima Isle- Marion Frank Walker - HQ Co, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
  • D-Plus Forever - Dave Davenport - D Co, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
  • Give Me 50 Marines Not Afraid to Die - John K Wells - E Co, 2nd Battalion 28th Marines
  • From Hilltop to Mountaintop: The Life & Legacy of one Iwo Jima Flag Raiser - Ron Elliott - E co 2nd Battalion 28th Marines
  • From Volcano to Gorge, Getting the Job done on Iwo Jima - Howard McLaughlin Jr Raymond C. Miller H co 2nd Batt. 28th Marines
  • Rawhide "A Pretty Fair Gyrene" Robert C Perdzock - Weapons Co. 28th Marines
  • Flags Of Our Fathers - James Bradley - 28th Marines


  • 3rd Marine Division

    9th Marines 3rd MarDiv
  • Bud: A Young Man In A War - Fred E Wilbur - HQ Co, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines
  • Chain of Thought - John B. Minnick - Weapons Co, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines
  • Iwo Jima corpsman!: The bloodiest battle of the Marine Corps-Ray Crowder - 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd MarDiv
  • Nightmare on Iwo - Patrick Caruso - K Co, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines


  • 21st Marines 3rd MarDiv
  • God Shared My Foxhole - J Friedman - Weapons Co, 3rd Battalion, 21st Marines


  • 12th Marines 3rd MarDiv
  • Stories From The Pacific - Lawrence Kirby - HQ & Sv Battery, 12th Marines
  • Through It All - John Farritor - C Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines


  • US Navy
  • Life, the Hard Way: Up from Poverty Flat-Eugene Curnow- USS Sanborn Corpsman attached to 4th Mardiv
  • Iwo Jima Recon: The U.S. Navy at War, February 17, 1945-Dick Camp
  • Beachmaster at Iwo Jima-J. D Cooley
  • The Pacific War and Battle of Iwo Jima: Recollections & ​Essays: by a Seabee Lieutenant by Ivan D. Thunde
  • Hungry for Wood - Herb Rhodes
  • Seabee Book, World War Two, BLACK HELL - Kenneth E. Bingham - 133rd Seabees
  • A Life Disturbed - Merrel Clubb


  • US Army


  • Pictorials
  • Iwo Jima: Portrait of a Battle: United States Marines at War in the Pacific-Eric Hammel
  • Iwo Jima: Springboard to Final Victory - Raymond Henri
  • Japanese
  • Fighting Spirit: The Memoirs of Major Yoshitaka Horie - Robert D. Eldridge
  • A Tomb Called Iwo Jima-Daniel King

  • Histories
  • Amphibious Epic
  • Iwo Jima-Bill D. Ross
  • IWO - Richard Wheeler
  • Iwo Jima 1945 The Marines Raise the Flag on Mount Suribachi-Derrick Wright
  • Iwo Jima - Richard F. Newcomb
  • US Marines at Iwo Jima - by Five War Correspondents


  • Oral History Compilations
  • Never in Doubt : Remembering Iwo Jima-Edmond B. Bart,
  • Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific-Larry Smith

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Iwo Jima Invasion Rubber Map 1945

No this isn't an elephants hide here on Marines In Forest Green but an Iwo Jima rubber invasion map produced in 1944 for a tool to help Marines and Sailors get better aquatinted with the topography of the island. These huge rubber maps were deployed on ships on the way to the invasion, this one coming from a ship that participated in the invasion. one sees these maps in many period photos but only a few have survived over time. I would have loved to have one in my collection but I simply don't have the room to display it properly. A wonderful and historic map!

USMCR WWII Private 5th Division

I was fortunate enough to locate another 5th Division coat of an Iwo Jima veteran who was in a motar unit during the battle. It was found in an antique store by a fellow collector and was able to locate his records from information written on a tag and the Marines name hand written in the jacket.

3rd 4th & 5th Marine Division History Books

Here is a set of three division history books from the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions first published in the late 1940's. The 3rd and 5th are Battery Press reprints while the 4th is an original I found in an antique store. What is great about the 5th division book is that it contains the complete rosters to the entire division. the 4th contains only the KIA, officer and select valor profiles. The 3rd only has the officer rosters. The big difference between the reprints and the originals are the Black and white picture reproduction which are of higher quality that the reprints. These books are a must if one is a Iwo Jima historian and Marine collector.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Who's Who In Japans Army ID

About a year ago I helped assist with some translation of Japanese Items that were brought back by a WWII Marine. The gentleman's father had brought back some incredible Japanese and USMC items but the Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Who's Who was a fantastic find. Apparently as told by the son, his father was given one of these to help identify the rank that were on Japanese KIA on Iwo Jima and Saipan. While his dad's items were posted on another website I ran across this one on an auction site. An interesting item of WWII Breweriana and Militaria crossover.

Sands Of Iwo Jima Japanese Film Sheet

Another Japanese release poster of the Sands Of Iwo Jima. Very Dramatic!