PORT ANGELES — Seven veterans of the Battle of Iwo Jima gathered Saturday afternoon at a sports bar to have lunch, swap war stories — and remember how lucky they were to survive one of the deadliest battles in U.S. military history.
“I’m glad we’re here because I don’t know how many more years we are going to be around,” said Hal Royaltey of Sequim, who was a 21-year-old hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy during the battle.
Almost 7,000 Americans were killed and about twice that many were wounded in the 36-day assault that began Feb. 19, 1945, and lasted until March 17.
After a three-day naval bombardment, three divisions of U.S. Marines invaded the 8-square-mile island 760 miles south of Tokyo to turn its airfield into an emergency landing field for B-29 bombers returning from raids on Japan.
Fewer than 1,000 of the island’s 22,000 Japanese defenders survived. The battle was the bloodiest ever for the Marine Corps.
Royaltey, now 81, was joined Saturday afternoon by six veterans of the campaign, who have been gathering on the anniversary of the battle’s opening day for about four years now.
Reunited again on Saturday:
* Robert P. Willson of Port Angeles, who was a 22-year-old private first class in the Marine Corps at Iwo Jima.
* Don Alward of Port Angeles, a 19-year-old first class signalman in the Marines.
* Bill Terrill of Port Angeles, an 18-year-old Marine Corps corporal.
* Dan Michalski of Sequim, a 19-year-old radarman third class in the U.S. Navy.
* Mike Ross of Forks, a 17-year-old Navy seaman first class.
* Bob Barbee was a 20-year-old third mate, equivalent to an ensign, on a Merchant Marine liberty ship.
Naval veterans Jack Day and Ray Monroe and Merchant Marine veteran Ralph Waite weren’t able to attend this year.
Also absent was Iwo Jima Marine veteran Marshall “Sal” Salvaggio, who died of congestive heart failure Feb. 15.
Informal get-together
Willson, now 82, said Saturday’s gathering has been an informal get-together for four years now.
It started out nine years with a formal ceremony at Port Angeles City Pier on the Feb. 19 anniversary of the battle’s first day, he said.
Then that was discontinued because of complaints from veterans of other battles in the Pacific campaign, Willson said.
“Don’t blow us up and make us heroes,” Willson said.
“We were just a bunch of guys who went out to do a job. The heroes were the dead ones.”