Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Jack Thurman

WWII | 2nd Raider Battalion

Outside of Motoyama Airfield 1, the Marines were pinned down by Japanese fire. As the casualties mounted on both sides, nature took its course and Jack Thurman recalls the horrific image of the flies moving between bodies. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (2:36)
By the time the Marines had landed on Iwo Jima, the Japanese were fortified on the island with a series of bunkers and caves. Jack Thurman describes the devastation caused by advancing on them, and what he’d find when he was lucky enough to get there. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (7:20)
The battle on Iwo Jima raged on, and 2nd Battalion was trying to overtake the second airfield towards the center of the island. Jack Thurman describes their attempts to push out the entrenched Japanese soldiers, and the sniper nest that stood in their way. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (7:04)
The Japanese had dug themselves into the island of Iwo Jima with a series of caves which made them difficult to observe, and Japanese aircraft was giving the Americans a tough fight. Jack Thurman describes what he saw overhead on Iwo Jima. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (9:58)
Jack Thurman describes "The Tombs" surrounding Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima. The Japanese used the caves to fortify their positions, but a lot of their men would never end up leaving. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (2:07)
Getting off Iwo Jima after weeks of combat was a memorable event for Jack Thurman. They had buried their men on the island, and in the distance they could see the crosses as they sailed away. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (8:48)
They left many of the fallen Marines buried on Iwo Jima, but leaving the Marshall Islands, they performed two more burials at sea to make space on the ship. Jack Thurman remembers these vividly. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (2:24)
When the war in the Pacific came to a close, Jack Thurman was assigned to the Military Police occupying Japan. It was there he had a memorable interaction with a civilian who gave him some perspective. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (1:59)
After the war, like thousands of others, Jack Thurman found himself discharged and out of work. He tried to follow up on his MP duties with more police work but the line was too long, so he went north and found work with Japanese immigrants. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:06)
Jack Thurman describes the impact the Marine Corps had on him. Friends he made would be friends he lost in an instant during the Battle of Iwo Jima, and their memory still sticks with him today. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:57)