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CNN Live At Daybreak

Iwo Jima Memorial Dedicated in Hawaii

Aired March 18, 2002 - 06:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A replica of a memorial honoring World War II Marines who died in the battle of Iwo Jima was dedicated in Hawaii over the weekend, and a handful of survivors attended the ceremony.

Ramsay Wharton of our Honolulu affiliate KHON was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMSAY WHARTON, CORRESPONDENT, KHON (voice-over): After seven years of planning an Iwo Jima memorial replicated from one in Newington, Connecticut, it now stands in the Pacific. It's the most recognizable flag raising in U.S. history. An event that serves as a reminder of hope and courage, and at the Marine Corps bloody battle on the Japanese isle.

HARVEY BARNUM, JR., U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET.): This memorial freezes, in enduring bronze, a visual national symbol, not just of Marines, but indeed, of all those who have gone forth to battle for our nation in all wars.

WHARTON: Marines from the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions were prepared to fight on the treacherous volcanic soil of Iwo Jima by training on Maui and the big island. But nothing could prepare them for the amount of blood they were about to shed.

February 19, 1945, after days of heavy air and Naval bombardment, the first wave of some 75,000 Marines hit the beaches of the tiny eight-square mile island.

GEORGE ABEL, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: I was one of what I would say one of the lucky ones. I got hit after about four hours on the island. It was something you would never forget.

WHARTON: The Marines were easy targets for Japanese defenders who were dug into bunkers and tunnels all over Iwo, including the high ground of Mount Suribachi.

STAN ZEGARSKI, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: We were in the battle of Hill 382, with the Fourth Marine division. And that's where we caught a lot of hell.

WHARTON: It was the raising of Old Glory on Mount Suribachi on day five of the offensive that proved essential to victory. ZEGARSKI: I was laying on my stomach, and someone says, "Hey, look around. The flag is going up."

BARNUM: That flag raising was a morale booster, an energizer, a symbol of unity that gave our guys the strength and bolstered their courage on that bleak battlefield.

WHARTON: After 36 days of grizzly fighting and nearly 26,000 casualties - among them, sailors and soldiers - Iwo Jima was captured. The Marine Corps suffered its greatest loss. Nearly 7,000 men died on the battlefield. About 22,000 Japanese defenders were killed.

(on camera): There were more medals of honor awarded to the men who fought at Iwo Jima than in any other battle in American history. Twenty-two Marines and five sailors were awarded the nation's highest honor.

In Kaneohe, Ramsay Wharton, Channel 2 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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