IWO JIMA, Japan — No World War II battle represents the fighting spirit of the US Marine Corps better than Iwo Jima. In terms of its combat brutality and staggering casualties, it was the worst battle in the history of the Corps.

The Marines’ 3rd, 4th and 5th Divisions led the assault of Iwo Jima with key support from the Army’s 147th Infantry Division and the Navy. Pacific Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral Chester W. Nimitz said that among America’s fighters at Iwo Jima, “uncommon valor was a common virtue.” The non-profit Stories Behind the Stars (www.storiesbehindthestars.org) has written memorials about each of the 59 Pennsylvania Marines in the 5th Division who sacrificed their lives during the March portion of the battle’s hostilities. Mifflin County was home to one of them: Pvt. Samuel F. Harmon.

Harmon was born on April 15, 1928 in Reedsville to Samuel Foster and Mary Ruth Heaser Harmon. His father was a chipper in a steel mill. His mother was a homemaker who died when Harmon was 10-years-old. The family lived in Brown Township, and included Harmon’s two older half-brothers and five older half-sisters. When he registered for the draft in Reedsville in 1944, Harmon worked for the American Viscose Corp. in Lewistown.

Harmon enlisted in the Marines on June 28, 1944 in Altoona. He was eventually assigned to the 27th Replacement Draft, Service Troops, 5th Marine Division. The division was officially activated on Nov. 11, 1943 at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Parts of the division deployed to the Pacific and were part of the reserve forces during the Battle of Guam, but they never saw combat. They returned to Camp Tarawa, Hawaii to train for the upcoming invasion of Iwo Jima. They departed Hawaii in January 1945 and by mid-February 1945 were sailing past Saipan headed for Iwo Jima.

D-Day at Iwo Jima was Feb. 19, 1945. Allied military planners anticipated an “easy time” conquering the enemy, predicting victory in a three-day battle. The reality was a gruesome slog of 36 days from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945 that historians have described as “throwing human flesh against reinforced concrete.” The island’s determined Japanese defenders had the most ingenious and deadly fortress in military history. Their 11 miles of interlocking subterranean hideouts, concrete bunkers, hidden artillery and pillboxes proved to be some of the most impenetrable defenses encountered by the Marines.

The invasion was designated Operation Detachment whose purpose was to capture the island with its two airfields. Its success would take out the Japanese fighter planes used to intercept B-29 bombers on their way to Japan and would provide the US use of those same airfields for their own fighters and an emergency landing field for the bombers.

The 5th Marine Division’s mission was to cut off Suribachi from the rest of the island and to pivot north, advancing along the western half of the island. The division landed on Iwo Jima at 0900 hours on Feb. 19, 1945 where they sustained heavy casualties. On Feb. 23, 1945, two American flags were raised on Mount Suribachi. Their progress after that was measured in yards as they had to fight through hundreds of layered and mutually supporting Japanese pillboxes and strong points. On March 2, 1945, the 5th Marine Division was embroiled in the battle for Hill 362. The division would fight on Iwo Jima until March 28, 1945 where they would sustain 2,482 Killed in Action, 19 Missing in Action and 6,218 Wounded in Action. This was the highest casualty rate of the three Marine divisions involved in the invasion.

The ultimately victorious 36-day assault saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War. The battle resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Iwo Jima was the only US Marine battle where American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese. Enemy combat deaths, however, numbered three times as many as American deaths. Of the 21,000 Japanese on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner.

Harmon was killed in action on March 25, 1945 during a combat operation on Iwo Jima. He was initially buried at the Iwo Jima 5th Marine Division Cemetery on the island. Harmon was eventually repatriated to the US and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Plot M, Grave 519) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Harmon was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

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Stories Behind the Stars memorials are accessible for free on the internet and via smart phone app at gravesites and cenotaphs. The non-profit organization is dedicated to honoring all 421,000 fallen Americans from World War II, including 31,000 from Pennsylvania. To volunteer or for more information, contact Kathy Harmon at kharmon

@storiesbehindthestars

.org or visit www.

storiesbehindthestars.org.