Wednesday, June 25, 2008

What the HECK are you talking about?

This past weekend, I was exhausted, but I still went in to the museum to volunteer, they had 600+ OCS candidates in the morning. My final act, was to relieve a fellow docent at the Iwo flag and I have no idea why I started telling the guests that were there about the final Bonzai attack on Iwo. Only, I didn't call it a Bonzai attack, I called it a Kamakazi attack. Good grief. They were looking at me as if to say, "What are you talking about?"

This is what I was trying to tell them about -- ( from Wikipedia) - - what I told them - - garbage.

On the night of March 25, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final counterattack in the vicinity of Airfield Number 2. Army pilots, Seabees and Marines of the 5th Pioneer Battalion and 28th Marines fought the Japanese force until morning but suffered heavy casualties—more than 100 were killed and another 200 Americans were wounded. The island was officially declared "secured" the following day.

Although still a matter of speculation because of conflicting accounts from surviving Japanese veterans, it has been said that Kuribayashi led this final assault,[1] which unlike the loud banzai charge of previous battles, was characterised as a silent attack. If ever proven true, Kuribayashi would have been the highest ranking Japanese officer to have personally led an attack during World War II. Additionally, this would also be Kuribayashi's final act of departure from the normal practice of the commanding Japanese officers committing seppuku behind the lines while the rest perished in the banzai charge, as happened during the battles of Saipan and Okinawa.
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After my morning at the museum, I came home and took a 3 hour nap Boy did I need it! I still need more sleep. I don't think I will ever catch up.

Lesson - - don't talk military history when you are tired and hungry.

1 comment:

Samantha West said...

Hungry makes me crazy! Take a nap girl!