JPAC Deploys to Iwo Jima

Details about those listed as missing or killed in the Pacific, including current search operations.

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Daniel Leahy
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JPAC Deploys to Iwo Jima

Post by Daniel Leahy »

Hi All,

The following comes from the AII POW-MIA website:
http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter27/in160607iwojima.html
JPAC Heads to Iwo Jima

16 June, 2007

U.S. to Look for Remains Of Servicemen on Iwo Jima

A team of U.S. military researchers and archaeologists will begin survey work tomorrow on Iwo Jima, site of the storied World War II battle, marking the first time in nearly 50 years that the Pentagon has attempted to recover the remains of missing servicemen on the Japanese island.

The team's primary objective will be to locate the remains of Sgt. William H. Genaust, the Marine Corps cameraman who filmed the iconic flag-raising event in February 1945 atop Mount Suribachi, said Larry Greer, spokesman for the Defense Department's Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. Genaust's film was screened widely in U.S. theaters during the war and was later used to verify the authenticity of Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning image.

Genaust was killed in battle nine days after making the film. Pentagon researchers will be looking for his remains and those of about 250 other soldiers who were never found.

Seven officials from the Joint POW/MIA Account Command are to spend 10 days conducting preliminary survey work at several sites where U.S. servicemen are thought to be entombed in caves that were destroyed during the month-long battle. The expedition will also be the first collaboration between the United States and Japan on a recovery operation for missing military personnel.
Daniel J. Leahy
Australia

AIR POWER ARCHAEOLOGY
http://www.airpowerarchaeologyc.com

Daniel Leahy
Lt Col
Posts: 284
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 10:21 pm
Location: Australia
Contact:

Post by Daniel Leahy »

News from the JPAC website:
http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/
JPAC investigation team returns from Iwo Jima
by Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta
July 6, 2007

An investigative team deployed from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) surveys caves during June in Iwo Jima.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, HAWAII—An investigation team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command returned to Hawaii June 28 from a 13-day mission to search for the Marine Combat Cameraman who shot video of the famous scene of Marines raising the American flag over the Island of Iwo Jima during World War II.

Marine Sgt. William Genaust was killed in March 1945 on Iwo Jima (now called IwoTo), near a tunnel that later collapsed.

He died only days after he shot footage of the American flag raising by victorious Marines on Feb. 23, 1945 on top of Mount Suribachi.

The iconic photo taken by Joe Rosenthal of the same scene is the most reproduced photograph of all time and was replicated at the Marine Memorial in Washington D.C.

“We conducted the investigation to map and survey the southwest side of hill 362A and to find the location that matches the circumstances of loss records,” Team Leader Army Maj. Sean Stinchon, officer in charge, Worldwide Analysis and Investigations, JPAC, said. “We were attempting to find the site that contains the remains of an unaccounted for American [Genaust]. We had exhausted all of our historical research efforts here at JPAC, and the next logical step was to send a team to Iwo Jima to investigate the hill.”

“There were a couple of reasons why I got picked to go on this mission,” Marine Staff Sgt. Rudy Galima, Air Operations, JPAC, said. “The Investigation Team needed a Team Sergeant and to my understanding they wanted to put Marines on this mission because Marines fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and we take pride in our history and traditions. My role on the mission was to keep everything organized and have accountability on the team members and team gear. I am also one of JPAC's Air Operations NCO's [noncommissioned officers]. This is the first time an Air Ops NCO was actually part of the team on a mission.”

The IT searched using maps originally made by the Navy after the battle.

“We did not know what to expect when we got to hill 362A,” Stinchon said. “Historical records stated that he was killed in a large cave on the southwest side of the hill, so that was our focus area. Additionally, we were looking for areas that had been collapsed or caved in because that was the reason that his body was never recovered during the battle; he was buried under rock and soil. We had a map that was drawn by a Navy Engineer (Seabee) survey team after the battle that depicted all of the known tunnel and cave networks on the hill. We used that map to orient us to the terrain. Although, the mapped tunnels and caves were not what we were looking for, we wanted to find areas that were caved in or collapsed because those were the areas that best matched the circumstances of loss.”

The IT was able to locate locations where caves may have collapsed.

“We found two sites on the southwest side of hill 362A that were not mapped by the Navy Engineers and that we determined best matched the circumstances of loss,” Stinchon said. “One of these areas we were able to dig out and discovered a small tunnel. The other area we believed to be a cave, however we were unable to open it in our attempts with shovels.”

An investigative team deployed from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) surveys caves during June in Iwo Jima.

Team members were well aware of the historical context of JPAC’s first ever search on Iwo Jima and the image of the flag raising on Iwo Jima as an important event in the history of the U.S.

“It was an honor to be a part of this particular mission because of how many Marines and Japanese died fighting for such a small piece of land that had such a large impact on the war,” Stinchon said. “You do not go on a mission to one of the most significant battle sites in American history and not do your homework.”

“It was a great feeling to be part of this Investigation Team especially because it was in Iwo Jima,” Galima said. “Being on Iwo Jima was the best experience I ever had. We had one day off of the whole mission and we spent that day to tour the whole island. The driver took us to all the memorials, caves, but best of all we went to the top of Mt. Surabachi, where the flag was raised.”

“I knew the historical significance of Iwo Jima because it was one of the many battles that Marines study while in Boot Camp,” Galima added.

The Battle of Iwo Jima was also the subject of two recent films by Director Clint Eastwood, “Letters from Iwo Jima,” and “Flags of our Fathers,” which were both nominated for Academy Awards in 2007 with “Letters from Iwo Jima” a winner for Sound Editing.

At this point JPAC doesn’t have a set time table to return to Iwo Jima.

The team’s final reports have to be evaluated by the command before a decision to excavate or to continue investigating is made.

“No formal recommendation has been presented to the command yet,” Stinchon said. “However, the two areas that the IT identified as possible areas that best match the circumstances of loss locations will need to be explored using heavy equipment to open them up. If a team returns, those two areas will likely be their focus area.”

“I would like to go back on the recovery mission,” Galima said. “I am honored to be part of this command and our mission stays true to the meaning of no one left behind.”

The Island of Iwo Jima was given back to the Japanese by the U.S. in 1968.

“[A] large part of the success was the support and cooperation from the Japanese Government and Japanese Self Defense Force on Iwo Jima,” Stinchon said. “They were extremely supportive of our mission and provided a lot of logistical support to the team. Just about everything we asked for from the Japanese was granted. Their overall support was excellent.

“Additionally, the Japanese lost about 20,000 Soldiers during the battle, and they have recovered only 8,000, which means 13,000 Japanese remains are still unrecovered on the island,” Stinchon said. “So, that really emphasizes the significance of how importance Iwo Jima is to the Japanese.”

Other than a small Japanese military base on the island, there are no other inhabitants.
Daniel J. Leahy
Australia

AIR POWER ARCHAEOLOGY
http://www.airpowerarchaeologyc.com

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