IWO JIMA VETERAN
CPL. DON GRAVES, USMC
Don Graves was nearly 17 years old when he heard President Roosevelt’s address to Congress after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After joining the Marines, he was assigned to the 5th Marine Division and sent to the Pacific. Graves was a flamethrower, carrying a 72-pound weapon on his back filled with five gallons of liquid fuel. His platoon, the 28th Regiment, was assigned to take Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, facing relentless attacks day and night from Japanese troops.
The bloodiest battle in U.S. Marine Corp history, the battle for Iwo Jima cost the lives of nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines and Navy personnel and caused nearly 20,000 additional casualties.
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Marching through the Marines’ Cemetery to give his buddies and officers a final goodbye, Don Graves noticed a paper tacked up to the archway. Every Marine read it:
“Fellas, when you go home, tell the folks we did our best, that they may have many more tomorrows.”