WWII USMC Corporal 2nd Division

Here is a service jacket with an early unofficial 2nd Marine Division snake patch which was later replaced with the more common Torch patch. Now there is a lot of interesting things about this coat, that it is such a late coat with a ruptured duck but a very early snake patch. Here is a Marine who really liked his old patch when he went home. An interesting coat none the less!

WWII IJA Norakuro-kun Soft Vinyl Sofubi のらくろ

While the US had their own set of cartoon hero's in WWII, the Japanese also had an enduring early Manga character that was used on the home front during WWII. Norakuro-kun originated from a manga comic from the 1930's by former Imperial Japanese Army soldier Suiho Tagawa (1899-1989) who served in the Emperor's Army from 1919-1922. Norakuro-kun was part of the Fierce Dog Brigade but like Bill Maudlins' Willie & Joe, Norakuro-kun came to represent the average joe in the army that every soldier could relate to. After the war his popularity soared, and minus his IJA affiliation, had his very own anime TV series in 1970s. Still a very popular character this modern soft vinyl toy was made as a nod to his former IJA career from the 1930-40s.

WWIl Wide USN and Marine Ribbons

Last week I was able to pick up a nice lot of WWII and post war ribbons, a nice mix of Army, Navy and Marine ribbons. If you don't know already, in WWII the Navy and Marines had 1/2 "wide" ribbons that were taller than the Army ribbons. They tend to be harder to locate than the Army ribbons. Of what I could figure out in 1956 the services consulated their ribbon specs making the wide ribbons obsolete. Accordingly when restoring WWII Navy Jumpers and Marine coats assembling a set of wide ribbons can be a bit difficult. It is always best just to keep stock on hand. A fun set of ribbons!

WWII USMC 5th Division HBT Jacket Iwo Jima

This exception WWII USMC jacket appeared on ebay a few weeks ago named to an Iwo Jima vet in the 13th Regiment 5th Marine Division. Incredible HBT jacket has some tall tale signs of being an Iwo era jacket, including the UNIS markings and the name stenciled on the back while typically post war HBT are found with the name written above the pocket. An incredible jacket!

WWII IJA Japanese Personal Bag Pouch

While the pouches themselves are not really rare or expensive (I paid ¥300 for mine last year), it is incredibly difficult to locate one with all the paperwork. From time to time I'll see them with a few books and such but I have never seen one as complete as this. Imperial Japanese soldiers used these pouches to carry all their personal paperwork as part of their uniform equipment. An exceptional example of a complete bag from WWII.

Marx Iwo Jima Giant Playset

Merry Christmas and happy New Year with the Marx Iwo Jima Giant Playset....may your Christmas tree have at least one of these underneath this year! Best Wishes for 2013!

Iwo Jima Books and Bibliography

This is a bibliography of books about the battle of Iwo Jima. I have separated this list by divisions, regiments and other units for ease of research.

V Amphibious Corps
• Coral and Brass - General Holland M. Smith
• Pacific War Marine - Clyde Holloway - 2nd 155mm Howitzer Battalion
• The History of the Eighth Field Depot and Eighth Service Regiment, U.S. Marines, in World War II


4th Marine Division
• My War - PFC Dewey C Pickard - P Battery 4th 105mm Howitzer Battalion 14th Marines
• Life, the Hard Way: Up from Poverty Flat-Eugene Curnow- USS Sanborn Corpsman attached to 4th Mardiv


24th Marines 4th MarDiv
• A Virginia Marine on Iwo Jima-Robert K. Krick - I Co, 3rd Battalion 24th Marines
• The Last Lieutenant - John C. Shively - L Co, 3rd Battalion 24th Marines


25th Marines 4th MarDiv
• The Assault - Allen R. Matthews - HQ Co, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
• Uncommon Survivor From Sand To Bronze - Ana M. Ward - B Co, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
• The Road To Iwo Jima - Tom McGraham - C Co 1st Battalion, 25th Marines
• This Here is 'G' Company", FMF- John E Lane- G Co, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines


5th Marine Division
• Spearhead: The World War History of the Fifth Marine Division-Howard M. Conner
• Complete 5th Marine Division Unit Rosters: Compiled from January 1945 Muster Roll - Brent Spenser
• Iwo Assault on Hell - James F Christ - General 5th MarDiv History
• War Shots Norm Hatch & the US Marine Combat Cameramen of WWII - Charles Jones - HQ Battalion, 5th MarDiv
• Corky's Boy - Bert Clayton - HQ Battalion, 5th MarDiv
• Iwo Jima One Man Remembers - George Nations - 5th Tank Battalion, 5th MarDiv
• My Life As A Jarhead USMC 1941-1945 Ralph Walker Willis - 5th Pioneer, 5th MarDiv
• Every Island is Not A Paradise (Download) - Walter Muller - 5th Pioneer, 5th MarDiv
• The Return To Iwo Jima 1945-1985 - Lucian Caste - 5th Pioneer, 5th MarDiv
• Don't Let Me Die Dirty - Carlie Thrasher Downey - 31st Replacement Draft


26th Marines 5th MarDiv
• Indestructible - Jack H. Lucas - 1st Battalion, 26th Marines
• God Isn't Here - Richard E Overton (corpsman) HQ Co, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines
• The Quiet Hero: The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima Gary W. Toyn - F Co, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines
• Iwo Jima The Battle The Men of F Co, The Memories - Rudolph T. Mueller - F Co 2nd Battalion 26th Marines
• Mustang A Combat Marine - Gerald P. Averill - Hq Co, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines


27th Marines 5th MarDiv
• Red Blood, Black Sand - Chuck Tatum - HQ co. 1st Battalion 27th Marines
• Trust. Truth. Evil. An Interview with a US Marine - Bill Onstad - B Co, 1st Battalion 27th Marines
• A Marine Remembers Iwo Jima: Dog Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines - Alfred R. Stone
• We Were In The First Waves Of Steel Amtracs Who Landed on Iwo Jima- John Ryland Thurman-F Co 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines
• Battle Wounds of Iwo Jima- F Co, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines-Thomas M Brown, MD.
• Surgeon on Iwo: Up Front With the 27th Marines-James S. Vedder HQ CO, 3rd Battalion 27th Marines.


28th Marines 5th MarDiv
• The Lions Of Iwo Jima- MaGen Fred Haynes & James A Warren - H&S Co, 28th Marines
• From the Sands of Iwo Jima - William R. Henderson - H&S Co 28th Marines
• The First Battalion of the 28th Marines- Robert E Allen - 1st Battalion, 28th Marines
• Preparing for the Rain on Iwo Jima Isle- Marion Frank Walker - HQ Co, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
• D-Plus Forever - Dave Davenport - D Co, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
• Give Me 50 Marines Not Afraid to Die - John K Wells - E Co, 2nd Battalion 28th Marines
• From Hilltop to Mountaintop: The Life & Legacy of one Iwo Jima Flag Raiser - Ron Elliott - E co 2nd Battalion 28th Marines
• From Volcano to Gorge, Getting the Job done on Iwo Jima - Howard McLaughlin Jr Raymond C. Miller H co 2nd Batt. 28th Marines
• Rawhide "A Pretty Fair Gyrene" Robert C Perdzock - Weapons Co. 28th Marines
• Flags Of Our Fathers - James Bradley - 28th Marines


3rd Marine Division

9th Marines 3rd MarDiv
• Bud: A Young Man In A War - Fred E Wilbur - HQ Co, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines
• Chain of Thought - John B. Minnick - Weapons Co, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines
• Iwo Jima corpsman!: The bloodiest battle of the Marine Corps-Ray Crowder - 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd MarDiv
• Nightmare on Iwo - Patrick Caruso - K Co, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines


21st Marines 3rd MarDiv
• God Shared My Foxhole - J Friedman - Weapons Co, 3rd Battalion, 21st Marines


12th Marines 3rd MarDiv
• Stories From The Pacific - Lawrence Kirby - HQ & Sv Battery, 12th Marines
• Through It All - John Farritor - C Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines


US Navy
• Life, the Hard Way: Up from Poverty Flat-Eugene Curnow- USS Sanborn Corpsman attached to 4th Mardiv
• Iwo Jima Recon: The U.S. Navy at War, February 17, 1945-Dick Camp
• Beachmaster at Iwo Jima-J. D Cooley
• The Pacific War and Battle of Iwo Jima: Recollections & ​Essays: by a Seabee Lieutenant by Ivan D. Thunde
• Hungry for Wood - Herb Rhodes
• Seabee Book, World War Two, BLACK HELL - Kenneth E. Bingham - 133rd Seabees
• A Life Disturbed - Merrel Clubb


US Army


Pictorials
• Iwo Jima: Portrait of a Battle: United States Marines at War in the Pacific-Eric Hammel
• Iwo Jima: Springboard to Final Victory - Raymond Henri
Japanese
• Fighting Spirit: The Memoirs of Major Yoshitaka Horie - Robert D. Eldridge
• A Tomb Called Iwo Jima-Daniel King

Histories
• Amphibious Epic
• Iwo Jima-Bill D. Ross
• IWO - Richard Wheeler
• Iwo Jima 1945 The Marines Raise the Flag on Mount Suribachi-Derrick Wright
• Iwo Jima - Richard F. Newcomb
• US Marines at Iwo Jima - by Five War Correspondents


Oral History Compilations
• Never in Doubt : Remembering Iwo Jima-Edmond B. Bart,
• Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific-Larry Smith