Ok, so I have to write a paper for my writing class on any topic I want, so obviosuly I picked something to do with the Marine Corps. I narrowed it down to Iwo Jima. It has to be a 'Popular Media' writing sample, like a newspaper article, so I am writing it like I am a reporter back then. Basically I am trying to use alot of inflammatory language about how evil the Japanese are and how kick-ass the Marines are (basically war time propaganda).
What I'd like help on is just creating more of this type of language and maybe some details about the battle if you happen to know any. Here's a chance for you all to get creative with your love of the Corps! I'm writing it as if it were they day of the battle that the flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi (day 4), so nothing after that please. I'll post what I have so far:
NEWS FROM THE FRONT: Four days ago, on a tiny island north of the Marianas Island Chain named Iwo Jima, the United States Marine Corps launched an offensive that will bring us one step closer to victory against the Empire of Japan. Nineteen February 1945 will go down in history as the beginning of one of the toughest fights of this war, and this reporter can tell you, the Marines can take it! The Japanese soldiers on the island fled in fear as the men of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions went ashore on the southeast coast of this island, preventing the overwhelming might of the United States Navy battleships and cruisers from shelling them into submission. The Marines immediately pushed inland to root out the treacherous enemy as they hid in caves. Within the end of the day, the 28th Marines had come ashore on the western coast and sealed off Mt. Suribachi, preventing the Japanese hiding there from being able to escape or be resupplied. Elsewhere on the island, the 27th and 23rd Marines reached the edge of the airfield they were tasked to take only to be slowed by intense artillery, mortar and rocket fire directed by the very Japanese that had fled at the initial onslaught. Despite the final death toll for the first day of 2,400, the United States Marines showed their mettle by securing a beachhead strong enough to keep the supply of men and materiel flowing. This number may seem ghastly to some. But the Marines who gave their lives on the beaches and in the jungles of Iwo Jima have laid a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom that few ever could. As the sun set on the first day of this still raging battle, looking in the faces of these men, these Marines, one can see a glowing shimmer of hope that no number of Japanese suicide bombers will ever lessen the resolve of our great nation in the defeat of the one enemy.
The second day dawned to see two simultaneous offensives by the Marines. The 28th Marines, who on the day before sealed of Mt. Suribachi, began their assault up the mountain, fighting hard for every foot. Again using caves to attack from, the Japanese this time received a warm welcome from Marines with flamethrowers as they emerged from the depths of the mountain. The fighting up the mountain was intense, but not so much as the other fight that raged that day. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, fighting for the airfields that the 27th and 23rd Marines were fighting for the day before, easily routed the Japanese resistance and secured Airfield Number 1, allowing the drive north to begin.
The superiority of the United States Marines flows from the righteousness of our cause, assisted by a little training. To help along the way, the Marines have their M-1 rifles, which blare like Garand trumpets in a symphony of freedom. The Marines do not need divisions of tanks to do their work, because every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost. This principle has been a dominating theme for Marines since the days when they stood in the rigging of sailing ships, picking off enemy officers as the sailors boarded the enemy’s ship. Again the Marines proficiency was proven during the Great War at Belleau Wood, where the Marines shocked advancing German troops by consistently hitting them from over 300 yards away. It is hard to explain what it is about the Marines that make them the most effective fighting force this nation has to offer. To some they seem crass and arrogant, but candor is often mistaken for arrogance and so it is with the United States Marines.
The third day of fighting saw continued work on the drive northward and up Mt. Suribachi. The same great sacrifices were made by Marines, along with accompanying Navy Corpsmen who assisted wounded Marines on the island, as the days before. Our enemy resists hard, because he has been so brainwashed by his country to believe that if he surrenders he will be tortured and executed by the bloodthirsty Americans. This absurdity is the ultimate irony, as surely the only people who treat Prisoners of War like that are the Japanese themselves. Deep down, the Japanese know they are defeated, and are resorting to honor less methods of resistance. Stories flood into the headquarters office of Marines taking Japanese prisoners only to be killed when the surrendering enemy is found to be holding a grenade. The results of this tactic are obvious, as now the Marines are much less likely to believe that a Japanese solider is really trying to surrender, and might just shot him to be sure.
The battle for the island of Iwo Jima is vital to the ultimate goal of invading Japan. Developing from unforeseen problems, the invasion’s objectives are simple. The original American war strategy called for a drive from Australia to China in order to set up a base from which to launch the deadly new B-29 Bomber against the Japanese Home Islands. When the Japanese success on the Asian Continent reversed in their favor and the proposed base was overrun, American war planners were forced to look to other places to launch the deadly bombing strikes. This was the reason for the Marianas Campaign, where American tactics and technology led to an easy victory over the now obsolete Japanese Zero fighter. The problem that no one foresaw was that on an island directly between the Marianas and the Home Islands, there was an airfield capable of launching fighter planes and a radar site that could detect the incoming bombers hours before they reached Japan so that the air defense forces would be waiting as the planes came overhead. This problem necessitated that the B-29’s fly around the range of the radar, which reduced their bomb capacity to about 10% because of the extra fuel needed. By taking the island, the bombers could make a straight shot to the Home Islands as well as have a fighter escort farther in due to the airfield that Iwo Jima possessed.
What I'd like help on is just creating more of this type of language and maybe some details about the battle if you happen to know any. Here's a chance for you all to get creative with your love of the Corps! I'm writing it as if it were they day of the battle that the flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi (day 4), so nothing after that please. I'll post what I have so far:
NEWS FROM THE FRONT: Four days ago, on a tiny island north of the Marianas Island Chain named Iwo Jima, the United States Marine Corps launched an offensive that will bring us one step closer to victory against the Empire of Japan. Nineteen February 1945 will go down in history as the beginning of one of the toughest fights of this war, and this reporter can tell you, the Marines can take it! The Japanese soldiers on the island fled in fear as the men of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions went ashore on the southeast coast of this island, preventing the overwhelming might of the United States Navy battleships and cruisers from shelling them into submission. The Marines immediately pushed inland to root out the treacherous enemy as they hid in caves. Within the end of the day, the 28th Marines had come ashore on the western coast and sealed off Mt. Suribachi, preventing the Japanese hiding there from being able to escape or be resupplied. Elsewhere on the island, the 27th and 23rd Marines reached the edge of the airfield they were tasked to take only to be slowed by intense artillery, mortar and rocket fire directed by the very Japanese that had fled at the initial onslaught. Despite the final death toll for the first day of 2,400, the United States Marines showed their mettle by securing a beachhead strong enough to keep the supply of men and materiel flowing. This number may seem ghastly to some. But the Marines who gave their lives on the beaches and in the jungles of Iwo Jima have laid a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom that few ever could. As the sun set on the first day of this still raging battle, looking in the faces of these men, these Marines, one can see a glowing shimmer of hope that no number of Japanese suicide bombers will ever lessen the resolve of our great nation in the defeat of the one enemy.
The second day dawned to see two simultaneous offensives by the Marines. The 28th Marines, who on the day before sealed of Mt. Suribachi, began their assault up the mountain, fighting hard for every foot. Again using caves to attack from, the Japanese this time received a warm welcome from Marines with flamethrowers as they emerged from the depths of the mountain. The fighting up the mountain was intense, but not so much as the other fight that raged that day. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, fighting for the airfields that the 27th and 23rd Marines were fighting for the day before, easily routed the Japanese resistance and secured Airfield Number 1, allowing the drive north to begin.
The superiority of the United States Marines flows from the righteousness of our cause, assisted by a little training. To help along the way, the Marines have their M-1 rifles, which blare like Garand trumpets in a symphony of freedom. The Marines do not need divisions of tanks to do their work, because every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost. This principle has been a dominating theme for Marines since the days when they stood in the rigging of sailing ships, picking off enemy officers as the sailors boarded the enemy’s ship. Again the Marines proficiency was proven during the Great War at Belleau Wood, where the Marines shocked advancing German troops by consistently hitting them from over 300 yards away. It is hard to explain what it is about the Marines that make them the most effective fighting force this nation has to offer. To some they seem crass and arrogant, but candor is often mistaken for arrogance and so it is with the United States Marines.
The third day of fighting saw continued work on the drive northward and up Mt. Suribachi. The same great sacrifices were made by Marines, along with accompanying Navy Corpsmen who assisted wounded Marines on the island, as the days before. Our enemy resists hard, because he has been so brainwashed by his country to believe that if he surrenders he will be tortured and executed by the bloodthirsty Americans. This absurdity is the ultimate irony, as surely the only people who treat Prisoners of War like that are the Japanese themselves. Deep down, the Japanese know they are defeated, and are resorting to honor less methods of resistance. Stories flood into the headquarters office of Marines taking Japanese prisoners only to be killed when the surrendering enemy is found to be holding a grenade. The results of this tactic are obvious, as now the Marines are much less likely to believe that a Japanese solider is really trying to surrender, and might just shot him to be sure.
The battle for the island of Iwo Jima is vital to the ultimate goal of invading Japan. Developing from unforeseen problems, the invasion’s objectives are simple. The original American war strategy called for a drive from Australia to China in order to set up a base from which to launch the deadly new B-29 Bomber against the Japanese Home Islands. When the Japanese success on the Asian Continent reversed in their favor and the proposed base was overrun, American war planners were forced to look to other places to launch the deadly bombing strikes. This was the reason for the Marianas Campaign, where American tactics and technology led to an easy victory over the now obsolete Japanese Zero fighter. The problem that no one foresaw was that on an island directly between the Marianas and the Home Islands, there was an airfield capable of launching fighter planes and a radar site that could detect the incoming bombers hours before they reached Japan so that the air defense forces would be waiting as the planes came overhead. This problem necessitated that the B-29’s fly around the range of the radar, which reduced their bomb capacity to about 10% because of the extra fuel needed. By taking the island, the bombers could make a straight shot to the Home Islands as well as have a fighter escort farther in due to the airfield that Iwo Jima possessed.
