Cpl Frank Wright, USMC, World War II, Fighting on Iwo Jima
from Veterans Chronicles Hosted by Radio America
Frank Wright joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, when he was just 16 years old. Before long, he became one of the famed Marine Raiders. After deploying first to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, Wright contracted malaria and had to spend time recovering. After that, he was part of Marine landings on many different islands in the Pacific, including Saipan, Guam, and Iwo Jima. A few weeks ago, we shared Wright's story of landing on Guam, fighting off Japanese Banzai charges, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. He described how he was stabbed by a bayonet multiple times and not only lived to tell about it, but kept fighting until Guam was secure. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles, Wright tells us his story of service at Iwo Jima. He explains the grim reason why his Marine unit arrived a day late on Iwo Jima and being knocked unconscious from shrapnel hitting him in the head. He also details what it was like to see the U.S. flag atop Mt. Suribachi and the fighting the Japanese at Hill 382 until he had to evacuate because of serious wounds.
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