Remembering Iwo Jima: Veterans Honored on VJ Day

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Remembering Iwo Jima: Veterans Honored on VJ Day
2006-08-16
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)


By Elisabeth Nardi, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Aug. 16--David Woods remembers watching through binoculars as the American flag was raised by soldiers at Iwo Jima.
A radio man Petty Officer First Class for the Navy, Woods, 83, was on board the USS Logan and talking to men on the ground at Iwo Jima when the flag was raised. At the time he did not realize what the picture would represent or how tough the battle would be.
"We expected (the battle) would be a piece of cake, and then after the first day, we knew it was going to be the toughest," he said.
Troops fought on Iwo Jima for two months in 1945 before gaining control of the island.
On Tuesday, more than 60 years later, Woods, a Walnut Creek resident, stared at that famous picture on the front of the program at the Rossmoor Salute to World War II Veterans.
He, along with some 300 others, mostly veterans from around Rossmoor and the East Bay, gathered for a remembrance. The salute was held Tuesday because Aug. 15, 1945, was dubbed Victory Over Japan Day, or VJ Day, and it marked the end of the war for many.
The event was put on by the Veteran's History Project of Rossmoor and the Rossmoor Recreation Department. It is estimated that there are more than 500 WWII veterans who live in Rossmoor.
Speakers at the event included retired Navy Adm. Paul Peck of Walnut Creek, Mayor Kathy Hicks and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo.
Among the guests was a man who survived Pearl Harbor, and hundreds of men and women who served in some capacity during World War II.
Vincent Sheehan, 84, a Rossmoor resident who served in the Air Force, said he thought it was a great idea to honor veterans.
"It's a great occasion to get to meet others, especially when the death rate among us is so great," he said.
Reach Elisabeth Nardi at 925-952-2617 or enardi@cctimes.com.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
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