Iwo Jima: From Combat to Comrades

In many ways, the Battle of Iwo Jima has taken on a historic importance that dwarfs all of the other Pacific military conflicts during World War II, with the iconic photo of the flag-raising by American forces becoming the symbol of Allied victory against the Japanese invasion. Filmmaker Carol L. Fleisher's deeply moving PBS-aired documentary revisits Iwo Jima in the spring of 2015 as survivors of the 36-day battle return for a final Reunion of Honor ceremony reaffirming seven decades of peace and friendship between the U.S. and Japan following the end of World War II. An American film crew follows three U.S. veterans—Lt. General Larry Snowden, U.S. Marine Hershel “Woody” Williams, and Army Air Corps fighter pilot Jerry Yellin—to the island for the ceremony, while a Japanese crew tags along with the only Japanese survivor, Tsuriji Akikusa, able to make the journey to the event. The film ping-pongs between the historical material on the ferocity of the WWII battle and the touching contemporary views of the now-elderly warriors as they return to Iwo Jima to ponder what occurred and what has transpired in the decades since they went to war. Narrated by Ryan Philippe (who starred in the critically acclaimed Iwo Jima film Flags of Our Fathers), this is a moving and memorable meditation on war and peace. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall)