His name was Charles L. Biringer and he was a Seargent. Thanks for this great site. Along with the books, movies, and hsi Christmas train I still have, this also gives me back a piece of my grandfather that I miss so much. Each of these movies does a great job showing a little of what Iwo Jima was like. The only flaw in all three is that they do not explain to the audiences that the reason for taking Iwo Jima was to have airports for our bombers and their crews who were crashing into the Pacific and dying. That is why we could not wait and starve them out.
My Dad as a young Marine was bitter that they did not shell and bomb for a few more days but the underground caves, tunnels and bunkers that are now exposed cured him of those feelings. He now realizes the way Iwo was fortified they were landing in Hell no matter what. His only complaint about the John Wayne movie was that most of the actors were old men not the young boys in their late teens and early twenties that fought and died on Iwo Jima. My DAd told me that more than 100,000 air force crew members had their lives saved by Iwo Jima’s airstrips and those bombing raids help to soften up the Japs and destroy most of their war factories. He said many of the Marines knew they were putting their lives on the line for those factories and supply centers to be destroyed by our Air Force. He had told me that captured pilots and crews were stoned, stabbed with bayonets, and on outer Islands eaten.