Iwo Jima 1945 and the flag! 10/17/2011
Before departing Lingayen Gulf, the Wee Vee received 79 bags of United States mail which was the first they had received since Christmas. In those mail bags were letters from Mrs. William Tollison addressed to William Triplett Tollison S1C. When Willie got his huge stack of letters, he put them in order...oldest to the newest and began reading them. The date was February 10, 1945 and we know that Helen wrote him everyday so it is likely he got as many as 40 some letters that day.  The West Virginia had received orders to prepare as fast as possible for another operation. They refueled and loaded over 300 tons of provisions to start their next destination to Iwo Jima (a tiny place about 650 miles south of Tokyo) alongside the destroyers USS Izard and USS McCall. As they pulled out, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz recognized the Wee Vee for the way in which they got ready so quickly for their next assignment after finishing with their duties with the 7th fleet. When they were getting close to Iwo Jima, they received their orders which was to lend fire support to the Marines that were ashore. On February 22, the Marines took Mount Suribachi, a prominent landmark at one end of Iwo Jima. The Virgina was offshore and from that vantage point they could see the flag flying from the top. They continued lending their support to the Marines for the rest of February. During this time they realized the Japs were firing on the USS Bryant, the Virginia got within 600 yards of shore and opened fire which silenced the Japanese guns. During the day, the Wee Vee would replenish their used ammunition and during the night use secondary batteries for continuous harassing of enemy. This continued until March 4th and then she set out for the Caroline Islands. Comments Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply |  Author
Paula Tollison Andrews Maupin I am married to Bobby and live in the Nashville, TN area, working as Executive Assistant to both the Director of Sales and General Manager of FOX17, MyTV30 & CW58 television I have 3 wonderful sons and daughters in
love (Brad & Holly Andrews, Bryan & Stacy Andrews and Brandon
& Ashley Andrews) from Tulsa, St. Louis & Springfield
respectively. They have given me 9 precious grandbabies. (Joseph,
Cooper, Margo, Sloan, Jonas, Nora, Everett, Lawson and Blythe & Gma
loves them so much) I also have 2 great stepsons and daughter in love
(Jonathan & Kathryn Maupin and William Maupin) from Lexington,
Kentucky.
As a lady who's lived through both good & bad circumstances in my life, I've learned and continue to learn a lot of "life lessons". Along the way I have been inspired to be a better me. God is faithful in ALL circumstances and His love covers all. My hope is that you will be inspired to be who you were meant to be. I have been writing this blog about my mom and dad since September of 2011. You can find their story from the beginning by going to the Stories link. Happy Reading!!!   ArchivesMarch 2012 |
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