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When J. C. Grady graduated from Pecan Gap "During the second day on one trip in, we were
High in 1942, he had one goal, to enlist in the Air told to bring in barrels of gasoline but before we
Force and fly. When he took the flight test he could start loading the barrels of gasoline, we were
answered only the questions he knew and did not told to bring water instead. We did and when we
answer the others and he just barely failed to make landed, the water barrels were hit by mortars. The ri
the qualifying score. Japanese were really good with their mortars. If we I •'
"If I had just guessed right on a couple of the had loaded the gasoline, I wouldn't be here giving
, questions I didn't attempt to answer, I would have this interview."
. been flying planes instead of riding on a boat. 1 did- "On the fourth day of the battle, they raised the
n't want to wait to take the exam again so I joined the flag on Mt. Suribachi. We were laying right under it .
Navy. I spent a lot of time in training on the east unloading. The first flag was too small so they put
coast but in the fall of 1944 they put me on an LST up a larger one which is the one on the photo that
fio that carne down the Mississippi River from everyone rcognizes. When they raised it, everyone
Pittsburgh where it was constructed, to New stopped, clapped, honked horns and cheered. It real -
Orleans." ly lifted everyone's spirit."
tr They sailed to Hawaii through the Panama Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle of he war. Of
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Canal. In Hawaii, they were sent to Hilo to pick up 22,000 Imperial Japanese troops only 1,083 were
their cargo. The cargo turned out to be Marines and captured, the rest were killed. The U. S. losses were .tij
their equipment. Those Marines had been in the 6,921 killed and 19,217 wounded.
.' Pacific for 37 months and had been through 4 major From Iwo Jima. Grady and his ship headed to
. invasions. This was to be their fifth. Okinawa for the invasion there. "At Okinawa, you
"We loaded and headed out not knowing where had to go in at high tide to unload. When the tide
. we were going but we knew that if we could get went out, you were high and dry. If one of the
Tokyo Rose on the radio, she would tell us. Sure Kamikaze planes picked you out, there was nothing , : .
, enough she named our ship, what we had on board you could do."
and where we were headed - Iwo Jima. She was In August of 1945, Grady and his ship were Y
right. We later learned that Japanese spies, were preparing for the invasion of Japan when the bombs
located across the street from the dock and had were dropped. "People who say the bombs were ter-
` reported this to the Japanese military before they rible just don't understand. It probably saved 1 % to
were arrested." 2 million Japanese lives and at least 500,000
On February 19, 1945, they landed at Iwo Jima, American lives."
. a 8 square mile volcanic ash island. "It had been Grady headed home from Japan the day after 4.
bombed for 63 days, shelled by the Navy for 4 days Christmas, 194.5 and was discharged in March of
but when we landed and opened the door it really 1946. He married his high school sweetheart in May
started. We had between 2,900 and 3,000 casualties and enrolled at A &M. He completed his Bachelors
the very first day." and Masters in 1950 and went to the University of
k 0 "The medics were saying the casualties were Missouri for his Phd. He taught at Missouri for 14 ,
the worst they had seen. The wounded were piled up years, worked for the Federal Reserve in Dallas for 3
gl on the beach. One of the medics asked us to take years before returning to A &M in 1967 as a profes-
some of the wounded off the beach because if they sor in the Ag Eco Department where he remained
didn't get to a hospital ship soon, they would die. We until his retirement in 1989 as a full professor. J
` agreed but all of the wounded that were selected "I have often wondered about those 26 Marines
;:needed plasma transfusions if they were to make it we took off the beach at Iwo and what their lives
' *' to the hospital ship. With a little on the job training were like. Maybe the reason my life has been so spe-
'' ' we started trying to find veins to start the plasma cial is because they too, had a life."
6 "'"' ' IV's. We had to use a scalpel on some of the wound J. C. Grady's name can be found on the Brazos
ed to find a vein. We carried 26 Marines off the Valley Veterans Memorial. For more information, to
beach and back to the hospital ship. We heard later make a contribution, or to nominate a veteran, con - ri
that all of the wounded made it through the night tact the BVVM at www. veterans- memorial.org or Bill „
and lived." Younakin at 260 -7030.