Foley With Mementos

James “Red” S. Foley of Lower Burrell has seen at lot in his life, but being just off shore and witnessing the raising of the United States flag at Iwo Jima tops it all. He was a very young Marine headed for his first combat on February 23, 1945, when at 10:30 a.m. he raised his head and saw the historic event. The famous Iwo Jima flag-raising photo was actually a second time at 2:30 p.m. when a larger flag was used. Iwo Jima was a sulfurous volcanic terrain defended by 21,000 troops in 1,500 rooms built into rock and 16 miles of tunnel. Red, part of the F Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, landed on the deadly shore that afternoon with bullets whizzing over his head. “What was scary for me was getting shelled and not knowing where it came from,” he said. The Marines couldn’t dig foxholes due to the volcanic ash making them sitting ducks for the hidden Japanese gunners. It was after moving inland that Red took his first hit at Hill 382 where he received a head wound. Red was an assistant to a BAR gunner. A two-man team that found advantageous battle positions to kill the enemy, they kept on the move. Picking the best places to fire from, Red covered the gunner while he did his job. But, Iwo Jima posed unique and difficult cover problems. The gunner instructed him to go up to an 8-foot diameter high rock area that Red thought was very dangerous, but he obeyed. Within the time it took to get there, the gunner was killed and Red was wounded. This time he received shrapnel wounds to the neck and chest and shattered his collarbone. He was sent to a hospital ship, then Guam and finally to a Pearl Harbor hospital. Red is a decorated veteran having received the Purple Heart, Residential Unit Citation, and Asiatic Pacific “One Star”. Red healed, rejoined the 4th Marine Division and then transferred to the 9th Military Police on Okinawa for occupation duty. He left in April 1946 returning home. He carried a crucifix and prayer book with him throughout the war and has these preserved in a memento box. Turning 78 this May, he belongs to the VFW Post 92, American Legion Post 868 and the local Marine Corps League.

James “Red” Foley at war’s end 1946

James Foley, Lower right hand corner, with Iwo Jima Marines