"Among the Americans serving on Iwo island, uncommon valor was a common virtue." Admiral Chester Nimitz.
Wells received the Navy Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart after leading his Marines in a frontal assault up the slopes of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
5]He didn't make it to the top after taking multiple enemy rounds, but continued to command, leading his men to victory. His platoon raised the first flag atop the mountain, hours before the iconic photo of the second flag raising was captured.
Rest In Peace Sir and Thank you for setting the bar so high for those that followed you and are still drawn to serve because of Marines like you.
Wether you call Iwo the toughest battle in Marine Corps history, or Tarawa or any of a dozen other hell-on-earth fights, let me put it in perspective...
The 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. The distance traveled by these leathernecks? 4 miles. Pretty much the extreme distance a 30-06 M2 bullet travels. 26 THOUSAND WOUNDED FOR 4 MILES. Where did they find men like this? .... from across a place called America. From stinking slums of crowded cities, to farms in her heartland. From backwoods hollows of Tenn or the desert towns of Arizona. Then forged and pounded into Marines in a blacksmith shop called Parris Island. God Bless them. God Bless them all. All those who served.
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