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Day by day the ranks diminish - god bless
2017-02-19
[TallahasseeDemocrat] Lt. Gen. Lawrence Snowden, Battle of Iwo Jima survivor, dies.

Marine Lt.Gen. Lawrence F. Snowden, who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and led reconciliation reunions to the Pacific island in retirement, died early Saturday – a day before the 72nd anniversary of the famous fight’s opening salvos.

At age 95, the three-star general was the senior survivor of the five-week struggle for the volcanic island, where three airfields were captured in February of 1945 to provide a staging area for air raids on the Japanese mainland. More than 6,000 Americans died and 19,200 casualties were counted – including Snowden, who was wounded twice but persuaded commanders to let him return to the fighting after his first evacuation.

Bevis Funeral Home confirmed that Snowden, who was the Tallahassee Democrat's Person of the Year in 2016, died at Big Bend Hospice House.

Although he rose to three-star rank and was assistant commandant of the Marine Corps before his retirement in 1979, Snowden was best known for his participation in “Reunion of Honor” missions to meet with Japanese veterans on the island, starting in 1985. He was instrumental in setting up another reunion in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the battle.

Snowden always emphasized that the reunions were not a celebration of the bitterly fought American victory, but a solemn recognition of the sacrifice by combatants on both sides – and a reaffirmation of the friendship between the countries.

“Gen. Snowden was a very highly respected leader and mentor,” said Claude Shipley, a retired Army colonel who heads the Tallahassee chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. “He was highly admired for his work post-World War II in helping to heal the wounds of Japan and the United States, and also for his service to our nation as a Marine Corps officer.”

Born in Charlottesville, Va., on April 14, 1921, Snowden joined the Marines shortly after Pearl Harbor and served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. His many decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit.
Posted by:Bov Flimbers

#13  They had amazing intelligence gathering that allowed them to destroy enemy troop formations very quickly. In one operation, 10,000 Japanese troops were totally wiped out in 20 minutes.

That is why our intelligence apparatus being put back into service of the people instead of a political party is crucial to the security of the people.
Posted by: Nero White 3083   2017-02-19 19:30  

#12  My father's uniform is on display in that museum.
Posted by: Nero White 3083   2017-02-19 19:20  

#11  Rantburg - bringing you the latest in the War on Terror and Poetry
Posted by: SteveS   2017-02-19 18:39  

#10  The Professor is a fan, since WOT has dropped to nil in "legitimate newsrooms"
Posted by: Frank G   2017-02-19 17:09  

#9  Darth, you and P2k exemplify why I have stuck with Rantburg since 2001.

The education you can get here is nonpareil.

I found this site by checking out every entry on Insty's blog roll, and now Insty and da 'burg are my only two regular checks. Prosit!
Posted by: AlanC   2017-02-19 17:03  

#8  Matt - The WW II Museum (originally the D-Day Museum) may not have a big Navy ship but its original feature was the invaluable, largely ignored, and locally-built Higgins boat.
Posted by: Glenmore   2017-02-19 16:11  

#7  AlanC it is a holdover from the old European system.

A lieutenant was the second in command of a unit or a major staffer. Hence you hear a warlord/king having a "trusted Lieutenant". The lieutenant was helping a captain or a general.

In the old rank format, you had a Marshal that was in charge of all forces. He commanded the Generals and the Lieutenant Generals were the XOs. You then had Sergent Major Generals and then Brigadier generals. The Sergent Major Generals did pretty much what our Sergent Majors do, but also were given the office of Quarter Master General. Brigadier generals commanded brigades.

Over time as units grew in size, the term Sergeant Major General fell out of use and became Major General as that rank came to command the divisions. Lieutenant Generals still work with Generals as a staff office at the Corps level just like majors do at division level so they kept their name.

So you have the Be My Little General (Brigadier, Major, Lieutenant, General) structure we see today.
Posted by: DarthVader   2017-02-19 13:05  

#6  Should have known better. You don't bite that hand that feeds you until after you retire/leave your post.

Idiot.
Posted by: Jumbo Unaviting4985   2017-02-19 12:33  

#5  Thank you P2k. I am not surprised whenever the vagaries of English have to be invoked but I thought that the military might have avoided it.
Posted by: AlanC   2017-02-19 12:27  

#4  Can anyone explain to me why a Lt. Gen. (aka 3 stars) ranks higher than a Maj. Gen. (aka 2 stars) when a Major ranks higher than a Lieutenant?

Vagaries of the (literally) English language. See Admiral General Monk. They were making it up sometimes as they went along. Did you know the Army used to have ensigns? They carried the flags (national and regimental) circa 1812.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-02-19 11:28  

#3  Shipman, thanks a thousand times to your Dad. I suspect this will have occurred to you, but I hope he's given an oral history to the National WW2 Museum. I think Churchill said this about Midway, but he could have said it about Iwo: "Long may the tale be told in the Great Republic."

We read a lot about the ignorance of our yutes about the country's history. I drive past the Museum once or twice a day, and during open hours there is always a stream of people headed toward the Museum, and sometimes a river. Frequently young parents with kids in tow. I'm not sure what the kids get out of it, but I suspect it more than offsets what they might hear in their college history classes. (The Navy gets shortchanged a bit, since as big as the Museum is it won't accommodate a destroyer-- but there's a Fletcher right up the rive in Baton Rouge.) As you probably know.
Posted by: Matt   2017-02-19 11:13  

#2  Can anyone explain to me why a Lt. Gen. (aka 3 stars) ranks higher than a Maj. Gen. (aka 2 stars) when a Major ranks higher than a Lieutenant?

Thx..
Posted by: AlanC   2017-02-19 10:49  

#1  Think dad may be last or near last survivor in TLH of Iwo.
Posted by: Shipman    2017-02-19 08:43  

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