"We buried the first row of 50 men in the cemetery today. Ever since we came ashore, the men of our outfit have been collecting the bodies, the engineers went over the cemetery area with mine detectors, and the bulldozer was scooping out a large trench. We have had mortar shells and sniper fire which have interfered tremendously with our cemetery work. A mortar shell landed right by the bulldozer and scared us plenty.
Then this afternoon 4 of our men were carrying a body when one of them stepped on a land mine not more than 15 yards from my foxhole. It blew his leg off and injured 2 of the other boys. Then another one was hit by a sniper as he was working among the bodies, so we have had 4 casualties among the Graves Registration Section. 2 of the boys went with me and placed a flag on each individual and then I said: 'You have gallantly given your life on foreign soil in order that others might live. Now we commit your body to the ground, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. May your soul rest in eternal peace. Amen." - Chaplain E. Gage Hotaling, Grave Registration, 4th Marines, Iwo Jima Feb 28, 1945 #reality #war #ww2 #iwojima #zerofoxtrot