Growing partnership on hallowed WWII island

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Washburn
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
IWOTO, Japan --  A Japanese island that was once the site for one of the most iconic battles of WWII, Iwo Jima, now hosts Japanese and visiting U.S. service members who strengthen their bonds of friendship while paying mutual respect to the fallen.

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Yoshihiro Obata, Japan Joint Staff Office senior enlisted advisor and Japan Air-Self Defense Force Warrant Officer Takeshi Arai invited U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeants Manuel Roblesreynoso, 374th Airlift Wing; Rick Ramos, 515th Air Mobility Operations Group; and Jason Williams, 374th Operations Support Squadron, to visit the island of Iwoto June 20 - 21.

Obata is the equivalent of the U.S. senior enlisted adviser to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Arai is the JASDF equivalent of the chief master sergeant of the U.S. Air Force.

Iwoto, known as Iwo Jima until it was renamed in 2007, was the site of fierce combat between roughly 60,000 Marines and 21,000 Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in 1945.

Now more than 80 years later, the island is hallowed ground for both nations' service members.

"It started out with Warrant Officer Obata sending out an invitation to a few individuals who all had full schedules," Williams said. "Eventually, the invitation came down to chiefs on this base. I responded and was lucky enough to be able to go."

The chance to visit a place that played a pivotal role in America and Japanese history doesn't happen often, as the island now acts as a Japanese base, and those who want to visit need to be invited.

As none of the chiefs had been to Iwoto before, their initial reactions of the island were varied from one another.

"I was initially surprised at how large the island was, and from a military standpoint, how many capabilities they had," Williams said. "The Japanese members were very accommodating, great hosts and we received a great welcome."

The chiefs, along with their JASDF hosts, saw many of the historical sites scattered around the island. Locations of interest included a medical cave that was a wartime hospital for injured soldiers, the U.S. Marine Corps landing memorial and Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi's cave. Kuribayashi was the commanding general of the Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, whose headquarters was located within a system of underground tunnels.

"Iwo Jima is known for the iconic image of the Marines raising the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi," Ramos said. "Being at that site where history took place was definitely the most memorable for me."

Ramos said that he hopes the success of their visit will eventually lead to more opportunities for other Airmen to go.

Arai concurred as well.

"I hope to continue the bilateral exchange program and hope we are able to visit the memorial sites with our American counterparts next year," Arai said.

Participating in events like these strengthens our ties with our host nation, said Roblesreynoso.

"Arai and Obata were fantastic at getting this trip together and letting us participate in their traditions when we were on the island, like pouring water on the monuments of their fallen soldiers," said Roblesreynoso, 374 AW command chief. "This, along with other bilateral programs like the noncommissioned officer exchange program, NCO professional enhancement courses and various site visits only improve our alliance."