104-year-old William White still has memories of the exploding grenade that nearly ended his solo reconnaissance mission during one of World War Two's fiercest battles.
Colette Luke has more.
75 years after Iwo Jima, Marine recalls second chance at life
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR WILLIAM "BILL" C.
WHITE, U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN WHO SERVED AT IWO JIMA, SAYING: "I had no idea what was going on, I don't know.
I was probably dead, but I managed to somehow get up and find my way back to the Marines.." On the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Marines' landing on Iwo Jima, 104-year-old William White still has vivid memories of the exploding grenade that nearly ended his life during World War Two.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR WILLIAM "BILL" C.
WHITE, U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN WHO SERVED AT IWO JIMA, SAYING "The next thing I knew I was up against the wall.
The grenade had exploded, shoved me back against the wall./I somehow staggered my way back to the hospital.
And that was the end of that." White was one of roughly 60,000 Marines who landed on the island of Iwo Jima for what would become a bloody, 36-day battle that left nearly 7,000 Americans and 22,000 Japanese fighters dead.
White, who was at the time the company sergeant assigned to lead a 10-man security detail for the First Battalion, 28th Marines, said he was looking for cover for his unit when he encountered a squad of Japanese soldiers.
His fellow Marines opened fire and the Japanese responded with gunfire and grenades, with one exploding just inches from White.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR WILLIAM "BILL" C.
WHITE, U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN WHO SERVED AT IWO JIMA, SAYING: REPORTER: "So you easily could have died out there if there had been a difference of a couple inches?" WHITE: "I thought I was (dead).
It could have been very, very simple.
But it didn't happen, fortunately." The Purple Heart recipient who's been awarded many other medals during his 36 years of service now lives at an assisted living facility in Stockton, California.
His room resembles a Marine Corps museum with framed photos, medals and awards.
White, who was married for 42 years, is among a dwindling number of U.S. veterans still around to remember the battle.
The invasion is best known for an iconic news photograph of six U.S. Marines raising the U.S. flag on top of the island's Mount Suribachi, signaling a hard-won victory.
The photo inspired a statue at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
It's been 75 years now, but for White, he still thinks about Iwo Jima from time to time.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR WILLIAM "BILL" C.
WHITE, U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN WHO SERVED AT IWO JIMA, SAYING "I occasionally have thoughts about what happened or what might have happened..But that's it - just memories."