Immortalized in Joe Rosenthal’s photo of five U.S. Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman hoisting the American Flag on Mount Suribachi, the battle for Iwo Jima remains one of the most iconic and bloody fights of World War II. February 19, 2021 marks the 76^th anniversary of the start of the five-week struggle. Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lawrence F. Snowden was a 23-year-old Captain and commander of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 23 Marine Regiment, 12^th Marine Division in the battle. He was among the first waves of Marines going in and today is the most senior ranking survivor.

“The fighting was fierce and there was tremendous carnage on both sides, but it was for a very important strategic need,” said Snowden. “Iwo provided the proximity for our new B-29 bombers to reach mainland Japan. It also became crucial for the emergency landings of 2400 of the planes. Also of key importance was that it marked the first capture of Japanese homeland and the psychological impact on them was tremendous.”

Iwo Jima was the largest Marine amphibious operation of the war, and the costs of victory were extremely high. There were nearly 27,000 Marine casualties and 23,000 Japanese and was the only battle of the war where the Marines suffered more losses than the Japanese. The struggle was described as “being something out of Dante’s Inferno” in Hyper War: Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima by Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret.).

After the surrender Snowden was called for duty in Guam and then returned home to Marine headquarters in Arlington, VA. In 1950 he helped create the Marine Corps Development Center in Quantico, which charted operations and concept development for the future. Snowden served as a Major and Executive Officer in the Korean War. In the Viet Nam War he commanded the 7^th Marine Regiment.

“We did a lot of anti Viet Cong missions, chasing those guys who were farmers in the daytime and Viet Cong at night,” Snowden said. “It was pretty horrific; we lost a lot of arms and legs because of their trip wires. Now we call them IEDs.”

Snowden received five Legion of Merit medals for his service in Korea and Viet Nam, including two for combat. He was made Chief of Staff of U.S. Forces in Japan from the early to mid-1970s. He was promoted to Lieutenant General on 1 September 1975 when he assumed the billet at Marine Headquarter as Marine Corps Operational Deputy to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Snowden retained the rank when he served as Chief of Staff at Marine Corps Headquarters in the late-1970s. He received a Distinguished Service Medal for each of his posts as chief of staff and retired in 1979.

Snowden played a big part in two AFR events to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of Iwo Jima. He and other battle veterans, families, friends and dignitaries gathered for the anniversary of the Iwo Jima Association of America’s Reunion and Symposium in Arlington, Washington D.C. and Quantico, VA. On Feb. 19 there was a memorial service and a wreath laying at the WWII Monument and the Marine Corps War Memorial. The reunion featured a wide range of activities and speakers, including U.S. government officials and the Ambassador of Japan. Snowden was a moderator for many of the symposiums and interviewed by the media at his home in Tallahassee, Florida before and after the event. The reunion was managed by Armed Forces Reunions, Inc., parent company of BookMyReunion.com, and which has managed many reunions for the association and other military organizations Snowden was a member of.

“Armed Forces Reunions does a very good job of organizing and administrating the events, they have a lot experience,” Snowden said. “This will be a very important gathering, with media from around the world.”

General Snowden was also heavily involved in The Reunion of Honor, a joint ceremony and gathering of Iwo Jima veterans from the U.S. and their Japanese counterparts.  Founded by Snowden in 1995, the event draws hundreds of veterans, families, friends and military and government officials from the both countries. The early seeds of the concept for the reunion came to Snowden when visiting Japan during the Korean War and meeting former Japanese soldiers. It was the start of an attitude transformation for him and ultimately became a platform for a new understanding between the former enemies.

“I changed my mind in Korea about who were my enemies and who were becoming friends,” he said. Forty years after the battle, Snowden and other veterans of the struggle decided to visit the island. On the 50^th anniversary in 1995 he and the group officially established The Reunion of Honor.

“We didn’t and don’t go to Iwo Jima to celebrate victory, but for the solemn purpose to pay tribute and to honor those who lost their lives on both sides,” Snowden said. “It is a real alliance between the two countries. What I hope is that everyone understands that enemies can become friends, and that there is no more important bilateral relationship than between the U.S. and Japan.”

Scott McCaskey is a contributing writer for BMR.com, former Account Director at Goldman & Associates Public Relations and former staff writer for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

Volunteering to help plan your group’s military reunion can be an extremely rewarding process: who doesn’t want to make sure your brothers-in-arms have the best time possible during the one time of year dedicated to each other? There is an immense sense of pride that goes along with this responsibility, but also a great deal of stress.

Of the many tasks a reunion planner is responsible for, handling registrations can cause the biggest headache. Collecting members’ money for group tours, meals, etc. comes with a lot of responsibility, and a lot of organization is required. If the group doesn’t have a dedicated bank account, then your Treasurer is left to keep track of the money in their personal accounts. In most cases, members are registering for the reunion months in advance, so the reunion planner is keeping members’ money in their account for months at a time, while ensuring all deposits for tours and hotel arrangements are made in time. This is no small task, and if you haven’t done it before or have no system in place, it becomes very difficult to keep it all straight.

Lucky for you there is a better way, and a less stressful one at that. Let AFR take care of your group registrations. We’ve built software from scratch to handle this nuisance of a task, and like everything else we do it was designed specifically with the needs of military reunions in mind. Give your members the assurance of a well-established brand like AFR handling financial management and the convenience of members registering online (or by mail with check). Our proprietary software tracks what tours members signed up for, their meal choice (beef, chicken, etc.), guests attending, contact information – and the reunion planner has 24/7 access to customized reports with their own login. Click the link below to see a sample registration webpage, we customize this for each unique group.

https://www.afr-reg.com/sample/

So instead of stressing out over whose money goes where, who’s paid for what and who hasn’t, and any other headache created by registrations – have AFR do the grunt work while you enjoy watching all your comrades sign up for the best reunion you’ve had to date. To learn more about our registration services and the other benefits please call or email Charley at 757-625-6401 or charley@afri.com

Semper Paratus “Always There”

Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. (AFR) is privileged to partner with The Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association (CGCVA).  CGCVA, established in 1985, is a fraternal organization dedicated to making the public aware of the Coast Guard’s service and participation in significant historical events in United States history.

The title “Coast Guard” gives most people the impression that this armed force does not venture beyond fifty miles off the United States coast. However, the fact is the Coast Guard may be found operating off coasts and on shores all over the world. The Coast Guard has participated in every war, declared and undeclared, since 1790.  Its combat veterans have contributed outstanding service and many paid the ultimate price for safeguarding our freedom.

Throughout the Coast Guard’s long history, whenever Congress came up with a new job it didn’t know where to place it was given to the Coast Guard: search and rescue, lifesaving, icebreaking, marine safety, boating safety, fisheries enforcement, environmental protection, aids to navigation, and of course national defense. It is no surprise, therefore, that the public is confused as to just what the Coast Guard is and does, because it is the Swiss Army Knife of our Armed Forces.

Learn more about the CGCVA at their website.

Here’s what CGCVA has to say about AFR:

“AFR represents many military organizations, has excellent contacts with hotels nationwide, and negotiates the best prices possible. Prior to our association with AFR, obtaining a location for hosting our event and negotiating a contract was very time-consuming, requiring many phone calls and onsite visits to get the right location at the right price.  We needed a better way of doing business and AFR offers that opportunity.

AFR assisted us with organizing our New Orleans 2021 reunion, but because of COVID we rescheduled our event for later in the year at a new location. Within 48 hours AFR identified a hotel in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk area that met our needs at a great price. We couldn’t be happier with our experiences with AFR and will continue to use their services for future reunions.”

– Bruce Bruni, Trustee, Reunion Committee Member Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association