65 years on, US veterans return to Iwo Jima

THE 97-year-old American’s memories of comrades blown away on either side of him on Iwo Jima are a world away from his vision of the island after returning to commemorate one of World War II’s fiercest battles.

“It’s a paradise,” former Marine commander Richard Rothwell said as he sat in a wheelchair overlooking invasion beach.

“I see no resemblance at all. Even the beach seems different.” Rothwell was among nearly a dozen aging veterans able to make the 65th anniversary trip to the tiny Japanese island thanks to last-minute intervention by US Marines, who flew the stranded group here after their charter flight was diverted to Haiti to help with quake aid. Rothwell was commander of a 4th Marines Division battalion when the invasion began on February 19, 1945.