When a Japanese shell interrupted a corpsman tending to a wounded Marine, it also put a Purple Heart award on hold for half a century.
Every Marine and sailor who fought in the hell that was the Battle of Iwo Jima has his personal history of horrors seen, hardships endured, and losses experienced. But regardless of how terrible that history was, many Iwo veterans—like warriors throughout time—could find dark humor amid the confusion and carnage of combat.
