Return to Iwo Jima, presented by Thomas Moore

November 15, 2008, 10 a.m.,
at the Bluebonnet Library,
9200 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge


For some years, access to Iwo Jima, site of the historic raising of the flag in World War II, has been strictly limited, but our speaker this month received approval to visit the island recently. Veteran Thomas Moore, head of Lagniappe Studies at LSU, will present vivid photographs and a moving account of his visit to the hilltop and to the “apartments” (caves) where 20,000 Japanese died (and remain), as well as his exchange with U.S. veterans and Japanese drawn back to that fateful site. Through seldom-seen historic photographs and his own pictures, he shows the island as it was then and as it is today. Featured also is a surprising account and photos of the Enola Gay and its connection to the island, as well as an exhibit of the soil in which the U.S. flag was planted. Invite a World War II veteran or two to accompany you to this special program.