High school diploma was a long time coming for area WWII vet

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Answering a call to patriotism, Ralph Bartholow didn't hear his name called at what would have been his high school graduation back in 1944. But while his classmates were learning history, he was making it.

Bartholow was an active participant in the epic World War II battle for Iwo Jima. Seen the iconic photo of the planting of the American flag on a that South Pacific island after U.S. forces claimed it from the Japanese? Yes, that photo -perhaps the most significant and symbolic image ever captured from the war. The one considered to be the most reproduced photo ever. The moment you still might see on those grainy movie house newsreels shown on the History Channel. The one that was the foundation for books written and movies produced, including Clint Eastwood's 2006 vastly striking "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." Bartholow was there to see the actual flag being raised on Mount Suribachi's volcanic tip. How's that for being an eyewitness to history?

Bartholow, was honored on Veterans Day by the Crestview Board of Education. Through a program assisting veterans, he was awarded a high school diploma.

It was a long time coming for someone who, after serving in World War II, led a full and productive life as a family and businessman.

"Dying? I thought about it all the time," he said while reflecting on Iwo Jima with bayonet-sharp recollection.

Bartholow hails from Columbiana. He attended several local schools including Lisbon, Goshen and Fairfield Centralized. The latter later became the Crestview School system.

He should have graduated in 1944. However red, white and blue flowed through his veins. A desire to serve his country had taken hold. He enlisted in the Navy on July 13, 1943 and honorably served for three years.

"I enlisted in the Navy four times, being turned down because of my eyes three time," he recounted. "After memorizing the eye chart, they switched it on the fourth try. The recruiter said if you want it that bad, I will pass you."

Bartholow went through commando training and schooling to become a radio station operator in battlefield conditions- skills that he used mightily on Iwo Jima.

His Navy unit became attached to the Marines for the invasion of Iwo Jima where the Japanese had engaged a massive military buildup. It was cleverly concealed. The island was fortified with hidden artillery, some 11 miles of underground tunnels and bunkers carved into the island rock.

The battle of Iwo Jima was the first invasion by U.S. troops on the Japanese Home Islands. It was destined to be among the most fiercest combat engagements ever. The Japanese were known for being tenacious fighters and they lived up to - and died - with that reputation.

The battle was a major initiative of the Americans' Pacific Campaign. Though only eight square miles large and a speck on the map, the island, - flat, full of sulphur and featureless save for a single dormant volcano, - was critical to the United States. The Japanese had built airfields and planes from there that had obstructed U.S. bombing missions to Tokyo. In the works was a planned invasion of the Japanese mainland. Secured airfields would be critical for that.

"In January of 1945, we boarded ships and after departing port, we were informed that we would be going in on the invasion of Iwo Jima," Bartholow recalled. "We arrived on Feb. 16, 1945 and for the next three days, we were standing watches and getting some final instructions on our mission. All of the three days, the battle ships, destroyers, and bombers were shelling the fortifications on the island."

The concrete bunkers were virtually impenetrable. Direct hits did not stop them. So the Americans began shelling below them, blasting away rock and lava from the volcano. It worked. The pillboxes would roll down the volcano intact into the sea with Japanese still in them. Those are the kind of memories Bartholow carries.

"While on the troop ship going to Iwo, I saw a fellow putting a shirt on with R. Bartholow stenciled on it," he said. "I questioned him as to why he was wearing my shirt and he said it was his shirt. Turned out he was also R. Bartholow. As I was on my way to go on watch, I never saw him again.

"There were 1,400 troops, plus ship's company on the ship. On the afternoon of the 18th, someone came to me and said my name was on the list for the beach party that directs the first wave in which was a very dangerous mission. I went to my commanding officer and asked how I was put on that list, as I was not trained for that. He checked, and it was the other R. Bartholow. All nine members of the beach party were killed." Among the dead was the other R. Bartholow. You can call that fate.

Prior to launching a beach assault, the U.S. forces had bombed the island for weeks and the shelling intensified for three days before the invasion. Little opposition was expected. The Americans were wrong despite an invasion force that would number over 70,000 Marines.

"They stormed the beach and unloaded some tanks with no enemy firing," Bartholow remembered. "All at once, the Japanese opened up with a crossfire and casualties were very heavy. Tanks would go a few feet, and then would be hit. We watched all of this from our ship and shortly, boatloads of the wounded started arriving back at the ship."

Later Bartholow was among those hitting the beach. Among his most vivid memories are ones of the dead.

"On the three miles into the beach, we saw both American and Japanese bodies floating in the water," said. After making landfall Bartholow saw, "piles of American dead everywhere. Four one way, then four the other way, on top until they were about 10 feet high."

Such harsh realities made Bartholow, a high school junior only months earlier, grow into a man quickly. War can do that to anyone. A total of 21,703 Japanese died from fighting or ritualistic suicide during the six weeks of fighting which ended with an American victory on March 26, 1945. Only 1,083 were taken prisoner. The Allied forces suffered 26,000 casualties with nearly 7,000 dead. Over a quarter of the Medals of Honor awarded to Marines in World War II were given for conduct in the invasion of Iwo Jima. It was the only major Pacific Campaign battle where American casualties surpassed the dead Japanese count.

Bartholow had his share of scary moments.

While helping to set up radio communications there was sniper fire. Bartholow said radio units were spread apart for good reason. "We had five or six these units placed in a circle about 500 foot wide with the main station in the tent in the center. The reason for this was so a hit from an air raid would not take the whole station out."

He remembered another close call.

"I was standing watch in one of the units and we could hear digging. We drew straws to see who would deliver the messages to the tent and I lost, but managed to get them delivered without getting shot. The next morning, at daylight, they brought a bulldozer in and found a tunnel and nine enemies digging it, within 5 feet of us. Luckily they didn't dig up through and attack us."

More remembrances:

-"We were using abandoned Japanese foxholes as often as possible because they were usually well constructed and lots of times, had covers over them. Some even had stones over them. Four of us had been using one of these for about five days when a detachment came up and said it had to be checked for booby traps. Turned out it had a trip wire hooked to several grenades. They made us move away and then when they tripped the wire, a very large explosion occurred. Someone must have been looking out for us because of the many times we went in and out without tripping it."

-"Another time we were using a Japanese foxhole (three of us). It was night and you couldn't have any kind of light and all at once, something landed through the entrance. We thought it was a grenade as that was a favorite trick of the enemy. Turned out it was a baseball size stone from overhead. One morning, we woke up to gunfire and fellows in the next foxhole to us had awakened and saw the head and shoulders of a Japanese soldier looking in to see if anyone was in there. The one fellow shot him five or six times before he slid out of view. We got up and looked and it was a youth of about 13 or 14 years old. Found out years later, some Japanese youths had been visiting there when the invasion happened and they were pressed into service.'

- "Another time we got an abandoned foxhole close to the mess tent. One morning, we were awakened by a close explosion. A Japanese soldier was trying to steal some food and a guard threw a grenade at him. We had human remains all over our foxhole and gear. Breakfast wasn't very enjoyable that morning."

- "Every night, five minutes on the hour, the Japanese would open up with their big gun and fire for about 10 minutes all night long. It was meant to disrupt our sleep and boy, did it work. In March, we were living in tents, four men to a tent. I had just come off watch and at a quarter to twelve, they managed to lob a shell from the big gun into the ammunition dump that was located about 100 yards from us. Ammunition and ordnance, rockets and who knows what else, started going off. Some casualties and wounded from the attack, but we managed to get to our foxhole and stayed there until the last blast went off at 7:30 a.m. All of our tents were torn to shreds including the main radio tent and equipment was strewn everywhere."

- "Later in the month, we were hit by a typhoon that did almost as much damage. The island was very narrow in front of the volcano where we were. We were so close to the water that our unit saw a ship floundering that was going to sink, so we formed a human chain and managed to get everyone off of it. We got a ribbon and a Silver Star for that."

Bartholow's closest encounter with death came while on guard duty.

"Because the enemy soldiers on the volcano would try to leave their positions and join their comrades to the north, we installed a rolled barbed wire fence," he said. "Of course, we had to patrol it at night. We used a roving guard type operation. Two men start at the center and each goes to his end, then return to the center and meet again. All this is done in complete darkness, and as you are returning, you didn't know whether it is your buddy or an enemy soldier. We were able to hear them going across the barbed wire, but seldom caught them. One night, I was just finishing my watch and the fellow relieving me suddenly raised his rifle and fired past me. Turned out a Japanese soldier had his rifle aimed at my back. The shot killed him. If my replacement hadn't come in a jeep with the lights on, history might be different."

Once the island was secured, two flag-raisings were held. The most famous was the one we all know because of the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman planting the flag.

Bartholow considers himself fortunate to be among those witnessing the special moment.

"Being at the base of the volcano and working on the radio station, we were privy to a lot of the things that were happening." he said. "I was standing at the foot of the volcano when the Marines started up to raise the flag. I saw them raise the first and the second flag."

Bartholow was deemed essential after the capture of Iwo Jima. That meant he didn't return to the states with his unit. While on the island, he operated the Army-Navy radio station, essentially working for three branches of the armed services. He was among the radio men handling campaign communications for over 1,000 air raids over Tokyo.

He would have another brush with history while still serving on Iwo Jima.

"The P51s and the B29s were using the airfield in large numbers," he said. "There was still quite a bit of fighting on the island. One day, the top brass came to me and said there was a very important plane on the runway that had to be alerted and gotten off there if we had an air raid. Found out many years later, while sitting by my former commander at a reunion in Atlanta, Georgia, that it was carrying an atom bomb if something happened to the Enola Gay B29 _ that same bomb was the one they used later at Nagasaki."

Discharged in April 1946, he ended his career with the Navy. His medals included Point system, Victory Medal, American Area Campaign Medal and Asiatic Campaign Medal.

Bartholow became a family man, marrying the former Elizabeth Harrold in 1947. They will celebrate anniversary number 63 next Feb. 1. The Bartholows had three children and have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Transitioning skills acquired in the service, proved beneficial. Bartholow ran his own television and radio business in Salem during the 1950s. He worked for various companies in sales and repairs of TVs and radios. He did sound systems for the Packard Christmas shows and even Reilly Stadium in Salem.

For someone who served in the Navy, his absolute passion is flying. He built an experimental single engine aircraft, the Sportaire, that attained some prominence. It took him over 20 years to complete and had its maiden voyage in 1983. It sort of became a family project because he started the aircraft in the living room and his kids watched TV through the fuselage.

Bartholow has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 51 years. He had brain lesions so severe that years ago a doctor, he said, told him, "to go sit in a chair and die."

He certainly didn't and despite other challenges besides the natural aging process - he will turn 84 on Dec. 14, Bartholow's life has been a full one.

He did suffer a major stroke in May 2007. He survived and maintained his speech. Although confined to a wheelchair and a patient at Parkside Health Care Center in Columbiana, he can play the organ, piano, tuba, guitar, banjo and drums.

A proud grandson, 14-year-old Doug McKinney, wrote a tribute to his grandfather acknowledging the kind of person he is. He even sent it to CNN and other outlets.

His tribute included this passage, "After finding out about the stroke, my family went to visit him in the hospital, and I knew I had to be strong for him. When I walked into his room, his face was very swollen, and he was having a very hard time breathing. When he saw me he said, 'Hi Doug, how's baseball going?' That's when I broke down and started sobbing. My grandpa who couldn't move his left side and could barely breath was so selfless that he asked me how baseball was going. I had always loved my grandpa a lot, but that was when I knew he was my hero. I'll never forget how I felt that day."

A seminal moment in his later life came in 1995. A half century after fighting on Iwo Jima, he visited it. Think of all the ghosts there must be. All of the footprints still in the ash.

"I was tickled to get back; I never thought I'd get back to a place I had wanted to get out of so bad back during the war."

Ironically he needed a passport to visit Iwo Jima. The island had been returned to the Japanese following the war.

Bartholow said that times have changed. Regarding war he said, "We don't go in to win it. We go in to impress people. Nobody looks themselves in the mirror.

"You do have to go through war, to appreciate it," he said of the American military effort and the patriotism of that day and age. "Too many people don't talk about it (fighting in the war). They need to though to teach future families about how bad war is. Every once in awhile I have people come up and compliment me for serving. But it doesn't happen too often."

He has his share of war souvenirs. There's the rifle he carried on Iwo Jima that somehow he was able to ship home intact. There's a chunk of shrapnel that nearly struck him. But his best souvenirs are those war experience memories that he carries like he once carried his gear. The Ralph Bartholows - all of the veterans from the wars, especially World War II, are priceless commodities that all Americans should appreciate, respect and, yes, thank. And not just once a year on Veterans Day.

A large crowd showed its appreciation just this past Wednesday at the Crestview BOE meeting. The attraction was a very special occasion. Wearing a cap and gown, Bartholow received his high school diploma. His daughter flipped the tassel. It was a long time coming.