By: Ray Elliott

Col Dave Severance, "My Iwo Jima Sagas"

MY IWO JIMA SAGA is the just-published, first-hand account by the commander of E/2/28 that raised two American flags atop Mount Suribachi during the World War II battle in February 1945 — a bloody campaign that was immortalized in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Joe Rosenthal that helped inspire a war-weary nation to victory.

Col. Dave E. Severance, USMC (Retired), spent subsequent years of his life preserving and defending the truth about that seminal battle against those who would fabricate and perpetuate their own made-up roles in being a part of its history. Erroneous claims would find their way into the media or prompt inquirying family descendants to reach out in search of more information, only to be disappointed to learn that their family member did not tell the truth and, for whatever reason, felt the need to weave a tale for their own glorification — or at least in the minds of their families. Severance did not ask for, nor want, that burden, but felt a deep sense of obligation to protect and defend his men and their true role in history — especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Before he died on Aug. 2, 2021, at age 102, Severance entrusted the draft of his remembrances of the historic flag-raisings and his documentation of the numerous false claims he refuted to Tales Press for future publication.