Iwo Jima Diary Viewing by The Historical Society of Berkley

The filmmakers, Michael Pfaendtner and Tom Coulter, decided to
do a documentary about WWII veteran Edward "Mort" Denell, a Marine who fought on
Iwo Jima - Coulter is Mort's grandson. Mort's tales of the time leading up to
the battle of Iwo Jima, during the battle and the end of it fascinated the
filmmakers and they set out to make a documentary of Mort's experiences. What
makes this different is that Mort documented what happened to him in a journal,
not only to while away the time, but to keep him sane.

The journal sat in a closet after the war, for 50 years. In 1995, he
persuaded his family to help him document what happened to him during WWII. As
he looked over his journal entries, the battle came back to him in vivid detail.
He began drawing the cartoons to illustrate his memories and soon he had over
300 cartoons, along with over 160 typewritten pages in addition to his journal.

During the documentary, the 84-year-old veteran is easy to listen to as he
recounts his experiences, mixing the cartoons Mort drew with historical footage
of the fierce battle at Iwo Jima.

There are some humorous stories Mort tells, as well as those that are
gruesome and heartbreaking. It brings the battle closer to the viewer, as it
comes direct from someone who was there and who can retell it vividly and
accurately.

The most
suprising thing, was the raising of a
flag at Kitano Point, on the other end of Iwo Jima by Mort and his Lieutenant
Charles Sockett at the end of the battle. Copies of the article about this that
ran in Yank magazine are noted in Iwo Jima Diary and clearly shows this was a
historical event that should be remembered as much as the famous flag raising on
Mt. Suribachi.