Description

Preparing for the Rain on Iwo Jima Isle follows the life and military service of Marion Frank Walker, who was born and raised in a peaceful small town in southern Indiana during the Depression years. Frank was just 16 years old when America received that now legendary "wake-up call" on December 7th, 1941, as planes from Japanese aircraft carriers bombed and torpedoed the U.S. naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In Frank's words, "The world as we knew it changed overnight." Thus began the U.S. military involvement in World War II. Eager to serve his country, Frank managed to graduate from high school mid-term of his senior year, and at 17 years old became a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps. The desire to serve and protect his beloved country would soon send him to the bloody battlefield of Iwo Jima. At 19 years old, he crawled through the volcanic ash that had turned purple from the blood of his fallen comrades, and saw gruesome sights that no person should ever have to witness. Frank is in the posed picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima as photographed by Joe Rosenthal. He went on from there to become a part of the occupation force at Fukuoka, Japan. After reading of his experiences during this deeply troubling time in history, Frank and his surviving comrades only ask that the people of America remember the sacrifices that have been made for their freedom and that their fallen comrades be remembered.