“I think it’s ... I don’t know if ‘incredible’ is the right word. I have yet to find the right word to put it together that 69 years later, we have three guys who were involved in this battle, to talk to us about it, and tell us about it,” said Tim Mergen, a Litchfield businessman. “I think that is so special for a town of this size to be able to have that.” Mergen, general manager of Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association, didn’t know the three men until their paths crossed unexpectedly. Mergen was in Washington, D.C., several years ago with his family and walked past some displays. “I saw maps that showed different map-making technology through the years,” Mergen recalled, including one that had been top secret and was now unclassified. “It showed ... very, very detailed, where the U.S. believed Japanese had installations on Iwo Jima. I asked the guy if I could have the map. He said, ‘sure,’” Mergen said. After returning home with the map, Mergen read a newspaper story in the Litchfield Independent Review about Tipka serving in Iwo Jima. Mergen thought Tipka would value the map even more. So, on a winter day near Christmas, Mergen went to Tipka’s house, knocked on his door and presented the map to a surprised, yet, grateful Tipka. Months went by, and Mergen needed to find someone to give a presentation to his Kiwanis Club. He asked Tipka to speak about his time at Iwo Jima. Tipka said he was not comfortable speaking, but would tell Mergen about Iwo Jima, if Mergen would do the presentation. Mergen agreed, gathered stories from Tipka and gave his Kiwanis speech. After the presentation, a friend of Nordlie’s approached Mergen and told him Nordlie had served at Iwo Jima, too. Mergen contacted Nordlie, and after hearing about Nordlie’s time on Iwo Jima, he revised his presentation to include Nordlie’s service. Mergen gave another presentation at First Lutheran Church in Litchfield, and following that speech, Mortenson, who had been in the crowd, approached Mergen. Mortenson said he, too, had served at Iwo Jima. Mergen has developed a presentation that he has now given to several
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COVER STORY
SUBMITTED PHOTO
U.S. troops raise an American flag at Iwo Jima in 1945. Roger Tipka and Don Nordlie of Litchfield were on Iwo Jima when the first flag was raised. “And they’ll tell you, when that first flag went up, everything got quiet for a few minutes on the island,” said Tim Mergen.
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This island is pretty close to the size of Litchfield. Tim Mergen
organizations and civic groups throughout Meeker and McLeod counties in which he shares general history of the Battle of Iwo Jima, as well as some of the three men’s stories.
The story of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima is an island 650 miles off the coast of Japan and 3,800 miles from Hawaii. For the United States, securing Iwo Jima was important as an air base for long-range bombing missions against mainland Japan, Mergen said. Because of the distance between mainland Japan and U.S. bases in the Mariana Islands, the capture of Iwo Jima would provide an emergency landing strip for crippled B-29s returning from bombing runs. The seizure of Iwo Jima would allow for sea and air blockades, the ability to conduct intensive air bombardment and to destroy the enemy’s air and
naval capabilities, according to the Navy Department Library. Japan knew the United States needed Iwo Jima, if it were going to do any sort of invasion of the mainland to continue with the war on Japan, Mergen said. As a result, “It became the most fortified island in the world.” The Japanese were intent on protecting Iwo Jima, he said. “This was the first battle to be fought on Japanese ground, and the Japanese considered their land sacred. So, by the U.S. coming onto their land, that was a huge thing for them, because that was sacred ground to the Japanese and the Japanese empire.” Iwo Jima, which means Sulfur Island, is 8 square miles in size. To put that in perspective, Mergen compared the island to the city of Litchfield. “If you were to start on the south end of Lake Ripley and drive north to where the outdoor theater is, you’ve gone about four miles. If you start at Walmart and drive to the west where County Road 1 is, you’ve gone about two miles. So, literally, this island is pretty close to the size of Litchfield.” The U.S. invasion started Feb. 19, 1945. However, the United States had done three days of naval bombardments before that. The invasion came on the east side
SEPTEMBER 2014 | ZEST
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