Ervin Terwilliger was born 28 April 1917 at Booneville, Logan Co., Arkansas to John Lewis & Vora Bird Ervin Terwilliger. Shortly thereafter the Terwilliger family moved to Fort Smith, Sebastian Co. Ar. On 19 Dec 1936 Ervin married Alma Marjorie McKee. Ervin joined the Marines the 6th of June 1944 and served in the Military Unit: Co E, 2 bn, 23 mar, 4 mar div, Fmf. Pvt. Terwilliger was killed in action March 6, 1945 at Iwo Jima, Ogasawara-shicho Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, leaving a wife and 3 children. He was buried in the National Cemetery at Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., Ar. on Jan 14, 1949. Biography below shared by Vickie Graves Jones from Fighting Men of Arkansas From Wikipedia The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the purpose of capturing the island with its two airfields: South Field and Central Field. The Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels. The American ground forces were supported by extensive naval artillery and had complete air supremacy provided by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators throughout the battle. The five-week battle saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific. "A Very Costly and Controversial action" Click here for more of the story of the battle at Iwo Jimo. US Strength 110,000 U.S. Marines, U.S. Soldiers, U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen, Seabees, USAAF personnel, and others 500+ ships Casualties and losses 27,071 total casualties 6,102 Marines killed 1 captured 719 Navy sailors killed 41 Army soldiers killed or missing 19,709 wounded 1 escort carrier sunk 1 fleet carrier severely damaged 1 escort carrier lightly damaged 137 tanks destroyed 153 airplanes destroyed