The United States had sent more Marines to Iwo Jima than to any other battle, 110,000 Marines in 880 Ships. The convoy of 880 U.S. Ships sailed from Hawaii to the island of Iwo in 40 days. Twenty-one thousand defenders of Japanese soil, burrowed in the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima, anxiously awaiting the U.S. Marine invasion of this important stronghold of the Japanese military. Once ashore, the Marines were bedeviled by the loose volcanic ash. Unable to dig foxholes, they were sitting ducks for the hidden Japanese gunners. The invading US Marines fought above ground. The defending Japanese fought from below ground. The U.S. Marines on Iwo rarely saw a Japanese soldier. The Japanese snipers could see our Marines perfectly. GEORGE FRANK ADAMS, b. Abt. 1926, in Denver CO. was killed by a sniper's bullet after landing on Japanese occupied Iwo Jima. While the details of when and how his demise occurred are still being researched, Frank Adams was surely defending our Country as an American Hero.

ADAMS, George F., Pfc, USMCR. Parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Adams, 2700 So. Clarkson St., Englewood.

A recent email to this author from one of Frank's old school chum's wrote: "Our neighborhood football team that Frank organized, played on the huge lawn in front of Porter's Memorial Hospital in Denver, back then it was pretty open, but now it's all built up with the ever expanding hospital... Frank would challenge other teams in the area and one day we played and beat the Colorado Military Academy... Frank inspired all of us to play our best. The Mayor of the City of Englewood, Mr. Franz, owned a lumber company on East Hampden Ave. Mr Franz had built their home on Yale Ave. northeast of and adjoining the Adams property. The Englewood superintendent of schools, Ralph Jenkins, lived with his family next door to the Adams on the southwest side of the Adams property on the NE corner of Ogden and Amherst and had two children, Peggy and a son whose name I can't remember. The Wyman family lived directly south of the Adams on Amherst, Mr Wyman was the vice-chancellor of Denver University back in the 1940's... The Wyman's adopted son, Ross, was the neighborhood bully and when Ross was attending Denver University post WWII he reached through the shower curtain and turned off the cold water of his room mate's shower. His room mate punched through the shower curtain and hit Ross in the solar plexus and killed him. Before WWII, Frank did not like Ross, and was the buffer between "Ross the bully", and all us younger kids.. . Frank Adams was, and still is, a Hero to us all!" Bob Baerresen, Englewood