Photo: Samuel Corum / Getty Images News / Getty Images
A Palm Beach County World War II veteran turned 100 years old this week.
A group of fellow veterans, including the 35th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General James Amos, threw a celebration for Bob Riechman.
He served three years on the front lines at Guadalcanal, Bouganville and Iwo Jima, which is where he was wounded and earned a Purple Heart.
"It was 35 days of constant fighting. This was the first battle that anyone fought in World War II where we had more casualties than the enemy."
Of the 70,000 U.S. Marines fighting at Iwo Jima, 7,000 were lost, while 20,000 were injured just like Riechman, who wound up with shrapnel in his leg after an explosion. But the injuries weren't serious enough for him to be sent home.
"I lost I guess my closest friend when that shell hit and entered me and him and killed two of my best friends with that one shell. And when I was carried off to the hospital boat, they allowed me to stay there overnight. When I entered, there was a flag flying on Mt. Suribachi. That morning when I got dressed and was going to go back to my unit, I looked up and the flag was gone and I said 'Oh my God, the Japanese have taken over again.'"
But Riechman soon learned that a second flag had been planted in its place.
The war hero turned 21 on the battlefield at Iwo Jima and says he never got to celebrate that birthday until now.
"I had my 21st birthday on the island, hoping from day to day that I would make it through this campaign. And eventually, as you can hear me babble here, that I did make it."
Riechman says told himself that one day he WOULD celebrate that 21st birthday and that's what he considers the celebration that was thrown for him on Tuesday.