Recording artist at the age of 100? That would take quite the special person, don’t you think?
Well, 100-year-old World War II veteran Don Graves fits the part. The man that has been alive for 10 decades was originally born in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 17-years-old, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942. He served in the 5th Marine Division, 28th Regiment, which placed him in two different tours.
One of those was the infamous Battle of Iwo Jima.
Graves was a flamethrower in squad assault demolitions, and with the Battle of Iowa Jima seeing some of the harshest, bloodiest battling in all of World War II, he was the only flame-thrower operator to survive the almost two-month-long battle. As he told Fox 17, he and the brave servicemen he served with were formidable, but they lost plenty of good people fighting to secure the island that was held by the Japanese Imperial Army:
“We formed the best crack division the Marine Corps had. We lost 7,000 kids on the island. And we were people who wanted to defeat the enemy because we loved our country, and they were going to take it away from us.”
And you’ve likely seen the picture of the American Flag being raised on Iowa Jima. The photo showed six U.S. Marines planting the Stars and Stripes at the top of Mount Suribachi, effectively making the announcement that Americans had won the battle and gained control of the island.
Believe it or not, Don Graves witnessed the famous moment – that’s become one of the most recognizable photos ever – in person. He was there when the flag was planted, and can still remember it like it was yesterday:
“But when it went up, 520 ships right in the bay let go with their horns and whistles and rockets, everything that go on fire in the air. It was a spectacle.”
As you might imagine, a man like Don Graves has plenty of stories to tell. It’s his life story that he’s telling through a country song that made the veteran the oldest man ever to sign a recording contract in Nashville. The song, titled “The Sand of Iowa Jima,” is currently being worked on, and artists like Lee Greenwood and John Rich are attached to it.
Jason Sever, a songwriter in Nashville, spent hours listening to Don’s life story, then turned it into a poignant song that basically covers every aspect of Graves’ life:
“A guy like Don is, he’s my Elvis Presley. I mean, all the accolades in the word are, you know, the hit songs and stuff like that, that’s cool, but getting to write a story about a guy like that, it’s like hanging with Elvis to me.”
Graves truly is an American hero.
Don Graves was discharged in January of 1946, not even a year removed from his service in Iowa Jima. He moved back to Detroit and met his wife, who he was married to for 72 years. They then moved to Wisconsin, had four children of their own, and Don now has six grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
At 100-years-old, and being a World War II veteran, Graves has undoubtedly experienced and seen a lot in his time. And though he’s a natural storyteller, he’d likely tell you that he never saw himself as a recording artist – especially at his age. That being said, he’s happy that he can help to produce a song that not only tells his life story, but also honor those that gave their life to help raise that flag on Iowa Jima.
You can hear more about Don’s story – and the song that will become available sooner rather than later – in the local news story below:
