Early on the morning of February 19, 1945, the first wave of brave young warriors from the 5th Marine Division hit the beach on a small island only 750 miles from Tokyo, known as Iwo Jima. The taking of the island was a vital part of the war in the Pacific. Bombers taking off from there would be in striking distance of mainland Japan.

The 36-day battle would go down in history as one of the most savage and bloodiest campaigns in US history. Of the 70,000 Marines that would eventually be involved in the battle, two had been classmates at McKinney High School in North Texas, graduating in 1942. Jack Kirby had been a trumpet player in the high school band and Henry Myric had worn the blue and gold letter jacket of a McKinney Lion football and basketball player.

Jack, trained as a paratrooper, was part of the same unit that placed the US flag atop Mt. Suribachi on February 23, of which the famous photo has become the identifying a symbol of the US Marine Corps. Twenty-one-year-old Corporal Jack Kirby, a machine gunner with the 28th Marines, would be killed in action five days later on the 28th.

During the hard-fought hand-to-hand combat, 6,800 Marines would perish, with 19,000 wounded. Jack would be buried on the island and later reburied at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.

However, PFC Henry C. Myric would be one of the lucky ones, if you can call anyone lucky who fought at Iwo Jima. He would live to tell the tale. He and Jack had been shipmates on the trip across the Pacific Ocean. Henry, who made the return voyage without him, would be one of the pall bearers for Jack’s funeral back in Texas.

After high school, Henry had attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas for one year. And then like many young Americans who enlisted in the Armed Forces to do their part in World War II, the 18-year-old chose the Marine Corps, knowing that the life expectancy of a Marine in combat was about three weeks. At the Battle of Iwo Jima, it was even less. Having survived his time in Hell, Henry finished his enlistment with a Military Police unit on the island of Okinawa.

After his tour of duty as a Marine, Henry returned to SMU where he earned a degree in accounting and marketing. With the courage, drive and commitment of a combat Marine, he became a successful businessman, rancher and farmer in his hometown of McKinney. As a civic leader and faithful Methodist Henry became a local legend.

Seventy-seven years after the Battle of Iwo Jima there are very few survivors still living. And now there is one less. Henry C. Myric passed away on May 28, 2022, at the age of 96. In a flag-draped coffin with the famous Eagle, Globe and Anchor logo of the US Marine Corps proudly displayed, he was buried at historic Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney, in the company of hundreds of fellow veterans from the Civil War through today.

America is known as the land of the free, because of the brave. And it was people like Henry Myric that made it that way.

From one Marine to another, God bless you and Semper Fi, brother.

McKinney Daily Courier-Gazette, 5 Nov. 1943

McKinney Daily Courier-Gazette, 30 Dec. 1943

McKinney Daily Courier-Gazette 26 Oct. 1944

Cpl. Jack Kirby USMC

Marine Buddies – Henry Myric seated

Memorial Day 2014 at Ridgeview Memorial Park in McKinney. Marines from WWII, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. (Henry Myric 2nd from right)

COLLIN COUNTY BOYS KIA AT IWO JIMA

LINCECUM, MONTEITH TALMADGE JR. 20, Altoga. USMC, Cpl. B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division. KIA 28 Feb. 1945 at the Battle of Iwo Jima after nine days of fighting. WWII.

HARRINGTON, CHARLES E. JR, “ROADY”, 22, Plano, Texas A&M University. USMC, 2nd Lt. 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. KIA 3 March 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Served as a beach master directing the offloading of men and materials during his initial service on Iwo Jima and then went inland as a platoon leader and was shot by a sniper. Buried at Restland Memorial Park, Dallas. WWII.

PARKER, HARRISON V. (W. on Wall) 23, Farmersville. USMC, Lt. Pilot. KIA 12 Mar. 1945 when his plane was shot down during the battle of Iwo Jima. WWII.