PHOENIX—When U.S. Marines raised the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, Delmar DeWitt Beard was there, unloading ammunition, witnessing a defining event of World War II.
“It was fantastic. It was quite a thing,” Beard said.
The date was Feb. 23, 1945. For Beard, however, the historic scene would also bring tragedy.
“I saw the Marines going all the way to the top until they raised the flag. The guy standing right beside me got shot and killed. [The bullet] missed me by about that far,” Beard said, gesturing.
More than 80 years later, he can’t shake the memory.
Beard, who turned 100 on May 17, still recalls the uncertain calculus of war. Who lives and who dies. He survived and went on to serve his country again, this time in the Army after the war.
On Veterans Day in Phoenix, Beard wore his old Army uniform with pride and a smile as one of seven grand marshals of the city’s Veterans Day parade.
The other six represented generations of military service, from Korea to Vietnam, the Cold War, Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Crowds waving flags and cheering the grand marshals lined downtown sidewalks as they passed.
“I’ve been a Grand Marshal before—long time ago, but this is new, different,” Beard told The Epoch Times during a break at a VIP breakfast.
He then posed for photographs with family and friends and greeted well-wishers who came over to shake his hand.
Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” captures six U.S. Marines hoisting the American flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, during the Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. The image inspired a war bond drive that raised $26 billion. (Public Domain)
According to the National WWII Museum, only 30,607 of the 16.4 million Americans who served in the war were still alive in 2026.
Born on May 17, 1926, Beard grew up on the family farm in Cumberland County, North Carolina, watching soldiers and paratroopers train at a nearby military base. His older brother was already serving in North Africa.
At 18, it was his turn to serve his country, he said.
Navy veteran Delmar DeWitt Beard of Glendale, Ariz., turned 100 on May 17, 2026. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
After basic training, Beard served aboard a tank landing ship at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He later traveled through the Panama Canal to Hawaii, where he continued training and learned to operate the ship’s twin 40mm anti-aircraft guns.
His experience growing up on a farm and learning how to shoot proved useful in his role, according to his biography.
While unloading ammunition on Iwo Jima, Beard witnessed the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi by U.S. Marines—an experience he said he’ll never forget.
The National WWII Museum ranks it among the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history.
“The Japanese had to be rooted out of caves and other strongholds in merciless close-quarter assaults. Approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle,” the museum’s website says.
“Although most in the 20,000-strong Japanese garrison were draftees, they refused to surrender, fighting tenaciously until only a few hundred remained alive to be taken prisoner.”
The 36-day battle claimed nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines and wounded another 20,000. Of the Japanese fighters, 216 were captured; the rest were killed. Iwo Jima was declared secure on March 26, 1945.
Beard’s military career continued after the war. He joined the Army in 1948 and spent 22 years in uniform, with assignments in Korea, Germany, and Vietnam.
As a command sergeant major in Vietnam, he led gun batteries and earned the Bronze Star Medal.
Following his 1970 retirement, he earned an accounting degree and became budget and finance director for the Texas School for the Deaf.
Delmar DeWitt Beard (L) receives a hug during a VIP breakfast in Phoenix, Ariz., on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2026. Beard, 100, was one of seven grand marshals during the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
“I had some good times and some bad times. In Germany, I met Queen Elizabeth,” he said.
At 100, he is still going strong and living independently in Glendale, his grandson, David Beard, told The Epoch Times.
He said it is a milestone his grandfather has taken in stride.
“The age doesn’t seem to matter to me. I’ve been over 90 so long, 100 doesn’t mean that much. I just go on,” Delmar DeWitt Beard said.
At that moment, a woman approached and shook his hand. “I just wanted to thank you for your service,” she said before giving him a hug.
The silver-haired veteran seemed taken by surprise, but not at a loss for words.
“I’m glad I could do it,” he said. “I did it just for you.”
