MEET THE CO-PRODUCER MICHAEL PFAENDTNER FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 90 YEAR OLD LOCAL RESIDENT HAROLD DANEELS WILL BE PRESENT TO SHARE HIS FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES IN IWO JIMA.

This documentary is part character study, part oral history, Iwo Jima Diary uses the cartoon drawings of 84-year-old Edward “Mort” Denell to dramatically illustrate his combat experiences as a Marine in the closing months of World War II. A self-taught artist, Mort Denell has been drawing cartoons since he was nine years old. 

First trained as a paratrooper, he ultimately became a machine gunner with the 5th Marines when the paratroop unit was disbanded. In January of 1945 he found himself on a troop ship heading towards Iwo Jima. 

To pass the time and to help maintain his sanity, Mort Denell began recording his combat experiences in a small journal. Following the war, his journal sat in a closet and was ignored for over fifty years. 

In 1995, at age 77, he was persuaded by his family to re-visit his journal and document his story before it became lost forever. Seven years and 300 drawings later he recounted those experiences on camera to his grandson Tom Coulter and co-producer Michael Pfaendtner. 

Limited seating is available by phone or onlinewww.marinertheater.net.