PRESQUE ISLE – It’s almost impossible to visit Iwo Jima – the Japanese island where one of the most famous World War II battles was fought – but Andy Giles is going back for a third time.

Giles, an art professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle who has spent the last two decades researching WWII battles in the Pacific, will be leading the “Iwo Jima Reunion of Honor” tour March 11-15.

For Giles, it’s an amazing opportunity to stand on the landing beach, ankle-deep in black volcanic ash, and serve as a guide for the veterans returning to the place where they fought more than 60 years ago.

Tours like this, Giles explained, don’t happen very often.

“The idea is that Iwo Jima is almost impossible to visit,” Giles said, while sitting in the university’s art studio on Wednesday. “There’s no commercial service and Japan doesn’t often let people visit the island. A lot of negotiations have gone on with the Japanese government to allow this to happen.”

Giles said tours of the almost deserted island have been few and far between over the decades. Giles, though, has had the opportunity to visit Iwo Jima twice, including in 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the battle, to see the place where his father fought.

H.A. Giles Jr., was killed in combat near the end of the Korean War when Giles was four. Before his death, Giles Jr., a member of the 4th Marine Division, participated in storming the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.

It was Giles’ desire to understand what his father went through that has led him on a quest to record as many veterans’ stories and memories as possible, to research the history of WWII campaigns in the South Pacific, and to share with others what he has learned.

For the last five years, the self-made historian has served as a guest lecturer during numerous cruises across the Pacific to talk about WWII battles there.

He’s also done tours of several WWII sites, including on the Mariana Islands, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Guadalcanal and Peleliu. That work led to this latest opportunity.

Giles said Valor Tours, Ltd. asked him last fall to lead this trip to Iwo Jima, during the 62nd anniversary of the battle. He actually will be leading his group of about 15 people, and another group from Military Historical Tours Inc., during the six-hour visit to Iwo Jima on Wednesday.

“People are going to get tired, hungry and thirsty. It’s basically like going on a long, rugged hike up Mount Katahdin,” Giles said, describing what the visit will be like. “The island is still very volcanic, so they’re going to smell sulfuric fumes. For people to go back there, they really get a dose of what it was like to be there [60 years ago]. There are shells and wreckage lying around. It’s really an island of death.”

Still, Giles said, that doesn’t stop people from wanting to see the island.

“Lots of people want to go back to Iwo Jima. They’re interested in going back and seeing where their fathers fought, veterans are interested in going back and paying respects to fallen comrades one last time, and lots of people working on books and films jump at the chance to be able to go to the island.”

Because the Japanese government is requiring the tour group to arrive after daylight and leave before sundown, Giles said the tour will cover a lot of distance in just six hours. Giles said he will be showing his group such things as underground bunkers and caves, and specific spots on the beach where certain units landed. They also will go to the top of Mount Suribachi to see the famous spot where the U.S. flags were raised.

Giles expects the tour to be an emotionally draining experience, and he has mixed emotions about going back, but on the other hand, he knows how much he wants to be there.

“I’m keen to be with that generation that’s passing so quickly from the scene,” Giles said. “Probably for these veterans, this will be the last time that they go back. It’s like you’re there to escort them through this process. It’s very powerful. I feel privileged to be there with them and share this experience.”

Location: About 750 miles south of Tokyo, in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is the middle of Japan’s three Volcano Islands.

Size: About 8.5 square miles. Mount Suribachi, an active volcano, is located at the southern tip of the island and stands about 554 feet above sea level. It last erupted in 1727.

Importance during WWII: It could be used to support long-range bombing missions against mainland Japan.

Conflict: The Battle for Iwo Jima lasted 36 days, from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945. It resulted in more than 26,000 U.S. casualties and 6,800 deaths. Only 1,083 Japanese soldiers, out of 20,000 defending the island, survived.

Resolution: In 1985, American and Japanese survivors attended the dedication of the 40th Anniversary Memorial. The monument was built to commemorate their “Reunion of Honor.”

Sources: The Encyclopedia of American History, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps WWII Commemorative Committee Fact Sheet.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY GILES

Andy Giles, an art professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, paused last summer for a portrait with Mount Suribachi, located on the Japanese island Iwo Jima, while on a cruise around the Pacific Ocean. Giles has been serving as a guest lecturer on cruises to talk about World War II battles for about five years. Next week, he will lead a special tour of Iwo Jima during the 62nd anniversary of the battle.