Feb 23rd 2012 - Man O' War Ruination

Today brings us the Man O' War Ruination in a 5x42 Corona vitola. Man O' War is one of the most popular and highly regarded blends by AJ Fernandez. The Ruination was introduced as a full bodied edition to the line. It has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. You'll get a woody, leathery, earthy and spicy experience with the Ruination. I chose this for today's cigar for 2 reasons. 1. My buddy Carl hooked me up with it the other night when we hung out, thanks again brother! 2. Today marks the 67th anniversary of the iconic flag raising atop Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. One of the most pivotal and bloody battles during World War II happened on Iwo Jima. 5 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman performed the second flag raising on the mountain which resulted in the photo that helped inspire Americans to support the war efforts. The battle lasted 36 days and resulted in 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. The Japanese had 22,060 soldiers stationed on the island. 21,844 died either from fighting or by ritual suicide. This marked the only US Marine battle that resulted in more American casualties than the enemy. Even in the face of all this they fought on and captured the island which provided a huge strategic advantage to the US war effort. The nations highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, was awarded to 22 Marines and 5 Navy personnel for their actions during the battle. For retrospect only 82 Medal of Honor were awarded to Marines in WWII, 28% of them were for Iwo Jima. Also my grandfather, a Army Field Medic, was attached to a Marine unit for the Pacific Island Hopping Campaign and fought on Iwo Jima. He was lucky enough to make it through unharmed. I miss you papaw and thanks for all you and the men you fought beside did for this country.

Flag Raising:


MOW Ruination: