LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 97-year-old World War II veteran from Kentucky returned to a historic battlefield almost 80 years after his service.

Dale Faughn, who served for U.S. Marines, visited Iowa Jima with a group of veterans. He flew back into Louisville on Monday night after spending several days in the South Pacific. 

Faughn first visited Pearl Harbor National Memorial. About 2,400 servicemen were killed in the bombing at the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii, which launched the U.S. into World War II.

He then visited Iwo Jima, where he fought at 19 years old.

"I had memories of what it was then and so I just wondered how will this compare and all of that," Faughn said. "It was the same place."

The Battle of Iwo Jima began on Feb. 19, 1945, and lasted 36 days, with about 70,000 Marines fighting 18,000 Japanese soldiers. More than 6,500 U.S. servicemen died and about 20,000 were wounded in the battle on the tiny island, which is about 660 miles (1,062 kilometers) south of Tokyo and is now officially called Iwo To.

The island was seen as vital to the war effort because Japanese fighter planes based there were intercepting American bombers.

Seventy-eight years later, Faughn climbed to the top of the Iowa Jima Memorial. His son, Paul, escorted him on the 10-day trip.

"When you go to Iwo Jima that was emotional for everybody you know, but it was pretty neat," Paul Faughn said. "There was a lot of veterans there and getting to watch them meet each other, and they all wrapped their arms around him and took very good care of him."

Faughn and his son were met by around a dozen people at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport when they returned to their home state. The veteran, who is also a former teacher, had an idea for his next adventure.

"A little rest will do me good now," Faughn said.

According to the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, there were 167,284 WW II veterans still alive in 2022. There are about 6,000 of those living in Kentucky and Indiana.

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