Top Photo: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, by Joe Rosenthal. National Archives NAID: 520748

U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima, a strategic air base located between the Mariana Islands and Japan, on February 19, 1945, after months of naval and air bombardment. Planners expected a brief campaign. But for over five weeks, Japanese forces mounted a fierce defense, turning the small volcanic island into a death trap for invading marines.

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. In thirty-six days of fighting on the island, nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed. Another 20,000 were wounded. Marines captured 216 Japanese soldiers; the rest were killed in action. The island was finally declared secure on March 26, 1945.

It had been one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. The bloodbath horrified Allied military planners and American citizens, who feared a far greater slaughter during an invasion of Japan's home islands

SIGNIFICANCE OF IWO JIMA 

The invasion of Iwo Jima, codenamed “Operation Detachment” aimed to achieve several objectives: remove the Japanese garrison that was providing early earning of B-29 Superfortress raids en route to Japan, eliminate the enemy airfields that allowed Japanese pilots to harass the Marianas, and establish the island as an emergency landing place for the U.S. Army Air Corps. Capturing Iwo Jima would also protect the right flank for a future American invasion of Okinawa and provide air fields to support long-range fighter escorts for bombing missions over the Japanese home islands. For such a small island, Iwo Jima held significant strategic importance. 

DAUNTING JAPANESE DEFENSES

General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Japanese commander on Iwo Jima, recognized that he could not defeat an American landing. Instead, he planned a long and costly defensive battle to shake American resolve to continue the war and invade the Japanese mainland. The general placed weapons to rain deadly fire on the beaches, but concentrated his forces in the northern part of the island within underground bunkers and gun positions linked by miles of tunnels. This deadly web of defenses exacted a terrible toll.

ESCALATING VIOLENCE

Marines immortalized the bloodiest battles on Iwo Jima with names depicting the brutal combat. These included "The Meat Grinder," where nearly 850 marines died capturing a Japanese stronghold, and "Bloody Gorge," where Japanese defenders made their final stand. The US landing forces suffered 6,821 killed and 19,217 wounded. 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.

PERSONAL STORIES

JOHN BASILONE

After receiving a Medal of Honor for his heroic exploits on Guadalcanal, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone remained eager to return to the front lines. The Marine Corps granted his wish, and Basilone joined the invasion force, landing on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. He led his machine gun section ashore, personally flanking and knocking out a Japanese blockhouse that impeded their advance. Moving forward under heavy fire, Basilone calmly guided a vulnerable tank out of a minefield. Moments later, a Japanese mortar round killed him. For his unwavering bravery, Basilone posthumously received the Navy Cross.

IWO JIMA FLAG RAISERS

Celebration erupted when the first marine patrol reached the summit of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, and raised a small American flag. A short while later, another detachment returned to the peak to replace the flag with a second, larger one. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the moment on film. Although the second flag raising was hardly noticed on Iwo Jima, Rosenthal's dramatic photograph appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the country. It became one of the iconic images of World War Il and one of the most reproduced photographs in history. Rosenthal's photograph was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography and was the centerpiece of a war-bond poster that helped raise more than $26 billion that year.

JACKLYN H. LUCAS

Jack Lucas lied about his age to enlist in the marines at 14. Unwilling to remain in a rear-area unit Lucas sneaked aboard an Iwo Jima-bound troop ship. Although he was charged with desertion and demoted, his rule-defying determination to fight impressed his 5th Marine Division shipmates, and he landed with them on February 19, 1945. During a Japanese counterattack the next day, two grenades landed in the middle of Lucas's platoon. Without hesitating, Lucas rolled on top of the grenades, sheltering his comrades with his own body.

Private Lucas miraculously survived despite massive injuries and received the Medal of Honor.

Battle of Iwo Jima Timeline