IWO JIMA

Iwo Jima is a small spec of an island south of Japan in the North Pacific. It is part of the Japanese Volcano island chain and lies just 650 miles from Tokyo. It was the sight of a vicious battle during World War II.

U.S. Marine units began the invasion of the island on February 19, 1945 and the battle continued until March 26 when it was declared secure by U.S. forces. The statistics of the conflict are gruesome. There were about 22,000 Japanese troops on the island and over 20,000 were killed and 1,000 taken prisoner. The number of U.S. casualties was greater than the total Allied losses at the D-Day Battle of Normandy (almost 7,000 dead and over 19,000 wounded).

The famous photograph of the raising the American Flag on top of Mount Suribachi was taken on February 23rd; long before the island was secure. Three of the six soldiers (five Marines and one Navy Corpsman) in the picture were killed in battle before they left Iwo Jima.

The U.S. held and occupied the island long after the war was over. Not until 1968 was it returned to Japanese control.
.