The Battle of Iwo Jima (A Little History Lesson)
Posted: Wednesday, March 04, 2009
by David Tanguay
The invasion of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945, and continued to March 26, 1945. The battle was a major initiative of the Pacific War Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Marine invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was charged with the mission of capturing the airbase airfields on the island, which up until that time had harried U.S. bombing missions to Tokyo. Once the bases were secured, they could then be of use in the impending invasion of the Japanese mainland.
One of the first objectives after landing on the beachhead was the taking of Mount Suribachi. Joe Rosenthal photographed five United States Marine Corps Marines: Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, and U.S. Navy corpsman John Bradley Navy John Bradley Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima raising the U.S. flag atop Mt. Suribachi on the fourth day of the battle (February 23). The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography that same year, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time.
Within the next month of fighting, 3 of the 6 soldiers raising the flag were killed.
After the fall of Mt. Suribachi in the south, the Japanese still held a strong position throughout the island. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi still had the equivalent of eight infantry battalions, a tank regiment, two artillery and three heavy mortar battalions, plus the 5,000 gunners and naval infantry. With the landing area secure, more troops and heavy equipment came ashore and the invasion proceeded north to capture the airfields and the remainder of the island. Most Japanese soldiers fought to the death. On the night of March 25, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final counterattack. The Marines suffered heavy casualties; more than 100 were killed and another 200 Americans were wounded. The island was officially declared, "Secured" the following day. The number of American casualties was greater than the total Allied casualties at Battle of Normandy on D-Day.
Even after Iwo Jima was about to be declared secured, about three thousand Japanese soldiers were left alive in the island's warren of caves and tunnels. Those who could not bring themselves to commit suicide hid in the caves during the day and came out at night to prowl for provisions. Some did eventually surrender and were surprised that the Americans often received them with compassion, offering water, cigarettes, or coffee
Reunion of honor
On February 19, 1985, the 40th anniversary of the day that U.S. forces began the assault on the island, veterans from both forces gathered for the Reunion of Honor just a few meters away from the spot where U.S. Marines had landed on the island.
During the memorial service, a granite plaque was unveiled with the message on the 40th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima, American and Japanese veterans met again on these same sands, this time in peace and friendship. We commemorate our comrades, living and dead, who fought here with bravery and honor, and we pray together that our sacrifices on Iwo Jima will always be remembered and never be repeated.
It is inscribed on both sides of the plaque, with the English translation facing the beaches
where U.S. forces landed and the Japanese translation facing inland, where Japanese troops defended their position.
After that, the Japan-U.S. combination memorial service of the 50th anniversary was held in front of this monument in March 1995. The 55th anniversary was held in 2000, followed by a 60th reunion in March 1995
Epilogue
More US Marines earned the Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima than in any other battle in US History.
In 36 days of fighting, there were 25,851 US casualties (1 in 3 were killed or wounded).
Of these, 6,825 American boys were killed. Virtually all 22,000 Japanese perished.
Information in this article provided as a courtesy of wikipedia encyclopedia
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I've always had a great interest in WWII, even as a child. It's fascinating that the two sides met after all those years under such different circumstances.Please log in to respond to this comment.Yes Ken, I was in Japan in 1968 and found the Japanese people to be a very friendly people. Thanks for commentingPlease log in to respond to this comment.
hi david,my dad was a marine in World War ll.i think i told you that.oh, if only men's words would suffice, and stop the endless killing of ordinary men who leave behind so many.thank you for sharing this information with us,my best regards,suePlease log in to respond to this comment.Yes Susan, many times in war men have died with their last words being "WHY?"thank you for commenting, yes I do remember you telling me about your father. Are you all ready to fly to Texas?Please log in to respond to this comment.yes i am, sir.my son just called, he passed everything, the parade is friday, graduation saturday, and i am so excited. i didn't give anything away, as i want to surprise him. he got a couple of red ribbons. i'll let you know what they are when i find out.i am going to meet up with bruce and danny, lorrie, laura, and rob, and their kids, for lunch, which is very exciting.i think things may be starting to come around, david, and for that, i am grateful, as i am for your friendship and support through this whole 2 years.my best to you,suePlease log in to respond to this comment.Well Susan, you'll be meeting with the search warp team, that's great. Yes you have good reason to feel proud. take care of yourselfPlease log in to respond to this comment.
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