Battle of Iwo Jima
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
Iwo Jima is a small speck in the Pacific; it is 4.5 miles long and at its broadest point 2.5 miles wide. Iwo is the Japanese word for sulfur, and the island is indeed full of sulfur. Yellow sulfuric mist routinely rises from cracks of earth, and the island distinctly smells like rotten eggs.
Since winning Saipan in the previous year, American bomber commander Curtis LeMay had been planning raids on the Japanese home islands from there, and the first of such bombings took place in Nov 1944. The bombers, however, were threatened by Iwo Jima in two ways. First, the Zero fighters based on Iwo Jima physically threatened the bombers; secondly, Iwo Jima also acted as an early warning station for Japan, giving Tokyo two hours of warning before the American bombers reached their targets. Moreover, the Japanese could (and did) launch aerial operations against Saipan from Iwo Jima. Finally, the United States could gain an additional airfield for future operations against Japan if Iwo Jima could be captured. In the Philippines, the operation on the island of Leyte was pushed up by eight weeks due to lack of significant resistance, which opened up a window for an additional operation. Thus, Operation Detachment against Iwo Jima was decided.
The defenders under the command of Tadamichi Kuribayashi were ready. The aim of the defense of Iwo Jima was to inflict severe casualties on the Allied forces and discourage invasion of the mainland. Each defender was expected to die in defense of the homeland, taking 10 enemy soldiers in the process. Within Mount Suribachi and underneath the rocks, 750 major defense installations were built to shelter guns, blockhouses, and hospitals. Some of them had steel doors to protect the artillery pieces within, and nearly all them were connected by a total of 13,000 yards of tunnels. On Mount Suribachi alone there were 1,000 cave entrances and pill boxes. Within them, 21,000 men awaited. Rear Admiral Toshinosuke Ichimaru, commander of the Special Naval Landing Forces on Iwo Jima wrote the following poem as he arrived at his underground bunker:
May enemy bombs be directed at me, and enemy shells
Mark me their target.
Many years later, author James Bradley, son of one of the famous flag raisers (more on the flag raising later), visited the island. He noted that the tunnels were extremely sophisticated. Some of the walls were plastered, many of the rooms were well-ventilated, and in the hospital ward beds were meticulously carved out of the rock walls to efficiently make use of the space.
The Americans knew the Japanese were expecting them, but when the field officers saw the intelligence reports, they were astonished by how many guns were present on the island. Black dots representing coastal defense guns, fox holes, artillery emplacements, anti-tank guns, blockhouses, pillboxes, and all sorts of defenses covered the whole island. The American intelligence only detected the presence of 12,000 Japanese, and even at that grossly underestimated quantity, it was already going to be a most difficult landing. Captain Dave Severance of the United States Marine Corps commented that looking at the intelligence map "scared the hell out of [him]." To soften up the defenses, beginning on 8 Dec 1944, B-29 Superfortress and B-24 Liberator bombers began pounding the island. For 70 days, the US 7th Air Force dropped 5,800 tons of bombs on the little island in 2,700 sorties. Holland Smith, the Marines general in charge of the landing operation, knew that even the most impressive aerial bombings would not be enough, and requested 10 days of naval bombardment before his Marines struck the beaches. To his surprise and anger, the Navy rejected the request. "[D]ue to limitations on the availability of ships, difficulties of ammunition replacement, and the loss of surprise", the Navy said, made a prolonged bombardment impossible. Instead, the Navy would only provide a three-day bombardment. When the bombardment began on 16 Feb, Smith realized it was not even a full three-day bombardment. Visibility limitations due to weather led to only half-day bombardments on the first and third days. Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance told Smith that he regretted the Navy's inability to suit the Marines to the fullest, but the Marines should be able to "get away with it."
At 0200 on the morning of 19 Feb, battleship guns signaled the commencement of D-Day, followed by a bombing of 100 bombers, which was followed by another volley from the naval guns. Marine private Jim Buchanan of Portland, Oregon leaned against the railing of his ship as he watched the impressive explosions. "Do you think there will be any Japanese left for us?" He asked his buddy next to him. Little did he know, while the 70 days of aerial bombardment, 3 days of naval bombardment, and the hours of pre-invasion bombardment turned every inch of dirt upside down on this little island, the defenders were not on this island. They were in it. The massive display of fireworks merely made a small dent in the defenders' numbers.
The naval bombardment stopped at 0857, and at 0902, the first of an eventual 30,000 marines of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions, under V Amphibious Corps, departed in their landing craft. They arrived at the beach 3 minutes later. It was uneventful. They were sure that optimists like Jim Buchanan must be right, there were no Japanese left to fight; the only casualties that occurred were to drownings caused by a powerful undertow. Several more waves of landing crafts hit the beach and dropped off their men, tanks, and supplies continuously in the next hour, and it was about then when the thunders of the Japanese guns hit. Under Kuribayashi's specific instructions, they waited an hour for the beach to crowd up before the guns sounded so that every shot fired would inflict maximum damage on the Americans. "Smoke and earsplitting noise suddenly filled the universe," and the Marines had nowhere to hide as the volcanic sand was too soft to dig a proper foxhole. All they could do was move forward; some of those who could not move forward were crushed by tanks that were trying to get off of the beach like the men. Navy Corpsman Roy Steinfort recalled that as he arrived on the beach, he was initially happy to see that countless Marines lay prone defending the beachhead. It did not take long to realize that the men were not in prone positions; they were all dead. Frantic radio calls reported back to the operations HQ: "All units pinned down by artillery and mortars", "casualties heavy", "taking heavy fire and forward movement stopped", and "artillery fire the heaviest ever seen". By sun down, the Americans had already incurred 2,420 casualties.
On the first night, the weather was as tough an enemy as the Japanese. Four-foot waves pounded the beach while the American Marines withstood the continuing Japanese artillery shelling.
The 30,000 who survived the initial landing faced heavy fire from Mount Suribachi at the southern tip of the island, and fought over inhospitable terrain as they moved forward; the rough volcanic ash which allowed neither secure footing or the digging of a foxhole. The Marines advanced yards at a time, fighting the most violent battles they have yet experienced. "There seemed to be no clean wounds; just fragments of corpses", said William Manchester. Often the only way to tell between an American and Japanese body was to look at the bodies' legs: the Japanese leggings were made of khaki and the Americans canvas. Yard by yard, the American Marines advanced toward the base of Mount Suribachi. Gunfire was ineffective against the Japanese who were well dug-in, but flame throwers and grenades cleared the bunkers. Some of the Americans charged too fast without their knowing. Thinking that enemy strong points had been overtaken, they moved forward, only to find that the Japanese would reoccupy the same pillboxes and machine gun nests from underground exits and fire from them from behind. Reporter Robert Sherrod noted that the advance had been nothing less than "a nightmare in hell.... [The Marines] died with the greatest possible violence. Nowhere in the Pacific have I seen such badly mangled bodies. Many were cut squarely in half. Legs and arms lay fifty feet away from any body."
Chaplain Gage Hotaling, charged with burials, recalled "[w]e buried fifty at a time in bulldozed plots. We didn't know if they were Jewish, Catholic or whatever, so we said a general committal: 'We commit you into the earth and the mercy of Almighty God.' I buried eighteen hundred boys."
Amidst the battle, Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John Bradley, James' father, a Navy Corpsman attached to the Marines, ran back and forth to do what he could to save the wounded. On the second day of the battle, he ran across a field of machine gun and artillery fire to a Marine losing blood at a dangerous rate. Putting himself between the Marine and the Japanese, Bradley administered first aid, then pulled the Marine back to safety by himself. For this, he was later awarded a Navy Cross, but he never told his family about the honor. The death he had seen was too much for him to bear.
To the Marines' relief, tanks finally arrived on the second day of the invasion. Shielded by the thick armor, the American troops could finally advance under cover as they moved to the base of the mountain.
Day three of the invasion was as tough at Mount Suribachi as the previous day, but for some of the Marines, the day began worse than they could have imagined. Navy carrier-based attack aircraft were launched to strike at Japanese positions, but the bombs fell near American positions. Captain Severance attempted to use a frequency reserved for the top brass to warn the Navy of the friendly fire, and to his surprise he was told to get off the frequency. Fortunately, a field colonel overheard the distress call and ordered the bombing to cease before any Americans were hurt by their own bombs.
Finally, on 23 Feb, the summit was within reach, but the Americans did not know it yet. A 41-man patrol was sent up, Colonel Chandler Johnson gave the lieutenant leading the patrol a flag. "If you get to the top," he said, "put it up." "If" was the word he used. Step by step, the patrol slowly and carefully climbed the mountain, each of them later recalled that they were convinced it was going to be their last, but they made it. Little did they know, they were watched by every pair of eyes on the southern half of the island, and a few of the ships, too. When they reached the top, Lieutenant Schrier, Platoon Sergeant Ernest Thomas, Sergeant Hansen, Corporal Lindberg, and Louis Charlo put up the flag. Much to their surprises, the island roared in cheers. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, observing from a naval vessel, excitedly claimed that the "raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years." Equally ecstatic, General Holland Smith agreed with Forrestal that the flag was to be the Navy secretary's souvenir. Colonel Chandler Johnson could not believe Forrestal's unreasonable demand from the hard-fighting Marines who rightfully deserved that flag instead, and decided to secure that flag as quickly as possible. He ordered another patrol to go up to the mountain to retrieve that flag before Forrestal could get his hands on it. "And make it a bigger one", Johnson said.
And so, the second flag went up, and as it turned out, the flag was recovered from a sinking ship at Pearl Harbor. Ira hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley, Harlon Block, Mike Strank, and Rene Gagnon were proud to have been sent, but they did not think much of it. It was, after all, just a replacement flag. But they did not know that some distance after them was photographer Joe Rosenthal, who was at the place at the right time to take the famous "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" photograph. The photograph was the driving force for a record-breaking bond drive in the United States some time later, and it would also bring Rosenthal a Pulitzer Prize.
First Lieutenant Barber Conable of the United States Marines, who would later become the president of the World Bank, woke up in disbelief when he saw the second flag flying above Mount Suribachi. He recalled:
With the landing area secure, more Marines and heavy equipment came ashore and the invasion proceeded north to capture the airfields and the remainder of the island. With their customary bravery, most Japanese soldiers fought to the death. Of the 21,000 defenders, only 1,000 were taken prisoner.
The Allied forces suffered 25,000 casualties, with nearly 7,000 dead. Over 1/4 of the Medals of Honor awarded to marines in World War II were given for conduct in the invasion of Iwo Jima.
The island of Iwo Jima was declared conquered by Chester Nimitz on 14 Mar 1945, noting that "all powers of government of the Japanese Empire in these islands are hereby suspended." However, he made the declaration too early, for that fighting had by no means ceased on the island. "Who does the admiral think he's kidding?" yelled Marine Private Bob Campbell. "We're still getting killed!" On 16 Mar, General Schmidt declared the island secure; fighting still did not end by then, but Kuribayashi knew it was approaching the end. On the same day as Schmidt's declaration, Kuribayashi radioed Tokyo that "[t]he battle is approaching its end. Since the enemy's landing, even the gods would weep at the bravery of the officers and omen under my command." On 21 Mar, Kuribayashi reported that "[w]e have not eaten or drunk for five days, but our fighting spirit remains high." A day later, as his last soldiers were falling around him, he radioed what would become his last words on official record: "The strength under my command is now about four hundred. Tanks are attacking us. The enemy suggested we surrender through a loudspeaker, but our officers and men just laughed and paid no attention." Kuribayashi was likely to be killed on that same day, but his body was never found. The United States officially declared the island secure on 26 Mar, twelve days after Nimitz's initial declaration.
Dan van der Vat commented about the operation:
In sum, Iwo Jima saw the only major battle in the entire Pacific Campaign where American casualties surpassed the Japanese dead. All the lives lost, on both sides of the battle, for ten square miles; for that very reason, Admiral Richmond Turner was criticized by American press for wasting the lives of his men. However, by war's end, Iwo Jima sure appeared to have saved many Americans, too. 2,400 B-29 landings took place at Iwo Jima, many were under emergency conditions that might otherwise meant a crash at sea.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, immediately outside Washington and adjacent to the Arlington National Cemetery, memorializes all US Marines with a statue of the famous picture.
Sources: Flags of Our Fathers, Goodbye Darkness, the Pacific Campaign.
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James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 February 1945
29 May 2005 09:17:11 PM
any maps, diagrams of underground fortifications on Iwo & Okinawa anyplace?
Must have for any online reference source.
20 Jun 2005 08:19:50 AM
My appreciation for the information recorded
17 Mar 2006 06:02:11 AM
im doing an article on this war and i need some MAJOR help with all of this!! PLAEASE HELP!
24 Oct 2006 06:07:07 PM
My uncle, Pfc Andrew Troy Tanton died while serving with C Co 1st Bn 25th Marines on Iwo. Iwould like to know if anyone has any pictures or imformation about this unit. Semper-Fi
7 Jan 2007 10:13:51 PM
Not a single mention of the 27th Division. Just like most accounts.
29 Jan 2007 01:14:02 PM
The information provided here is much appreciated
15 Feb 2007 07:21:34 PM
I am curious to know if there are any details about the Japanese survivors and their accounts of the battle.
12 Mar 2007 11:41:18 AM
verry realistick.With the war
almost over in europe,japan lost the war no mether wat.M
Maby thy should have just starf japan with total insolation.But than there was
rusia?
10 Apr 2007 05:44:22 AM
Wonderful information, thanks!
12 Apr 2007 09:49:22 PM
I hope this immense sacrifice never be forgoten for those looking this images !!!!!!!
19 Apr 2007 04:32:19 PM
Without a doubt, the greatest web site about Iwo Jima, and all the information that one could ask.
2 May 2007 04:39:48 AM
For a recently published book on the letters of Gen. Kuribayashi from Iwo Jima giving a good perspective on the Japanese side try So Sad to Fall in Battle by Kumiko Kakehashi. There is a lot from the other side out there but not much translated to english yet.
2 May 2007 09:26:51 AM
This site is really really cool
10 May 2007 07:29:18 PM
this website is the primary souce I used for a paper on Iwo Jima, your information is so accurate! WOW!
14 May 2007 11:44:47 AM
i love this page. it makes me cry all the time. i dont know how all of the people that lost thei friends and family can deal with you doing this stuff. putting up a store, video, and even a video game. you guys are so pathinic
24 May 2007 11:48:12 AM
This is the greatest article I have ever read in my life.
24 May 2007 11:00:25 PM
This page is the most useful one I could find about Iwo Jima anywhere. I just wish there was a bit more info on the side of the Japanese.
31 May 2007 07:42:26 PM
I have to write a 3-4 page paper on Iwo Jima by tomorrow! Ahh!!!!
7 Jun 2007 12:16:26 PM
This website was very useful when writing my paper. The info was really accurate
15 Jun 2007 12:48:09 PM
thejapans had what was coming to them
7 Jul 2007 01:28:40 PM
I was stationed at Norfolk Naval Hospital near the end of l945. Bernard Welch, Huntington Va., became a friend. He too was a Pharamacist Mate, and when asked how it was on Iwo Jima, he suddenly stopped talking, shook his head and could not answer me. I wont talk aboutit, he replied
8 Jul 2007 06:53:04 AM
Even though it has been sixty years, God Bless and thank you to the Marines who sacrificed so musch there.
11 Jul 2007 07:41:24 PM
Just returned from a two week tour of Japan. The people were so kind, thoughtful, and helpful that is is hard to believe that our two peoples fought so hard to kill each other. Lets hope it never happens again.
8 Aug 2007 11:12:49 AM
if the **** hadnt shot my **** off at Saipan then I would have been at Iwo Jima and probably never got to make The Dirty dozen. It doesnt get more serious than that!
28 Aug 2007 07:38:43 PM
this is great info for my report thanks
26 Sep 2007 11:22:38 AM
god bless all those who fought for our freedom in WWII, but remember the marines did a lot of work, and god bless eahc one, but dont forget about the Seabees!!
18 Oct 2007 10:34:59 AM
Thanks this will be good for my report and god bless for the ones that fought for us...
25 Oct 2007 06:33:13 PM
Surprisingly, Iwo Jima was one of the greatest battles of all time. I was surprised to know that my grandfather was one of the men that was drafted in Iwo Jima, but he lived through the harsh fighting ang the insane artillery. *Note that Iwo Jima is not the only battle that hada surprising death toll*
1 Nov 2007 08:43:26 PM
Thanks for all the great info. I had to do a US history report for social. I am glad that this was available for me to read all the details. I hope I get a good mark. Oh and, Iwo Jima is a great World War II story, btw.
2 Nov 2007 07:30:56 AM
iwo jema was never the same
8 Nov 2007 05:59:10 PM
This sight was great help for my project... thx
14 Nov 2007 12:13:01 PM
Great information, it will definately help me get an A on my speach!!
22 Nov 2007 06:30:28 PM
A great job. it was very well written, but i really wanted to know both side of the story. Not just the Americans, the Japanese side as well.
25 Nov 2007 05:29:37 PM
Many years after my birth, I learned that the photo of the famous flag raising over Mt.Suribachi on Iwo Jima took place on the fifth day of the battle, my date of birth,
February 23, 1945. My father, E.H.Johnson was a Medic in a MASH unit in France at the time, and was unaware that his first born arrived on such a memoriable, historical day.
28 Nov 2007 01:51:40 PM
OORAH
28 Nov 2007 01:56:28 PM
p.s.
SEMPER FI
2 Dec 2007 10:12:58 AM
From what I have researched, I thought that D-Day was in Normandy.
3 Dec 2007 03:38:19 PM
thanks for the info
7 Dec 2007 10:13:01 AM
My dad fought in Iwo jima, Third Marine division under Holland Smith, never talked about iwo jima, truly understand that now.. He is still alive and well.. Bernard L. Schmidt is his name,, thanks dad for my freedom
12 Dec 2007 07:23:55 PM
Loads of help! Thanks a bunch!
21 Dec 2007 08:57:16 AM
good info it is accurate with all of my other souces
27 Dec 2007 08:55:42 PM
My Dad served in K 3/23 4MarDiv. He was a BAR man. Tough going across the airfields and at the Amphitheater and Hill 382. Captain LaVerne Wagner was his CO.
3 Jan 2008 12:10:30 PM
Looking for any one who may have served with may grand father Richard William Harper in the Marines.
14 Jan 2008 07:10:40 AM
The Fifth Amphibious Corps (VAC) was normally composed of the 2nd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, but the 2nd Division had only recently came out of the line (in December) after conducting mopping-up operations on Saipan and Tinian. Therefore the 3rd Marine Division was attached to the Corps for the Iwo Jima invasion. Eight Battalions from the 4th and 5th Divisions provided the spearhead for the landings with the 3rd Division acting as the floating reserve.
14 Jan 2008 07:14:58 AM
The famed flag actually came from LST-779 (Landing Ship Tank 779). Its improvised staff was created from a Japanese pipe.
14 Jan 2008 07:22:40 AM
The massive US Invasion fleet amounted to some 450 ships including seven Battleships and seven Cruisers (and later ten Destroyers). By 7.45 am on the first day of the battle more than 482 LVT (Amtraks) were in the water.
17 Jan 2008 08:07:33 AM
oui this is good
30 Jan 2008 08:21:43 AM
this info really helped me get a good grade on a test... thanks
11 Feb 2008 08:54:51 PM
thanks dude my grandpa was in korean war but that sounde alot more intence
17 Feb 2008 05:12:59 PM
those marines did a good job
18 Feb 2008 06:38:17 AM
Since Ken Burn's film, "The War", came out, I've been delving deeper into various battles related to the WWII conflict, for my father was a PT boater during this war. Iwo Jima leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. So does the battle for Stalingrad on the Eastern front where over 2 MILLION lives were lost. The stench of the dead could be noted 18-months after the battle. Where do you bury 2 million people?
21 Feb 2008 03:51:04 PM
I was stationed on Iwo in 1973-74 while in the U.S. Coast Guard. On our off time my buddies and I would explore the island. The jungle had all grown back so it was difficult to see things we still managed to find caves and fortifications everywhere. We found a hospital cave with glass bottles still full of pills a weapons cave stacked with wooden crates of hand grenades and mortar shells and one tiny cave with the skeletal remains of Japanese soldiers that we turned over to the Japanese Navy unit we shared the island with. We found unexploded ordinance on the beaches and in the jungle. There were wrecks of planes and tanks mostly covered by beach sand and vines. We sat in the artillery cave halfway up the northern flank of Mt. Suribachi with the rusting barrel of the 16 inch gun that covered the entire island but only fired 3 rounds before it was hit by U.S. fire. We made friends with the Japanese navy personnel there we watched from a distance on the beach one day when a ship came from Japan bringing relatives of the Japanese soldiers killed on Iwo. They left flowers everywhere and photographs of their loved ones. I was only 20 years old when all this happened to me. I spent some time in Japan on leave from Iwo and experienced both friendliness and hatred from the Japanese because of being an American. But back to Iwo. Even though it was almost 30 years after the battle that I was stationed on Iwo, it was impossible to escape the reality of how many lives had been so horribly lost there. You could feel the spirits of the dead everywhere especially at night. It's important to remember that it is not the people of a country that declare war on each other it is instead their governments. It is always the common man, woman and child who pays the price for their leaders greed and arrogance. One can only hope that the sacrifices on places like Iwo will eventually serve to stop the insanity of humans killing humans for the sake of ideology.
24 Feb 2008 07:51:12 PM
Last night when I saw "the flag of our feathers" movie, I felt very bad and sad,.. I try to imagined,.. what was the real situation and condition in that moment,.. It was so horrible,... because a lot of soldiers in both sides (the **** n' The American soldiers) were death, injured, missing, captured.. etc,...
To me they all a Hero,.. not just the soldiers who raise the first or second flag at Suribachi Mt,..
I really proud for everyone of them, who've got involved in,..
And I hope that we all could remember about the happening in that war,..
13 Mar 2008 01:41:18 PM
This site helped me alot with National History Day!!!!!!!!!!
14 Mar 2008 04:24:17 PM
Thanks So Much, For All The Informaation This Is Really Going To Help Me For My Project Thank You :).
22 Mar 2008 06:18:38 PM
hae, thanks for the info. just wonderin what kind of resources were available for the battle
24 Mar 2008 07:50:18 AM
I'm a baby boomer this is really touching, my dad was in iwo jima
24 Mar 2008 02:42:07 PM
this battle was very touching
25 Mar 2008 12:20:38 PM
My grampa was on one of those ships and told me about it and thanks so much for all the information this is really going to help me for my project thank you :).
25 Mar 2008 12:23:31 PM
Thanks so much for all the information this is really going to help me for my project thank you!!!
31 Mar 2008 05:43:50 AM
this is non secnce i think we shoulda nuked them bitches and toook ovwer japan bc USA is goa
2 Apr 2008 08:15:24 PM
I need a schematic of the tunnel and cave system designed by Lt.Gen Kuribayashi on Iwo Jima
3 Apr 2008 07:19:39 AM
where can i find a map of the caves and tunnals uner and aroound iwo jima
5 Apr 2008 07:22:30 AM
i need help finding why the battle of iwo jima was so important to history
7 Apr 2008 05:46:41 PM
Great
9 Apr 2008 08:51:26 AM
My grandfather Anderson, Edward. Fought in this war!
and i am so ahppy he is still alive
9 Apr 2008 12:45:04 PM
i saw a map once, but it was of Ohio
13 Apr 2008 05:06:24 AM
Im swedish hoho. And I'm writing an essay on this battle. a short one, I'm only sixteen. It's horrible. Thx for the facts.
16 Apr 2008 06:56:16 AM
i hate this article it made me fail everything
19 Apr 2008 04:28:12 PM
For John, who stated: "i need help finding why the battle of iwo jima was so important to history", a good place to look is in the book, and reviews of the book: "The Ghosts of Iwo Jima" by Robert S Burrell.
http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Texas-University-Military-History/dp/1585444839
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-167254012.html
http://sonic.net/~bstone/archives/060618.shtml
20 Apr 2008 09:12:17 AM
thanks for the info, it helped me with my project
24 Apr 2008 09:51:00 PM
American or Japanese, the violence and death were astounding. i began doing research an Iwo ima in general, but there is just so many pperspectives, crossed signals, and amazing information that my 6 pg paper turned out tobe over tenty pages. i couldn't stop witing. Every bit of information seems so relevent in how the battle turned out. I would like to have had more information from the Japanese perspective. Perhaps when Gen. Kuribayshi's letters are translated and published more light can be shed on the defense position. Its a great site. thank you for your efforts in enlightening us all on the specifics of I.J.
7 May 2008 03:13:43 PM
wow that is soooooooo awesome my great grandfather was in this war and battle of the bulge and some other wars
9 May 2008 01:47:37 PM
Hi,I am a Big fan!
YAL ROCK!
9 May 2008 01:50:45 PM
This website Rocks!
I am going to come on this website every
day!
9 May 2008 01:56:18 PM
Thanks for Winning the Battle!
12 May 2008 01:31:32 AM
This websited is cool, i passed my assignment because of u..... thanks man.
p.s i learned alot especially about iwo jima,poor sickers lost the war.
12 May 2008 01:45:44 AM
my great great grandfather faught in iwo jima,he was in the 5th division, they were trying to get across the beach when they came under fire my uncle who was in the 2nd division was with him, he wrote in his diary how they were trying to reach across to secure the beach but they had to get pass one of the underground bunkers, the bloody **** were just shooting at anyone.
My uncle ran across with a grenade, just a few feet he was shot down but just as he was shot in the stomach, he got back up threw the grenade than fell, my grandfather ran up after the gun was taken out he fell beside my uncle and all he said was my job is done here brother and he passed away.
Soon after that my grandfather said they secured the north but they were to also secure mt suribachi he was gunned down after trying to blow up one of the **** bunker.
By the way my grandfather fought at the marshall islands, okinawa and iwo jima.
He was Colonel Thomas eden Roberts
and my uncle was Private James peter Roberts.
12 May 2008 01:52:07 AM
all i have to qote is " ask not wat the men who fought for this country can do for u, but wat u can do to continue the legacy og these men, for they have died, a great loss to our society, lest we forget.
13 May 2008 08:17:28 AM
man this website helps out with school alot thx
20 May 2008 01:17:40 PM
This is sad and my grandfather was in World War 2 but he wasn't in Iwo Jima. He worked as an engineer and he told me stories but he passed away in 2006. Now I am doing a report on Iwo Jima and this.
2 Jun 2008 03:54:01 PM
Great information, it will help me get a great grade on my seven page report i got due for modern world history. Thank you very much!
3 Jun 2008 08:35:50 PM
i need to find out what a conflict and compromise was in the battle of iwo jima. any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
9 Jun 2008 10:12:30 AM
this article has been such a great help for my 15 page research paper. my great uncle was on one of the battleships that helped bombard the island but he passed away so this has been a great help.
12 Jun 2008 10:44:34 AM
amazing site
25 Aug 2008 08:31:52 PM
Great article, thank you. For those mentioning "suck" are complete idiots, get off the internet will you please!
2 Sep 2008 05:46:18 PM
this article is very accurate, although i wished it would have talked more about the RAISIN OF THE FLAG...and how it impacted the people back home...just like the movie FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS does... but i enjoyed reading this
23 Sep 2008 07:24:45 PM
Go U.S.A military keep on keepin on baby!
13 Oct 2008 11:34:13 AM
hope everything is okay out there.
13 Oct 2008 11:37:16 AM
my dad served there in iwo jima and he brough sand home too.
27 Oct 2008 03:24:19 PM
this is informative
30 Nov 2008 05:18:28 PM
This really helped my research project. It was very informative.
1 Dec 2008 08:20:01 AM
this is amazing
1 Dec 2008 11:40:18 AM
freakin awesome website
4 Dec 2008 06:48:07 AM
yo dwags this article really helped me for my research paper!
9 Dec 2008 02:01:47 PM
In the movie's "Flags of our fathers" and "Letter from Iwo Jima" the Japanese defenders are shown commiting suicide with hand grenades when they realize that they couldn't hold mount Suribachi, could some one tell me if that is true.
15 Dec 2008 10:49:05 AM
that guy looks mean. you need to put more american pictures on this site
29 Dec 2008 07:29:26 PM
I don't it's unfair to critisize the decision to invade Iwojima (especially after the unusually staggering casualties of the US Marines). Whatever the initial objectives were to invade Iwojima, the capture of the island proved beneficial for the B-29 crews who came back from the Japan bombing mission damaged and didn't have to make emergency landing at sea because Iwojima was available. Let's look at it this way, the B-29 crews had probably conducted the by far toughest flying missions of all during WW2. Can you imagine that the B29 crews had to fly 4800 km return flight, which means 2400 km each way? And you don't give em a slightly improved chance of survival by giving them an advanced base like Iwojima in case their planes were damaged over Japan? I don't think it was fair for the B29 crews and it was I think inhuman. The decision to invade Iwojima was a correct one I think, it's just that I hope maybe the generals could have found out a better and creative way to deal with the brilliant resistance there, but really I have to give my greatest admiration and gratitude for the common marines soldiers and officers who fought on and around Iwojima ever so bravely so that they have ensured that the name US Marines will shine for the next billion years!!
15 Jan 2009 07:06:01 AM
it's very useful
16 Jan 2009 02:23:01 PM
If the Wehrmacht had been holding the island in place of the IJA, then teh fate of the island would have been different.
18 Jan 2009 03:39:41 PM
Marine vets, families of the Third Marine Division WW II. I am looking to see if anyone has any photos that might include Second Scout Stephen G. Stier. He was with the 3rd Marines at Iwo Jima, Bougainville, and (I think) Guadelcannel. If you see his name in caption possibly amoung your family photos of your loved ones that sent back such pictures, and you feel led to contact me please feel free to do so.
Sincerly, CD Fyle fy7l@aol.com
21 Jan 2009 01:30:16 AM
My great uncle David Gaultney, Jr. died on Iwo Jima, he was a Pfc in the 9th Marines. That is all I know of his service, if anyone has any more information about him I would be thankful to hear more. He lost two brothers in the war as well, Ralph Martin Gaultney Em3C, USN died on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, and Leonard Wm. Gaultney MM 1C died on the cruiser USS Vincennes when it was sunk in the battle of Savo Island. They were survived by a sister and younger brother. Thank you to anyone taking the time to read this and once again, any information would be greatly appreciated.
22 Jan 2009 10:06:54 AM
who fought with america??? was it just the US and JApan?
27 Jan 2009 07:05:08 AM
The photo of the raising of the American Flag on Iwo Jima is one of the strongest images to come out of WWII. It shows the world that the US Marine is the best soldier in the world
28 Jan 2009 10:55:48 AM
If you read about the naval battles in the Pacific, you will find that there were Dutch, British, Canadian & Australian warships all fighting together against the Japanese. Most of the fighting on land in the pacific theatre was done by the American Marines although there were other allied forces as well. Most of the British soldiers were fighting in Europe with the American soldiers.
1 Feb 2009 04:28:24 PM
This article can really help someone with a project. I know because I had a project due and I looked on this website and it helped. I wish they had information on every subject.
1 Feb 2009 04:40:56 PM
Yo wuts up i liked this article and it has accurate info on it and i like it a lot and i am not very good at grammar but im gunna have to learn. oh well that was boring .... wut i wrote i mean definately not the article cus it was so totally awsome. i got a paper due and i needed to research and seriously dude this website helps.
2 Feb 2009 02:06:15 PM
im doing a report on iwo and need major help
2 Feb 2009 02:35:48 PM
This is a great source although I would like to know who and what awards were given out to the soldiers of Iwo Jima.
3 Feb 2009 01:21:46 AM
for a list of 27 Medal of Honours awarded at Iwo Jima go to the following:
www.jacklummus.com/Files/Files_C/cmh_27_iwojima.htm
7 Feb 2009 11:01:04 AM
OK, that's nice and all but i need sum more info.
8 Feb 2009 02:44:55 PM
I served in the Marine Corps from 10/19/43 until 7/24/46, never served outside the U.S. My platoon number in San Diego was 910
I saw two of the men in that Platoon on public TV when the film of WWII was shown. I do not remember these names, except for Carriveau, who was listed as KIA in "The Leatherneck Magazine". Another was a man from north Alabama by the name of Whitehead. The two men I saw on TV were coming off a landing craft, and may have been a training film. I'm 83 and very interested in contacting anyone of those men in 910. I saw a guard at Pendleton, whose name was Clark, and he told me a large number of the men in 910 were killed in action. I have a partial list of the surnames of the men in 910. If anyone knows any of these men, could you let me know? Thank You Very Much Jack Keyes 97k
18 Feb 2009 07:52:48 AM
Great article, very helpful as my primary source for paper I was writing. Great work!
23 Feb 2009 07:16:48 AM
I jest wanted to know if you had eney information on the first engenear divisons and information on my grand fother Robert Hawks this will help for my class project
Thanks Chris
24 Feb 2009 08:12:50 AM
Thank you for the information. I have to write a five page research report for school complete with a bibliography and footnotes. Thank you for the helpful info.
26 Feb 2009 10:18:57 AM
This is great site....
I have always wanted to know and see the thoughts of "the other side".
Great job!!!!
3 Mar 2009 12:43:42 PM
this artical rocks the socks
3 Mar 2009 02:02:12 PM
great info...ill definitly pass the test now...great work :)
14 Mar 2009 06:57:59 PM
The information in this article gives the reader an accurate description of the epic WW-2 invasion of Iwo Jima. There are too many stories of events of the battle for anyone to mention. Use your imagination, then
multiply by five. Believe it. I was one of the lucky ones who lived through it. SEMPER FI.
23 Mar 2009 10:32:30 AM
Im doing a reasearch paper on The Battle of Iwo Jima. My teacher says that I need reasearch from an internet site. I also need to know the date your website was published. Please let me know I would apreshiate it. Thank You
24 Mar 2009 02:19:16 PM
I have done a project on the battle of Iwo Jima. I used this website as one of my sources it was quite useful! my only complaint would be that after the flag raising the battle seems to fastforard to the final days in this article. the flag raising was on the fifth day I believe and alot happened after this. Good article overall however thank you :)
26 Mar 2009 02:10:06 PM
i am doing this battle as a special topic in an exam and i would like to know if you have any other names of websites or sources on this battle,either bias to the US or japan, it would be greatly useful.thank you
29 Mar 2009 04:20:33 PM
God Bless the veterans and family.
17 Apr 2009 01:49:35 PM
thanx for the info it eraly helps on the report that i am doing
24 Apr 2009 07:43:02 PM
this was very good i listen 2 ma grandpa telling me stories and i got more intresrting now i now the whole story thank u and im wonderin if theres still vets like ma grandpa around
5 May 2009 03:28:26 PM
You say here that the photographer of the picture of the raising of the flag was at the right place at the right time, and the soldiers didn't know that. The picture was posed after the battle
8 May 2009 05:34:57 AM
i am proud to be a american because of these men,and all of the men and women fighting for our country,Semper fi till i die, can't wait to join up for marine bootcamp
8 May 2009 05:39:56 AM
im am proud of of all who fought in all branches so to all fought thanks you
13 May 2009 10:04:55 AM
this is a great site and is very informative
6 Jun 2009 11:25:01 AM
Why is there never any mention of the US Army on Iwo Jima? I lost my 19y/o uncle I loved so much on that little speck in the ocean. While I would never, never denigrate the valour of any US troops, the Marines weren't the only branch involved in the battle of Iwo Jima. It almost feels like my uncle didn't matter because he wasn't a marine.
3 Jul 2009 07:27:53 PM
I am a retired marine and a Vietnam veteran. but I have about 5 buddies that were Marines and involved in this battle. They are great men and really true friends. Thanks to them
20 Sep 2009 01:06:45 PM
Thank you very much for this great information's and above all i give respect to every one that was brave enough to stand and fight during world war2 so that we may have peace today. May you all rest in peace and we pray this will never happen again in the history of our time.
5 Oct 2009 10:27:23 PM
saw the movie also....my appreciation for the information above.
4 Nov 2009 11:55:57 PM
awesome godd grade on my thousand word report
10 Nov 2009 01:44:44 PM
Doin a report and wanna know if i can cite this site as a source
17 Nov 2009 07:55:09 AM
wow... this help me alot. thank you.
17 Nov 2009 11:24:34 AM
My Dad, William Bishop Forman, fought on Iwo Jima but never told his family about any of it. Could someone tell me how I could find out details of his experience (ie unit, company, platoon, squad)?
7 Dec 2009 03:46:11 PM
my grandfather served on iwo jima i am so proud to call myself american i have enlisted and i am shipping out soon just want to thank all marines past and present- semper fi!
16 Dec 2009 08:51:26 PM
Who owns the Island of Iwo Jima today. I have been on the net for hours now, and can't find the answer. Please help...
17 Dec 2009 09:41:10 AM
@Krakatoa : Iwo Jima (officially "Ioto") is still a part of Japan today. It is a part of the Ogasawara Sub-Prefecture, which is a part of the Tokyo Prefecture.
25 Dec 2009 03:06:21 PM
to 130 response........Yes, there were more than just marines on Iwo Jima. Search the order of battle records. Army,Navy,and Coastguard to name some. For a long time there has been tension Army and Marines. Marine pride and politics of their Brass all roll down hill. So if you Uncle's history is not there...it's a Marine publication.
4 Jan 2010 08:41:29 AM
Thiis was very helpful in writting my paper... I will be going to basic in a year for the USMC so ohhh-rahhh marines won that battle
29 Jan 2010 05:16:32 PM
who marines won my gram pa was there he was wounded he had to be in the hospital for almost a year he was also on gualdil canal and midway
31 Jan 2010 04:36:39 PM
amazing
2 Feb 2010 07:48:11 AM
Amazing, my grandfather was in the war, he didn't fight this battle, but was on his way to do so if he was needed.
3 Feb 2010 09:46:25 AM
This Will Help Me A lot With My Research Paper For Social Studies (History)!!!
4 Feb 2010 07:28:13 PM
thnx
8 Feb 2010 09:41:17 AM
my great x3 grand daddy killed many people in this