On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines Landed On The Eight-square Mile, Volcanic Island Of Iwo Jima.

On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines landed on the eight-square mile, volcanic island of Iwo Jima.

The five-week battle would comprise of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the entire Pacific Campaign during World War II. The goal of capturing Iwo was to secure its three vital airfields, which would provide a closer staging area for launching bombing raids on the Japanese home islands.

Within days, over 70,000 U.S. Marines would storm the beaches on Iwo Jima. Even though they were significantly outnumbered, the 21,000 soldiers of the Japanese garrison would put up a tough and murderous defense. The Marines were not prepared for the island’s labyrinth of interconnecting underground defenses.

After only four days of fighting, U.S. Marines captured the extinct volcano, Mount Suribachi, on the island’s southern point. Two American flags were raised on its summit. The second flag raising was captured by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal, who would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for the iconic photograph. However, the fighting was far from over.

The island was finally secured after 36 days of intense combat on March 26, 1945. Nearly the entire Japanese garrison of 21,000 were killed and American forces suffered over 26,000 casualties. Iwo Jima was the only battle where the U.S. Marine casualties exceeded the Japanese.