The Battle of Iwa Jima
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Iwo Jima — The Island That Had to Be Taken
On February 19, 1945, United States Marines stormed the black volcanic sands of Iwo Jima, beginning one of the most brutal and iconic battles of World War II. The Iwo Jima campaign was not just another island assault. It was a collision of resolve, strategy, and raw endurance that would come to symbolize the fighting spirit of the United States Marine Corps.
Located roughly 750 miles south of Tokyo, the island was small... just eight square miles... but its airfields were strategically vital. From those runways, Japanese aircraft intercepted American B-29 bombers flying missions against the Japanese mainland. For American planners, Iwo Jima represented both a shield and a sword: capture the island, and it would provide emergency landing strips for damaged bombers and a staging ground for fighter escorts.
The cost of that objective would be staggering.
The Strategic Importance of Iwo Jima
By early 1945, the Pacific war had turned decisively in favor of the Allies. American forces had advanced across the Central Pacific, taking island after island in a relentless campaign. Yet Iwo Jima stood directly in the path toward Japan itself.
The Japanese fortified the island with extraordinary precision. Under the command of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a vast underground network of tunnels, bunkers, and artillery positions was carved into the volcanic rock. Instead of defending the beaches in traditional fashion, Japanese forces chose to let American troops land, then unleash devastating fire from concealed positions.
For American forces, this meant that Iwo Jima would not be a swift amphibious victory. It would be a grinding, attritional fight measured in yards, not miles.
On the morning of February 19, after days of naval bombardment, nearly 70,000 Marines began landing operations. What they encountered was something few could have anticipated.
Black Sand and Relentless Fire
The beaches of Iwo Jima were not tropical paradise. They were composed of soft, black volcanic ash that swallowed boots and bogged down vehicles. Marines struggled to gain footing while machine guns and mortars opened up from hidden positions.
There was nowhere to take cover.
Within hours, the beaches were chaos; smoke, fire, and the wounded scattered across the sand. The Japanese defense was disciplined and calculated. Instead of charging in suicidal waves, they waited. Every advance inland was met with interlocking fields of fire.
Mount Suribachi loomed over the southern end of the island, a dormant volcanic cone and a natural fortress. It became the first major objective.
The fight for Suribachi lasted four days.
The Flag Raising Over Iwo Jima
On February 23, 1945, Marines reached the summit of Mount Suribachi. A small American flag was raised first, visible to troops below. Later that day, a larger flag was brought up and raised again.
It was during that second raising that Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the image that would define Iwo Jima in American memory.
The photograph... six Marines straining together to raise the Stars and Stripes... became one of the most reproduced images in history. It later inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
But the iconic image can sometimes overshadow a harder truth: the battle was far from over.
In fact, the bloodiest fighting still lay ahead.
Iwo Jima and the Cost of Victory
Though Suribachi fell within the first week, the northern half of Iwo Jima became a labyrinth of fortified resistance. Japanese defenders fought from underground tunnels, emerging unexpectedly and vanishing just as quickly. Every cave had to be cleared by hand; often with flamethrowers, grenades, and brutal close-quarters combat.
The battle lasted 36 days.
By the time Iwo Jima was secured on March 26, 1945, nearly 7,000 American service members had been killed, and more than 20,000 wounded. It was one of the few battles in the Pacific where American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese defenders killed in action.
Of the roughly 21,000 Japanese troops on the island, only a few hundred were taken prisoner.
The cost of Iwo Jima was written in blood. Yet its strategic value was immediate. Over 2,000 B-29 bombers would later make emergency landings on the island, saving countless aircrew lives. Fighter escorts launched from Iwo Jima extended American reach deep into Japanese airspace.
For those who fought there, the victory was not abstract. It was survival.
Lessons of Iwo Jima for Warriors and Patriots
The legacy of Iwo Jima is not simply about tactics or territory. It is about endurance under unimaginable pressure. It is about brotherhood forged in fire. It is about stepping forward when every instinct says to stay down.
Military history remembers Iwo Jima as one of the fiercest amphibious assaults ever conducted. Patriots remember it as proof that freedom demands sacrifice.
There were no easy victories in the Pacific in 1945. The fight for Iwo Jima showed the American public what the final approach to Japan would look like, and it helped shape decisions that would soon follow in the war’s closing months.
The island’s black sands absorbed the courage of an entire generation.
Why Iwo Jima Still Matters
Today, the name Iwo Jima stands as shorthand for resilience. It reminds us that victory is rarely clean or simple. It reminds us that courage is often quiet and collective—men pushing forward together, lifting something greater than themselves.
The image of the flag raising has become symbolic of unity in the face of overwhelming odds. But beneath that symbolism lies the deeper reality of mud, ash, exhaustion, and relentless combat.
On February 19 each year, we remember the beginning of the Iwo Jima campaign, not just as a military operation, but as a testament to the warrior spirit.
It is a reminder that history is not shaped only by grand speeches or political decisions. It is shaped by young men on hostile shores, carrying rifles across black sand.
And it is shaped by their willingness to stand.