Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the purpose of capturing the island with its two airfields: South Field and Central Field.
The Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels.[b] The American ground forces were supported by extensive naval artillery and had complete air supremacy provided by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators throughout the battle.[8] The five-week battle saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War.
The Japanese combat deaths numbered three times the number of American deaths, but unique among Pacific War Marine battles, the American total casualties (dead and wounded) exceeded those of the Japanese.[9] Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some of whom were captured only because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled.[c] Most of the remainder were killed in action, but it has been estimated that as many as 3,000 continued to resist within the various cave systems for many days afterwards until they eventually succumbed to their injuries or surrendered weeks later.[5][6]
The action was controversial, with retired Chief of Naval Operations William V. Pratt stating that the island was useless to the Army as a staging base and useless to the Navy as a fleet base.[10] The Japanese continued to have early-warning radar from Rota island, which was never invaded.[11] Experiences with previous Pacific island battles suggested that the island would be well-defended and thus casualties would be significant.
Joe Rosenthal's Associated Press photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag at the top of the 169 m (554 ft) Mount Suribachi by six U.S. Marines became a famous image of the battle and the American war effort in the Pacific.[12]
First day – 19 February 1945[edit]
Amphibious landing[edit]
During the night, Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's large carrier force, Task Force 58, arrived off Iwo Jima. Also in this flotilla was Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, the overall commander for the invasion, in his flagship USS Indianapolis. "Howlin' Mad" Smith was once again deeply frustrated that Mitscher's powerful carrier group had been bombing the Japanese home islands instead of softening the defenses of Iwo Jima. Mitscher's fliers however, did assist the additional surface-ship bombardment that accompanied the formation of the amphibious craft.[25]
Iwo Jima cemetery entrances built by the 133rd Seabees, with the 3rd Marine Division foreward and the 4th Marine Division opposite.
Interments of the 4th Marine Division.
4th USMC Division Cemetery Iwo Jima
5th USMC Division Cemetery entrance built by the 31st CB with Mt. Suribachi center.
Japanese holdouts on the island, including two of Lieutenant Toshihiko Ohno's men, Yamakage Kufuku [sic] (山蔭光福, Yamakage Kōfuku) and Matsudo Linsoki [sic] (松戸利喜夫, Matsudo Rikio), lasted four years without being caught, and finally surrendered on 6 January 1949.[54][55][56]
Though ultimately victorious, the American victory at Iwo Jima had been extremely costly. According to the Navy Department Library, "the 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead."[57] By comparison, the much larger scale 82-day Battle of Okinawa lasting from early April until mid-June 1945 (involving five U.S. Army and two Marine Corps divisions) resulted in over 62,000 U.S. casualties, of whom over 12,000 were killed or missing. Iwo Jima was also the only U.S. Marine battle where the American casualties exceeded the Japanese,[9] although Japanese combat deaths numbered three times as many as American deaths. Two U.S. Marines were captured during the battle, neither of whom survived their captivity.
The USS Bismarck Sea was lost, the last U.S. aircraft carrier sunk in World War II. 20 Grumman FM-2 Wildcat fighters and 11 Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers went down with Bismarck Sea. Also, the USS Saratoga was so severely damaged that she no longer took part in either combat or transportation duties for the rest of the war. She became a training ship. 31 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters and 9 Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers were destroyed by the kamikaze attack on Saratoga.[58][14] Because all civilians had been evacuated, there were no civilian casualties at Iwo Jima, unlike at Saipan and Okinawa.[59]
The memorial on top of Suribachi
The 60th anniversary reunion at the Japanese part of the memorial
The 67th anniversary ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, the government of Japan, and the Iwo Jima Associations of America and Japan
Commencement of the 71st commemoration of the anniversary
U.S. and Japanese color guard teams stand at attention during the 72nd Reunion of Honor ceremony.
The Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial was dedicated on 10 November 1954 at Arlington National Cemetery.
The United States Navy has commissioned two ships with the name USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) (1961–1993) and USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) (2001–present).
On 19 February 1985, the 40th anniversary of the landings on Iwo Jima, an event called the "Reunion of Honor" was held (the event has been held annually since 2002).[75] Veterans of both sides who fought in the battle attended the event. The place was the invasion beach where U.S. forces landed. A memorial on which inscriptions were engraved by both sides was built at the center of the meeting place. Japanese attended at the mountain side, where the Japanese inscription was carved, and Americans attended at the shore side, where the English inscription was carved.[76] After unveiling and offering of flowers were made, the representatives of both countries approached the memorial; upon meeting, they shook hands. The combined Japan-U.S. memorial service of the 50th anniversary of the battle was held in front of the monument in February 1995.[77] Further memorial services have been held on later anniversaries.[78]
The importance of the battle to Marines today is demonstrated in pilgrimages made to the island, and specifically the summit of Suribachi.[79] Marines will often leave dog tags, rank insignia, or other tokens at the monuments in homage.[80] Iwo Jima Day is observed annually on 19 February in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts[81] with a ceremony at the State House.
The Japanese government continues to search for and retrieve the remains of Japanese military personnel who were killed during the battle.[82]
Depiction in media[edit]
The Battle of Iwo Jima has been featured in numerous films and documentaries. The U.S. military produced the 1945 documentaries To the Shores of Iwo Jima[83] and Glamour Gal,[84] a film about a Marine artillery piece and its crew. John Wayne stars in the 1949 feature film Sands of Iwo Jima.
"Iwo Jima", part eight of the 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, includes part of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the point of view of John Basilone, from the beginning of the invasion until his death later in the day. Basilone was the only enlisted Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross in World War II.
Ira Hayes, one of the Marines who appeared in Joe Rosenthal's Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photograph, was the subject of the 1961 film The Outsider, starring Tony Curtis as the conflicted flag raiser. Hayes, Gagnon, Bradley were depicted in the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood. Flags of Our Fathers is filmed from the American perspective and is based on the 2000 book by James Bradley and Ron Powers, Flags of Our Fathers.[85] The 2006 film Letters from Iwo Jima, also directed by Clint Eastwood, depicts the battle from the Japanese perspective.