The Battle for Iwo Jima: The Battle and the Flag Raising

Flag Raising on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945. Oil painting by Tom Lovell, after the photograph by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. (USMC)

by Bernard C. Nalty

Originally published under the same title in 1967 by the Historical Branch, G-3 Division Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps

The Battle for Iwo Jima—Prologue

Above all, we shall dedicate ourselves and our entire strength to the defense of the islands.”[1]^,[2] This was the first in a series of “Courageous Battle Vows” that set forth the military philosophy of Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, commander of all Japanese Army forces on Iwo Jima.

In itself, the island defended by Kuribayashi was almost valueless. Iwo Jima, famed only for its sulfur deposits, measure 4²/₃ by 2½ miles. At the southern tip of the fan-shaped island loomed Mount Suribachi, a 550-foot extinct volcano. A plateau scarred by twisting gorges and broken by ridges 340 to 368 feet in height took up the northern part of the island. Between the northern plateau and Mount Suribachi was a plain covered with black volcanic ash.

Nature had given Iwo Jima nothing worth fighting for, but the industrious Japanese had completed two airfields on the island and were beginning work on a third. Those fields provided the staging area for aerial attacks on American-held Saipan. From the same airstrips, Japanese fighters soared aloft to attack American heavy bombers en route to the Japanese home islands only 660 miles away. Once it had been wrested from the enemy, Iwo Jima could serve as a base for American fighter escorts and as a way station for bombers raiding Japan.

Photographs taken by both aircraft and submarines showed American planners how zealously Kuribayashi had dedicated himself and his energies to the defense of Iwo Jima. A total of 642 blockhouses, pillboxes, and other gun positions were located prior to the assault. To blunt the quills of Kuribayashi’s porcupine, the Navy and Army Air Forces subjected Iwo Jima to “the longest and most intensive preparation given any objective in the Pacific in World War II.”^[3] Beginning on 15 June 1944, when carrier planes first hit the island, the American attacks continued steadily through summer and fall and culminated in a 74-day round of continuous strikes by Saipan-based bombers. The effect of the intensive three-day pre-invasion bombardment, far shorter than what the Marine landing force had asked for, was partially nullified by bad weather. Fortunately, the sun burned away the mists on the third day and the naval gunfire and covering force of six old battleships and five cruisers was able to batter targets adjacent to the landing beaches.

Selected as assault troops for the Iwo Jima operation were the 4th Marine Division [23rd, 24th, and 25th Marines (Infantry), and 14th Marines (Artillery)], led by Major General Clifton B. Cates, and the 5th Marine Division (26th, 27th, 28th, and 13th Marines), under the command of Major General Keller E. Rockey. These two divisions together with a myriad of supporting units were part of the V Amphibious Corps, a force commanded by Major General Harry Schmidt. The 3rd Marine Division of V Corps (3rd, 9th, 21st, and 12th Marines), Major General Graves B. Erskine commanding, was designated as Expeditionary Troops Reserve. Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith, assigned the post of Commanding General, Expeditionary Troops, had overall responsibility for the conduct of the fighting ashore.

The Landing

D-Day for the assault upon Iwo Jima was 19 February 1945, and H-Hour was set at 0900. At 0902, the leading wave of armored amphibian tractors hit the beach and ground ashore; three minutes later, the first troop-carrying amphibian tractors cleared the water. The Marines scrambled down the ramps, and began wading inland through an ankle-deep sea of volcanic ash. Initial opposition was negligible, and it seemed for a time that the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions would be able to knife swiftly across the plain to the opposite shore. Plans called for the capture of Suribachi by one regiment of the 5th Division and the capture of Airfield Number 1 by the 4th Division—both objectives to be gained on the first day. In spite of the heartening start, however, the goal established for the corps was not to be realized.

All was quiet until the lead battalions tried to cross the ashen terrace just beyond the landing beaches. The advancing Marines were seared by machine gun and rifle fire from skillfully concealed emplacements. At the same time, mortar and artillery shells began exploding all along the beaches. The lull had ended.

The initial calm had been due indirectly to the destructive power of naval gunfire. Kuribayashi knew what would happen if his men were caught above ground during the intense barrage that screened the shoreward movement of the Marine amphibians. He ordered his men to stay in underground shelters until the shelling had lifted, then to man their weapons. The Japanese commander yielded the beaches. He placed his confidence in the elaborate defensive system tunneled among the tortuous ravines of the northern plateau.

Although the elements of the 5th Marine Division managed to drive across the island on the morning of D-Day, bypassed enemy strong points continued to resist fiercely. At 1800, when the advance was halted for the night, the Marine line stretched across the neck of land at the base of Suribachi, moved north-eastward along the coast, swerved around the southern fringes of Airfield Number 1, and terminated near the East Boat Basin. The advance had halted far short of its goal.

The Fight for Suribachi

Entrusted with the capture of Mount Suribachi was the 28th Marines, supported by the 105 mm howitzers of the 3rd Battalion, 13th Marines. Mortar and artillery preparation began on the night of 19 February, but the enemy tried that same night to upset the plans of the regiment. An attempted counterlanding in the zone of the 1st Battalion, a mission entrusted to a single barge, was repulsed with a loss to the Japanese of twenty-five killed.

By night of the first day ashore, the 28th Marines had completely isolated Suribachi from the rest of the island. Next morning the regiment began probing the defenses of the mountain. The Japanese positions were strong, and it was the evening of D plus 3 before Suribachi was surrounded. Colonel Harry B. Liversedge, commanding officer of the 28th, laid his plans to make the ascent of the mountain the next morning.

The 28th Marines, with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions in line and the 1st in reserve, plunged forward at 0830, 20 February. This attack ground to a halt at 1700; the day’s fighting had netted the Marines a gain of only 200 yards. Another attack, this one preceded by a forty-plane air strike, was made the following morning. All the battalions were employed, with the 1st operating on a one-company front. Thanks to effective support by tanks, 37 mm guns, and half-tracks mounting 75 mm cannon, the regiment smothered a Japanese counterattack and rolled forward to the very foot of the mountain.

Late in the afternoon, as the 28th Marines was consolidating its position for the evening, Japanese suicide planes struck at the vessels gathered off the island. Among the ships hit by the plummeting bombers were three aircraft carriers. One of these, the escort carrier Bismarck Sea, was sunk.

The attack on Suribachi was resumed on the morning of 22 February. In spite of heavy opposition, especially in the center of the regimental zone, the 28th Marines managed to surround Mount Suribachi. The only area at the base which lay unoccupied was a 400-yard strip of the western shoreline. Since friendly gunfire rained continuously on this area, neither Marines nor Japanese could survive there.

The Iwo Jima Flag Raising

Early on D plus 4, the 23rd of February, a small patrol from Company F, 2nd Battalion, started to reconnoiter suitable routes to scale the slopes of Suribachi. The patrol leader, Sergeant Sherman Watson, reported as he went along that the Japanese were holed up. Lieutenant Colonel Chandler W. Johnson, the battalion commander, decided to send a forty-man combat patrol (remnants of the 3rd Platoon of Company E, and a handful of men from battalion headquarters) under command of First Lieutenant Harold G. Schrier, the Company E executive officer, to seize and occupy the crest. Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, a photographer for Leatherneck magazine, attached himself to the patrol to record in detail the attempt against Suribachi.

After Lieutenant Colonel Johnson had outlined the mission, he handed Lieutenant Schrier a flag to be raised if the patrol gained its objective. This small (54 by 28 inches) flag had been brought ashore from the attack transport Missoula by First Lieutenant George G. Wells, the battalion adjutant.

The patrol reached the rim of the crater about 1015. As the Marines scrambled over the lip, a small defending force challenged the patrol and a short, hot fight developed. Even while this skirmish was in progress, some of the men located a length of Japanese iron pipe, secured the small American flag to one end, and raised the Stars and Stripes at 1020.^[4] It was an inspiring sight for thousands of Americans on Iwo as the flag waved bravely from the summit.

Those who took part in this flag raising were Schrier, Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. Thomas Jr., Sergeant Henry O. Hansen, Corporal Charles W. Lindberg, and Privates First Class Louis C. Charlo and James Michels. The event was photographed by Sergeant Lowery.

Shortly after the raising of this flag an unidentified Marine went aboard LST-779, beached near the base of the volcano, to obtain a larger set of colors. As this second and larger (96 by 56 inches) flag was being carried up the slopes of Suribachi, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal noticed it and instantly started in close pursuit. Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, Private First Class Franklin R. Sousley, and Private First Class Ira H. Hayes were the four members of the patrol that carried this set of colors up Suribachi’s slopes.^[5]

When the men arrived at the top, Lieutenant Schrier decided that the new flag should be raised as the original one was lowered.^[6] Strank and the others fastened the larger colors to a second pipe and then tried to set the makeshift staff in the rugged ground. Since the four men appeared to be having difficulty in getting the pipe firmly planted, two onlookers, Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John H. Bradley and Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon, came to their aid.^[7]

All six were struggling to raise the flag when Rosenthal snapped a picture of the scene. According to Rosenthal, luck played an important part in the taking of his famous photograph. The Associated Press photographer arrived at the summit just as Lieutenant Schrier was preparing to take down the first flag. At first, Rosenthal hoped to photograph the lowering of the first flag together with the raising of the larger one. When he discovered that he would not have time to line up both pictures, he decided to concentrate on the second flag raising. He backed off about 35 feet, only to discover that because of the sloping ground he could not see what was happening. He piled up some loose stones, mounted them, and focused on the band of Marines. Just as he was training his camera on the men, Lieutenant Schrier walked into his line of vision. Fortunately, the officer stepped out of the way in time for the picture to be made.^[8]

Rosenthal took 18 photographs on Iwo Jima that eventful day;^[9] among them was a shot posed by men of the 28th Marines around the flag. When queried a few days later by his wire service picture editor as to whether “the flag raising picture” had been posed, Rosenthal, unaware of which picture had had the sensational reception in the United States, thought the editor meant the one which had actually been posed. Out of Rosenthal’s affirmative reply to the editor grew the misconception that the flag raising picture was really a fake.

The testimony of Rosenthal himself and of the eyewitnesses who survived the battle, however, attest that the photograph was in no way rigged. As Rosenthal put it: “Had I posed that shot, I would, of course, have ruined it. I’d have picked fewer men … I would also have made them turn their heads so that they could be identified for AP members throughout the country, and nothing like the existing picture would have resulted.”^[10]

As it was, the picture became perhaps the most famous single photograph ever taken. It was used as the symbol of the Seventh War Loan drive. It appeared on literally millions of posters and on a three-cent postage stamp. And it was forever immortalized in the largest bronze statue in the world—the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

The popularity of Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the Iwo Jima flag raising caused Brigadier General Robert L. Denig, Director of the Marine Corps Division of Public Information, to try to learn the identity of the six flag raisers. Nor was General Denig the only person interested in learning the names of these men. President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested that the six Marines be located and returned to the United States. The President felt that the safe return of the flag raisers would prove a boon to national morale.

First of the flag raisers to return was Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon. Using an enlargement of the Rosenthal photo, he identified Sergeant Michael Strank, Private First Class Franklin R. Sousley, both of whom had been killed in action, and Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John H. Bradley. He also numbered among the flag raisers Sergeant Henry O. Hansen, who also had been killed during the Iwo operation. A year had passed before Gagnon realized that the Marine he had believed to be Hansen actually was another victim of the fight for Iwo Jima—Corporal Harlon Block. Ironically, Hansen had taken part in the earlier, less celebrated flag raising on Iwo and was killed by a sniper a few days later while being treated for wounds by Pharmacist’s Mate Bradley.

Gagnon at first refused to give the name of the sixth flag raiser. He insisted that he had promised to keep the man’s name a secret. Finally, Gagnon admitted that the man was Private First Class Ira H. Hayes.

Bradley, who had been wounded on 12 March, was ordered back to the United States and participated with Hayes and Gagnon in a war bond drive.

Because of the haste with which their bond-selling tour was organized, none of the surviving flag raisers seemed to have had time to examine closely the Rosenthal picture. At any rate, Hayes did not mention his doubts concerning the identity of the deceased flag raisers until winter of 1946. He claimed that the person at the base of the flagstaff was Corporal Harlon Block. An investigation proved him correct, and the list of flag raisers was altered.

The Iwo Jima flag raisers, as shown in the Rosenthal photograph left to right, are: Private First Class Ira H. Hayes (with poncho hanging from belt—died after the war); Private First Class Franklin R. Sousley (with slung rifle—killed in action); Sergeant Michael Strank (barely visible on Sousley’s left—killed in action); Navy Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John H. Bradley (with empty canteen cover hanging from right side of belt—wounded); Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon (helmet barely visible beside Bradley—living); and Corporal Harlon H. Block (at foot of pole—killed in action). The biographies of these men follow.

Corporal Ira Hamilton Hayes, USMCR (448803)

Ira Hamilton Hayes was a Pima Indian, born at Sacaton, Arizona, on 12 January 1923, the son of Joe E. and Nancy W. Hayes. In 1932, the family moved a few miles southward to Bapchule where they still reside. Both Sacaton and Bapchule are located within the boundaries of the Gila River Indian Reservation in south central Arizona. Hayes left high school after completing two years of study. He served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in May and June of 1942, and then went to work as a carpenter.

On 26 August 1942, Ira Hayes enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve at Phoenix for the duration of the National Emergency. Following boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at San Diego, Hayes was assigned to the Parachute Training School at Camp Gillespie, Marine Corps Base, San Diego. Graduated one month later, the Arizonan was qualified as a parachutist on 30 November and promoted to private first class the next day. On 2 December, he joined Company B, 3rd Parachute Battalion, Divisional Special Troops, 3rd Marine Division, at Camp Elliott, California, with which he sailed for Noumea, New Caledonia, on 14 March 1943.

In April, Hayes’ unit was re-designated Company K, 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Marine Parachute Regiment. In October, Hayes sailed for Vella Lavella, arriving on the 14th. Here, he took part in the campaign and occupation of that island until 3 December when he moved north to Bougainville, arriving on the 4th. The campaign there was already underway, but the parachutists had a full share of fighting before they left on 15 January 1944.

Hayes was ordered to return to the United States where he landed at San Diego on 14 February 1944, after slightly more than 11 months overseas and two campaigns. The parachute units were disbanded in February, and Hayes was transferred to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marine Division, then at Camp Pendleton, California.

In September, Hayes with his company sailed for Hawaii for more training. He sailed from Hawaii in January en route to Iwo Jima where he landed on D-Day (19 February 1945) and remained during the fighting until 26 March. Then he embarked for Hawaii where he boarded a plane for the United States on 15 April. On the 19th, he joined Company C, 1st Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.

On 10 May, Private First Class Hayes, Private First Class Gagnon, Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Bradley, and Marine Technical Sergeant Keyes Beech, a combat correspondent, left on the bond selling tour. In Chicago, Hayes received orders directing his return to the 28th Marines. He arrived at Hilo, Hawaii, and rejoined Company E of the 28th on 28 May. Three weeks later, on 19 June, he was promoted to corporal.

With the end of the war, Corporal Hayes and his company left Hilo and landed at Sasebo, Japan, on 22 September to participate in the occupation of Japan. On 25 October, Corporal Hayes boarded his eleventh and last ship to return to his homeland for the third time. Landing at San Francisco on 9 November, he was honorably discharged on 1 December.

Corporal Hayes was awarded a Letter of Commendation with Commendation Ribbon by the Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, Lieutenant General Roy S. Geiger, for his “meritorious and efficient performance of duty while serving with a Marine infantry battalion during operations against the enemy on Vella Lavella and Bougainville, British Solomon Islands, from 15 August to 15 December 1943, and on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, from 19 February to 27 March 1945.”

A complete list of the corporal’s decorations and medals would include the Commendation Ribbon with “V” combat device, Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with four stars (for Vella Lavella, Bougainville, Consolidation of the Northern Solomons, and Iwo Jima), American Area Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

The former Marine died at Bapchule on 24 January 1955. He was buried on 2 February 1955 at Arlington National Cemetery, in Section 34, Plot 479A.

PFC Franklin Runyon Sousley, USMCR (942297)

Franklin Runyon Sousley was born at Flemingsburg, Kentucky, on 19 September 1925. After his graduation from high school in June 1943, he moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he secured a job with the Frigidaire Division of General Motors.

Sousley entered the Marine Corps Reserve on 5 January 1944 through the Selective Service System and was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, for his boot training. Upon completion of recruit training, he was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marine Division, then at Camp Pendleton, California. Private Sousley joined the company on 15 March as an automatic rifleman and remained with the same unit in the same specialty until he met his death. In September, Private Sousley sailed with his company from San Diego for Hilo, Hawaii, where it arrived on 24 September. The Flemingsburg Marine was promoted to private first class on 22 November 1944. In the latter part of January 1945, after extensive training and maneuvers, Sousley sailed for Iwo Jima where he landed with his company on D-Day, 19 February. Sousley survived the battle for Suribachi and moved northward with his regiment. On 21 March, Private First Class Sousley was killed during the fighting around Kitano Point.

Private First Class Sousley was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery at Iwo Jima in Plot 8, Row 7, Grave 2189. On 22 March 1948, a request was made to return the remains to the United States for re-interment in the Elizaville, Kentucky, Cemetery.

Private First Class Sousley has been awarded the following decorations and medals: Purple Heart (posthumously), Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with one star (for Iwo Jima), and World War II Victory Medal.

Sergeant Michael Strank, USMC (275228)

Michael Strank was born at Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, on 10 November 1919, the son of Vasil and Martha Strank, natives of Czechoslovakia (his father is also known as Charles Strank). He attended the schools of Franklin Borough, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from high school in 1937. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps where he remained for 18 months and then became a highway laborer for the state.

Michael Strank enlisted in the regular Marine Corps for four years at Pittsburgh on 6 October 1939. He was assigned to the Recruit Depot at Parris Island where, after completing recruit training in December, Private Strank was transferred to Headquarters Company, Post Troops, at the same base.

Transferred to Provisional Company W at Parris Island, on 17 January 1941, Strank, now a private first class, sailed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arriving on the 23rd. Strank was assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Brigade (on 1 February, the 1st Marine Brigade was re-designated the 1st Marine Division). On 8 April, now assigned to Company K, he returned to the States and proceeded to Parris Island. In September, Strank moved with the division to New River, North Carolina (now known as Camp Lejeune). He was promoted to corporal on 23 April 1941, and was advanced to sergeant on 26 January 1942.

With the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, early in April 1942, he journeyed cross-country to San Diego, California, from whence he sailed on the 12th. On 31 May, he landed on Uvea, largest of the Wallis Islands.

In September, after a short tenure with the 22nd Marines, he was transferred to the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, also at Uvea. With the raiders, he participated in the landing operations and occupation of Pavuvu Island in the Russell Islands from 21 February until 18 March, and in the seizure and occupation of the Empress Augusta Bay area on Bougainville from 1 November until 12 January 1944. On 14 February, he was returned to San Diego for rest and reassignment.

On return from leave, Sergeant Strank was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. After extensive training at Camp Pendleton and in Hawaii, Strank landed on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.

After the fall of Mount Suribachi, he moved northward with his unit. On 1 March, while attacking Japanese positions in northern Iwo Jima, he was fatally wounded by enemy artillery fire. He was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery with the last rites of the Catholic Church. On 13 January 1949, his remains were re-interred in Grave 7179, Section 12, Arlington National Cemetery.

Sergeant Strank was entitled to the following decorations and medals: Purple Heart (awarded posthumously), Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), American Defense Service Medal with base clasp (for his service in Cuba before the war), American Area Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with four stars (for Pavuvu, Bougainville, Consolidation of the Northern Solomons, and Iwo Jima), and the World War II Victory Medal.

Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John Henry Bradley, USN (868-16-81)

John Henry Bradley was born at Antigo, Wisconsin, on 10 July 1923, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James J. Bradley. The family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, when John was a boy. He was graduated from Appleton High School in 1941. Apprenticed to a funeral director, Bradley had just completed the necessary 18-months’ apprenticeship course when he enlisted in the Navy on 13 January 1943.

Following boot camp at Farragut, Idaho, Seaman Bradley was assigned to the Hospital Corps School there. Upon the completion of that course, he was transferred to the Naval Hospital at Oakland, California. Assigned to the Fleet Marine Force in January 1944, Pharmacist’s Mate Bradley attended Field Medical School—standard training for corpsmen prior to serving with the Marines.

Assigned to the 28th Marines of the 5th Marine Division, he joined the regiment on 15 April 1944. Iwo Jima was his first and only campaign. He landed with the regiment and served until he was wounded on 12 March. He was evacuated by plane the next day and finally was flown to the Naval Hospital at Bethesda, Maryland. There, Pharmacist’s Mate Bradley was presented the Purple Heart on 10 July 1945. He was medically discharged 13 November 1945.

Bradley holds the Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), American Area Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with one star (for Iwo Jima), and the World War II Victory Medal.

Corporal Rene Arthur Gagnon, USMCR (808276)

Rene Arthur Gagnon was born at Manchester, New Hampshire, on 7 March 1926, the son of Henry Gagnon and Irene Yvonne Gagnon. He attended the schools of Manchester and completed two years of high school before leaving to take a job with a local textile mill. On 6 May 1943, he was inducted into the Marine Corps Reserve and sent to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina.

From Parris Island, Private First Class Gagnon, promoted on 16 July 1943, was transferred to the Marine Guard Company at Charleston, South Carolina, Navy Yard. He remained there for eight months and then joined the Military Police Company of the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California. Four days later, on 8 April, he was transferred to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines.

After training at Camp Pendleton and in Hawaii, Gagnon landed with his unit on Iwo Jima on 19 February. After Iwo Jima was secured, he was ordered to Washington, arriving on 7 April. Together with the other two survivors, Pharmacist’s Mate Bradley and Private First Class Hayes, he was assigned to temporary duty with the Finance Division, U.S. Treasury Department, for appearances in connection with the Seventh War Loan Drive.

He finished the tour on 5 July and was ordered to San Diego for further transfer overseas. Private First Class Gagnon was married to Miss Pauline Georgette Harnois, of Hooksett, New Hampshire, in Baltimore, Maryland, on 7 July.

By September, he was on his way overseas again, this time with the 80th Replacement Draft. On 7 November 1945, he arrived at Tsingtao, China, where he joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 29th Marines, 6th Marine Division. He later served with the 3rd Battalion of the same regiment.

On duty with the U.S. occupational forces in China for nearly five months, Private First Class Gagnon boarded ship at Tsingtao at the end of March and sailed for San Diego, arriving on 20 April.

With nine days short of three years' service in the Marine Corps Reserve, of which 14 months was spent overseas, Gagnon was promoted to corporal and discharged on 27 April 1946. He is entitled to wear the Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), the American Area Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with one star (for Iwo Jima), the World War II Victory Medal, and the China Service Medal.

Corporal Harlon Henry Block, USMC (820595)

Harlon Henry Block was born at Yorktown, Texas, on 6 November 1924, the son of Edward Frederick Block and Ada Belle Block. Young Harlon was graduated from Weslaco High School in 1943. Following graduation he worked as a farm and oil field laborer.

Block was inducted into the regular Marine Corps through the Selective Service System at San Antonio on 18 February 1943 and transferred to the Recruit Depot at San Diego. Upon completion of recruit training, he was assigned to the Parachute Training School at San Diego on 14 April, where he completed the course in six weeks. He qualified as a parachutist on 22 May and was promoted to private first class on the same day. Block was assigned to the Parachute Replacement Battalion at the same camp.

Arriving at New Caledonia on 15 November 1943, Private First Class Block joined Headquarters and Service Company of the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, I Marine Amphibious Corps. He saw combat as a rifleman during the latter part of the Bougainville campaign when he landed on that island on 21 December.

On 14 February 1944, he arrived at San Diego with his unit and the parachutists were disbanded on the 29th of that month. Block joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton on 1 March. He was promoted to the rank of corporal on 27 October 1944. After training at Camp Pendleton and Hawaii, Block landed on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.

Following the securing of Mount Suribachi on 23 February, Corporal Block moved on to the northward with his company. On 1 March, he was killed as the 28th Marines was attacking toward Nishi Ridge. The Marine’s body was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima in Plot 4, Row 6, Grave 912, and was later returned to the United States for private burial at Weslaco, Texas.

Corporal Block was entitled to the following decorations and medals: Purple Heart (awarded posthumously), Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with two stars (for the Consolidation of the Northern Solomons and Iwo Jima), American Area Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Action in the North

Even before mopping-up operations on the slope of Mount Suribachi had been completed, plans were being made to move the 28th Marines to the northern part of the island. This unit entered the lines in the northern sector on 1 March.

While the 28th Marines was fighting its private war on the slopes of Suribachi, battalions from the 23rd, 24th, and 25th Marines of the 4th Division and the 26th and 27th Marines of the 5th Division had undertaken the job of securing Airfield Number 1 and pushing northward into the heart of the enemy’s defenses.

Like the drive on Suribachi, the push toward the north began on 20 February. The most spectacular gains were made in the 5th Division zone of action; but the 23rd Marines, posted on the left of the 4th Division, was able to keep pace with the neighboring unit. Stiffest resistance came from the Japanese troops in the zone of the 25th Marines along the east coast.

Although the corps line surged forward as much as a thousand yards on the far left, the deepest penetration made by the 25th Marines was 200 yards. Impassable terrain and a determined enemy had joined forces against the regiment.

Again the following day, 21 February, the greatest gains along the northern front were made by the 5th Division. Early that morning, the 21st Marines, of the 3rd Marine Division, was ordered ashore to reinforce the 4th Marine Division. General Cates hoped to replace the battered 25th Marines with this fresh unit. Terrain, however, thwarted this plan. Because of the limited routes leading to the zone of action of the 25th Marines and the congested traffic on the beaches, it was necessary to shunt the reserve regiment into the center of the corps line in place of the 23rd Marines. Unfortunately, there was not time for a night relief.

Two front-line units, one regiment of each division, were relieved on the morning of 22 February. Heavy rain, enemy fire, and broken terrain hampered both operations. General Rockey, commander of the 5th Division, ordered the 26th Marines to relieve the 27th. An alert enemy, plus hastily issued orders and ill-defined unit boundaries made the move a difficult one; but the relief was accomplished, and the fresh regiment managed to grind out short gains. The relief of the 23rd Marines by the 21st Marines, the operation carried out in General Cates’ sector, was equally as difficult. Here the Japanese did their best to put down the units slated to be relieved. So well did the enemy succeed that six hours after the relief began, some elements of the 23rd Marines remained hotly engaged. Little ground was gained by the 4th Division that day.

General Schmidt came ashore on 23 February to confer with his division commanders. Out of this conference came the order for an attack to be launched the following morning. Although the main effort was scheduled to be made in the zone of action of the 5th Division, the decisive fighting would occur in the zone of the 21st Marines. Here tanks would thrust toward Airfield Number 2.

On the morning of 24 February, the enemy was subjected to a 76-minute naval bombardment, a pounding from Marine artillery, and a carrier air strike. At 0915, tanks from the 5th Division sector crossed the divisional boundary line to attack along the western portion of the airfield. Simultaneously, the 4th Division’s armor pushed forward toward the eastern edge of the field. Mines and the fire of anti-tank guns halted the western attack and forced the armored vehicles to withdraw. Although the other approach also was heavily mined, a dozen tanks reached the airfield and began blasting the enemy holed up in the hills to the north. The fight that followed proved bitter, but the results of the day’s action were impressive. Along the axis of the main attack, Marines of the 5th Division advanced some 500 yards. Again, the deepest penetrations were made on the corps’ left, while the weary 4th Division was stalled by a skillful foe dug into commanding terrain.

The 3rd Division Enters the Fight

General Erskine’s 3rd Marine Division, less the 3rd Marines, landed on 24 February. One of its regiments, the 21st Marines, had already been committed to the fight for Iwo Jima. The task assigned this veteran division was that of driving along the relatively flat central portion of Iwo’s northern plateau. Actually, flat is a misleading term; for the sandstone of the plateau had been pockmarked by centuries of wind, rain, and volcanic upheaval. Once the Marines had gained control of this rugged tableland, they could attack down the many ridge lines leading from the plateau to the sea.

The 3rd Division’s 9th Marines passed through the lines of the 21st Marines on 25 February; at 0930 the division attack got underway. Gains were slight and losses heavy, for the Marines now were hammering at Kuribayashi’s main defense line. A full fifty percent of corps artillery’s missions were fired in support of the 3rd Division. Flame throwing tanks incinerated the enemy in his shell-proof tunnels. The sea of unremitting pressure finally cracked the Japanese line, and the evening of 27 February found the 9th Marines in control of the twin hills north of Airfield Number 2. On the following afternoon, the 21st Marines, which had attacked through the lines held by its sister regiment, overran the ruins of Motoyama Village and seized the hills that dominated Airfield Number 3.

The last day of February found the 4th Marine Division struggling desperately to take Hill 382 on the right. On the left, the 5th Division was backed by the defenders of Hill 362A. These critical terrain features were the strongest links in the chain of defenses that Kuribayashi had thrown across the island. On 1 March, to speed the advance along the flanks, corps artillery fires were redistributed so that each of the three divisions committed would have its equal share of support.

Given the mission of seizing Hill 362A was the 28th Marines, the same organization that had taken Mount Suribachi. For a brief time on the afternoon of 28 February, a few men of the 27th Marines had reached the crest of this heavily fortified hill, but this small force had to pull back in order to keep contact with the rest of the regiment. With the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines attached, the 28th Marines was scheduled to make its assault on the morning of 1 March.

Deadly artillery and mortar fire greeted the Marines as they moved forward, but by day’s end the crest was firmly in American hands. The cost had been high—224 killed and wounded, but Hill 362A was an objective that could not have been bypassed.^[11] During the following day, the entire hill was overrun and neighboring Nishi Ridge, just to the north was captured.

Hill 382, in the zone of the 4th Marine Division, was a formidable installation. In keeping with Kuribayashi’s desire that his men have underground protection, the hill was honeycombed with tunnels. The crest had been hollowed out and converted into a huge bunker mounting artillery pieces and anti-tank guns. Dotting the approaches to the hill itself were Japanese tanks, carefully hidden in the numerous fissures in the surface of the plateau. Southward from Hill 382 wound a series of ridges and draws which terminated in a massive rock called Turkey Knob. South of this rock was a natural bowl called the Amphitheater. During the bloody fight to crack this portion of the main defense line, this entire region came to be called the Meat Grinder.

The 1st of March was the fourth day that Marines had relentlessly hurled themselves into the Meat Grinder. On this day, the main effort was directed against Hill 382. Naval gunfire, artillery, and air strikes aided the attack, but progress was slow. The Japanese had to be blasted or burned out of their positions by bazookas, grenades, or flame throwers. The attackers gained a position of the hill, but an attempt to envelop Turkey Knob was thwarted. A heavy artillery barrage coupled with a smoke screen allowed the Marines to pull back before darkness.

The attack was repeated the following day. This time, the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, managed to gain control of Hill 382. Not until 10 March, however, were the Japanese defending Turkey Knob and the Amphitheater eliminated.

While the Turkey Knob-Amphitheater salient was being reduced, the remainder of V Amphibious Corps was moving forward against the Hill 362 complex. In the 5th Division zone, Hill 362B fell to the 26th Marines on 3 March, and by the 7th, the 3rd Division was poised to hurl itself against Hill 362C.

This attack marked a departure from tactics previously used, for it was launched under cover of darkness. During the Iwo fight, indeed throughout most of the Pacific War, American troops habitually remained on the defensive at night. General Erskine, confident that the enemy had been lulled by past experience into a sense of nocturnal security, obtained permission to begin his assault before dawn.

Movement across Iwo’s darkened terrain was both slow and tiring. The enemy, however, was caught by surprise, and the attackers managed to cross unopposed over a heavily defended strip of ground. Daybreak found one assault company out of position and the other engaged in an intense fire fight for the objective. The company that had strayed was re-oriented by radio, and by mid-afternoon Hill 362C was in American hands.

Beginning of the End

Undeterred by the loss of Hill 362C, the Japanese continued to resist stubbornly, but the enemy’s efforts no longer were closely coordinated. Kuribayashi’s overall system of defense had broken down. Patrols from the 3rd Marine Division reached the seacoast on 9 March. By the following evening, only one isolated pocket of enemy troops remained active in that division’s zone of action. There was, however, a scattering of diehards who had to be killed one at a time.

In the meantime, the Japanese battling the 4th Marine Division had grown desperate. The enemy’s means of communication were failing rapidly, a condition that bred panic. Instead of clinging to their carefully prepared positions, the Japanese gambled on a counterattack.

The intensity of enemy mortar and artillery fire increased during the evening of 8 March. Hugging the shattered earth, the Japanese tried to worm their way through the lines of the 23rd and 24th Marines. Some of the attackers screamed in true banzai style, but most of them took advantage of the abundant cover in the area. A few dragged stretchers behind them and with cries of “Corpsman” tried to pass through the main line of resistance. In spite of his ingenuity and careful reconnaissance—the attack was directed at the point where the regimental zones of the 23rd and 24th joined—the enemy failed. By noon of the following day some 650 Japanese had been killed by the defending fires of the Marines.

Final result of this counterattack was the sudden dissolution of the enemy’s defenses. On 10 March, the 4th Marine Division completed destruction of the Turkey Knob-Amphitheater salient and pushed patrols all the way to the coast. The battle for Iwo Jima now entered its final phase.

Mopping Up

For the remainder of the campaign, the fighting would center around various pockets of enemy resistance. The 3rd Marine Division would face the grim prospect of reducing a heavily fortified pocket of resistance near Hill 362C. The 4th Marine Division was to corral the enemy about halfway between the East Boat Basin and Tachiiwa Point; and the 5th Division would compress the Japanese troops in its sector into the area around Kitano Point.

After a sweep along its sector of the coast line, a maneuver conducted on 10 and 11 March, the bulk of the 3rd Marine Division concentrated to overwhelm the deadly pocket which lay southwest of Hill 362C. Both flame throwing and 75 mm gun tanks were called upon to aid the infantry in destroying the enemy defenses. On 16 March, after two battalions of the 21st Marines had been dispatched northward to aid the 5th Division in clearing the Japanese from Kitano Point, the last vestige of organized resistance in the 3rd Division zone was crushed.

The remaining enemy strong-point in the 4th Division’s sector was manned by about 300 Japanese. These hideouts, who had plenty of small arms, ammunition, and water, were holed up in caves and tunnels within a few hundred yards of the sea. An attack scheduled for 0700, 12 March, was delayed to permit the Marines to try their hand at coaxing the Japanese to surrender. A loudspeaker was carried forward, but the gasoline motor that provided its power refused to start. Since Japanese snipers continued to blaze away at the men struggling with the motor, the project was abandoned. The Marines moved forward at 0900.

Flame-throwers, grenades, and rifle fire killed many Japanese in four days of fighting but enough of them remained alive to attempt to infiltrate Marine lines on the night of 15 March. This effort accomplished nothing, and on the following day the last of the defenders perished.

The last group of Japanese to be destroyed during the Iwo Jima campaign was the force defending Kitano Point in the zone of the 5th Marine Division. The 5th had begun its final drive on 11 March when two regiments had attacked in the wake of a 50-minute air, artillery, and naval gunfire preparation. In spite of the extensive preliminary fires, and the pin-point support of 37 mm guns, half-track mounted 75s, and 81 mm mortars, the attack made little headway.

Again the following day, the 5th Division resumed its hammering of the determined Japanese. Weeks of vicious fighting had reduced many of the 5th Division’s rifle companies to platoon strength. In spite of these losses, the division, supported by flame-throwing tanks, managed to gain about 1,000 yards on 14-15 March. The next day saw the 3rd Marine Division begin moving onto line to the right of the 5th Division. Attacking abreast, the 21st Marines, 3rd Division, and the 26th Marines, 5th Division, ground out gains of as much as 400 yards.

The fighting was far from finished, however, as far as the 5th Division was concerned. In the path of the 28th Marines lay a gorge, its banks honeycombed with caves. Packed into this redoubt were some 500 ill-organized but fanatic enemy soldiers. Seldom did the attackers see a live enemy, for the Japanese refused to be lured into the open. General Erskine of the 3rd Marine Division had a surrender appeal translated into Japanese and delivered by two prisoners of war. Although the appeal was ignored, the defenders of Kitano Point did allow the messengers to return unharmed to American lines. Not until 25 March was this last pocket eliminated.

The Last Japanese Attempt

Although organized enemy resistance was declared at an end on 25 March, the surviving Japanese still had fight in them. Somehow, the senior officer alive on the island managed to contact many of the isolated remnants of Kuribayashi’s command. On the night of 25 March, these men assembled in the vicinity of Airfield Number 2, and early the following morning they launched the final counterattack of the Iwo Jima campaign.

into bivouac areas occupied by support troops, the Japanese raised havoc among the sleeping Americans. Focal point of the assault was the area of the 5th Pioneer Battalion. This unit, and men of the Army’s VII Fighter Command and the Marine’s 8th Field Depot, threw together a defensive line and contained the enemy until daylight. Once the sun had appeared, the fight became a hunt, with the Americans tracking down and killing the last of the survivors. At least 223 Japanese perished. Among them may have been the redoubtable Kuribayashi, if that capable soldier had not been killed earlier.^[12]

Summing Up

The conquest of Iwo Jima had taken a heavy toll of the Marines—17,372 wounded and 5,931 killed—but the island had to be taken. An inkling of its importance in the aerial war against Japan may be gained from the fact that by the war’s end, 2,251 heavy bombers carrying 24,761 Americans had found refuge at Iwo Jima during the course of raids on Japan.

General Kuribayashi had proved a formidable foe, but he was beaten. He was overwhelmed by a skillfully led band of Americans among whom, in the words of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

Appendix: Presidential Unit Citations

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Presidential Unit Citation to assault troops of the Fifth Amphibious Corps, Reinforced United States Fleet Marine Force for service as set forth in the following citation:

For extraordinary heroism in action during the seizure of enemy Japanese-held Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, February 19 to 28, 1945. Landing against resistance which rapidly increased in fury as the Japanese pounded the beaches with artillery, rocket and mortar fire, the Assault Troops of the Fifth Amphibious Corps inched ahead through shifting black volcanic sands, over heavily mined terrain, toward a garrison of jagged cliffs, pillboxes and blockhouses com­mand­ing all approaches. Often driven back with terrific losses in fierce hand-to-hand combat, the Assault Troops repeatedly hurled back the enemy’s counterattacks to regain and hold lost positions, and continued the unrelenting drive to high ground and Motoyama Airfield No. 1, captured by the end of the second day. By their individual acts of heroism and their unfailing teamwork, these gal­lant officers and men fought against their own battle fatigue and shock to advance in the face of the enemy’s fanatical resistance; they charged each strong-point, one by one, blasting out the hidden Japan­ese troops or sealing them in; within four days they had occupied the southern part of Motoyama Airfield No. 2; simul­taneously they stormed the steep slopes of Mount Suribachi to raise the United States Flag; and they seized the strongly defended hills to silence guns commanding the beaches and insure the conquest of Iwo Jima, a vital inner defense of the Japanese Empire.

The following Assault Troops of the Fifth Amphibious Corps, United States Fleet Marine Force, participated in the Iwo Jima Operation from February 19 to 28, 1945:

9th Marines

21st Marines

3rd Engineer Battalion (less detachment)

3rd Tank Battalion

3rd Joint Assault Signal Company (less detachment)

Reconnaissance Company, Headquarters Bat­ta­lion, Third Marine Division

Liaison and Forward Observer Par­ties, 12th Marines

Pilots and Air Observers, Marine Observation Squadron 1

23rd Marines

24th Marines

25th Marines

Companies A, B, and C, 4th Tank Battalion

Companies A, B, and C, 4th En­gi­neer Battalion

1st Joint Assault Signal Company

1st, 2nd, and 3rd Pla­toons, Military Police Company, Headquarters Battalion, Fourth Marine Division

Companies A, B, and C, 4th Pioneer Bat­talion

10th Amphibian Tractor Battalion

5th Amphibian Tractor Bat­talion

Reconnaissance Company, Headquarters Battalion, Fourth Marine Division

Companies A, B, and Detachment, Head­quarters Company, 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion

7th Marine War Dog Platoon

Pilots and Air Observers, Marine Observation Squad­ron 4

Liaison and Forward Observer Parties, 14th Marines

1st Provisional Rocket Detachment

26th Marines

27th Marines

28th Marines

5th Engineer Battalion

5th Tank Battalion

6th War Dog Platoon

5th Joint Assault Signal Company

3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion

11th Amphibian Tractor Battalion

Companies A, B, and C, 5th Pioneer Battalion

Reconnaissance Company, Head­quarters Battalion, Fifth Marine Division

1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoons, Military Police Company, Headquarters Battalion, Fifth Marine Division

3rd Provisional Rocket Detachment

Pilots and Air Observers, Marine Observation Squadron 5

Liaison and Forward Observer Parties, 13th Marines

Companies C, D, and Detachment, Headquarters Company, 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion

For the President,

John L. Sullivan

Secretary of the Navy

±

The Secretary of the Navy takes great pleasure in commending the support units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps, United States Fleet Marine Force for service as follows:

For outstanding heroism in support of Military Operations during the seizure of enemy Japanese-held Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, February 19 to 28, 1945. Landing against resistance which rapidly in­creased in fury as the Japanese pounded the beaches with artil­lery, rocket and mortar fire, the Support Units of the Fifth Amphi­bi­ous Corps surmounted the obstacles of chaotic disorganization, loss of equipment, supplies and key personnel to develop and main­tain a continuous link between thousands of assault troops and sup­ply ships. Resourceful and daring whether fighting in the front line of combat, or serving in the rear areas or on the wreck-obstructed beaches, they were responsible for the administration of operations and personnel; they rendered effective fire support where Japanese pres­sure was greatest; they constructed roads and facilities and main­tained communications under the most difficult and discoura­g­ing conditions of weather and rugged terrain; they salvaged vital supplies from craft lying crippled in the surf or broached on the beaches; and they ministered to the wounded under fire and pro­vided prompt evacuation to hospital ships. By their individual initiative and heroism and their ingenious teamwork, they provided the unfailing support vital to the conquest of Iwo Jima, a powerful defense of the Japanese Empire.

All personnel attached to and serving with the following Support Units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps, United States Marine Force, during the Iwo Jima Operation from February 19 to 28, 1945, are authorized to wear the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon.

Headquarters and Service Battalion

Medical Battalion

Signal Bat­talion

Motor Transport Company

Detachment, 1st Separate Radio Intelligence Platoon

Detachment, Signal, Headquarters Air Warn­ing Squadron 7—Army Fighter Command

Detachment, 568th Signal Air Warning Battalion, Army

Detachment, 726th Signal Air Warn­ing Company—Army

Detachment, 49th Signal Construction Batta­lion—Army

Detachment, 4470th Army Airways Communications Service—Army

Detachment, Communication Unit 434 (Group Pacific 11)

Landing Force Air Support Control Unit No. 1

2nd Separate Engineer Battalion

62nd Naval Construction Battalion

2nd Separate Topographical Company

Detachment, 23rd Naval Con­struction Battalion (Special)

8th Field Depot (plus Head­quar­ters Shore Party)

33rd Marine Depot Company

34th Marine Depot Com­pany

36th Marine Depot Company

8th Marine Ammunition Com­pany

Detachment, 8th Naval Construction Regiment

Corps Evacuation Hospital No. 1

2nd Bomb Disposal Company

156th Bomb Disposal Squad—Army

Company B, Amphibious Recon­nais­sance Battalion, Fleet Marine Force

A and C Platoons, 38th Field Hospital—Army

Joint Intelligence Corps, Pacific Ocean Area, In­telligence Teams No. 22, 23, 24, and 25

Detachment, Joint Intel­li­gence Corps, Pacific Ocean Area, Enemy Materiel and Salvage Pla­toon

Detachment, 1st Platoon, 239th Quartermaster Salvage and Col­lection Company—Army

Detachment, Headquarters, Army Gar­rison Forces, APO 86

Detachment, Headquarters, 147th Infantry—Army

Detachment, Headquarters, 7th Fighter Squadron—Army

De­tach­ment, 47th Fighter Squadron—Army

Detachment, 548th Night Fighter Squadron—Army

Detachment, 386th Air Service Group (Spe­cial)—Army

Detachment, Group Pacific 11

Detachment, Port Director

Detachment, Garrison Beach Party

Headquarters and Ser­vice Battery, 1st Provisional Artillery Group

2nd 155 mm Howi­tzer Battalion

4th 155 mm Howitzer Battalion

473rd Amphibian Truck Company—Army

Detachment, Headquarters and Head­quar­ters Battery, 138th Anti-aircraft Artillery Group—Army

Detach­ment, 506th Anti-aircraft Gun Battalion—Army

Detachment, 483rd Anti-aircraft Air Warning Battalion—Army

28th and 34th Re­place­ment Drafts (less Advance Groups and those assigned assault units)

Head­quarters Battalion, Third Marine Division (less Recon­nai­s­sance Company)

3rd Marine War Dog Platoon

3rd Service Bat­ta­lion (less detachment)

3rd Pioneer Battalion (less 2nd Platoon, Company C)

3rd Medical Battalion (less Company C)

3rd Motor Trans­port Battalion (less Company C)

12th Marines (less de­tach­ment); Marine Observation Squadron 1 (less detachment)

Head­quarters Battalion, Fourth Marine Division (less Reconnaissance Company and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoons, Military Police Company)

4th Motor Transport Battalion

4th Medical Battalion

133rd Naval Construction Battalion

4th Tank Battalion (less Companies A, B, and C)

4th Service Battalion

4th Pioneer Battalion (less Companies A, B, and C)

442nd Port Company—Army

14th Marines (less de­tach­ment)

4th Marine Amphibian Truck Company

476th Amphibian Truck Company—Army

Marine Observation Squadron 4 (less detachment)

Detachment, 726th Signal Air Warning Com­pany—Army (Fourth Marine Division—Reinforced)

24th and 30th Replacement Drafts (less Advance Groups and assigned assault units)

Headquarters Battalion, Fifth Marine Division (less Recon­naissance Company and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoons, Military Police Company)

5th Medical Battalion

13th Marines (less detachments)

5th Marine Amphibian Truck Company

471st Amphibian Truck Company—Army

Marine Observation Squadron 5 (less detachment)

Detachment, 726th Signal Air Warning Company—Army (Fifth Marine Division—Reinforced)

5th Pioneer Battalion (less Companies A, B, and C)

31st Naval Construction Battalion

592nd Port Com­pany—Army

5th Motor Transport Battalion

5th Service Battalion

27th and 31st Replacement Drafts (less Advance Groups and those assigned assault units)

John L. Sullivan

Secretary of the Navy

 

---

[1]    Unless otherwise noted the material in this article is derived from: Lieutenant Colonel Whitman S. Bartley, Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic, Historical Branch, G-3, HQ, Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., 1954; Howard M. Conner, The Spearhead: The World War II History of the Fifth Marine Division, Infantry Journal Press, Washington, D.C., 1950, pages 65-68; Bill Miller, “The Whine of Snipers’ Bullets Comprised the Only Opposition,” Leatherneck, Vol. 30 No. 9, September 1947), pages 10-11.

[2]    Quoted in Major Frank O. Hough, The Island War, J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1957, page 332.

[3]    Bartley, op.cit., page 39.

[4]    28th Marines War Diary, in 5th Marine Division War Diary, Febru­ary 1945, Unit Historical File, Marine Corps Historical Archives.

[5]    Director, Division of Public Information, HQ, Marine Corps, letter to Mr. Keyes Beech, dated 17 February 1947, in folder “Investigation of Flag Raising,” Marine Corps Memorial Fund Records, Marine Corps Historical Archives.

[6]    Mr. Joe Rosenthal, letter to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, HQ, Marine Corps, dated 12 February 1962, Biography File, Marine Corps Historical Archives.

[7]    Captain Harold G. Schrier, letter to President of the Board [to investigate the flag raising], dated 10 December 1946, and Mr. Rene A. Gagnon, letter to Major General Pedro A. del Valle, dated 10 January 1947, Marine Corps Memorial Fund Records, Marine Corps Historical Archives.

[8]    Joe Rosenthal with W. C. Heinz, “The Picture That Will Live Forever,” Colliers, Vol. 135, No. 4, 18 February 1955, page 65.

[9]    Rosenthal letter, op.cit.

[10]   Rosenthal, “The Picture That Will Live Forever,” op.cit.

[11]   Captain Clifford P. Moorehouse, The Iwo Jima Operation, His­tori­cal Branch, HQ, Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., 1946, pages 52-53.

[12]   Hough, op.cit., pages 356-358.

 

Mount Suribachi (pictured in 2001) is the dominant geographical feature of the island of Iwo Jima. (Phan Lee McCaskill, U.S. Navy / U.S. National Archives 6610973)

View of the invasion beach from the top of Mount Suribachi, February 2002.

Slow advance to Suribachi, February 1945.

Field gun emplacements like these, all well-camouflaged behind concealing sandbags, give Marines quite a vantage point against Japanese attacks. On D-day plus two, the Marine front lines had reached the foot of the Mount Suribachi, volcano at the tip of the gourd shaped Iwo Jima island, from where the Japanese were firing down upon the Marines.

Marines advance in the shadow of Suribachi, February 1945.

Marines stay low with a smoke-shrouded Suribachi in the distance, February 1945.

Mt Suribachi from Green Beach, February 1945.

Mt Suribachi, February 1945.

Marine watches the action near Suribachi, February 1945.

Suribachi, February 1945.

An aerial view of the Marine beachhead on the island of Iwo Jima, twelve days after the landing. In the background is Mount Suribachi where Japanese on high ground raked the Marine positions. Notice the narrow width of the island at this point and the craters in the earth.

On a plateau just off the Iwo beachhead, Marines dig in for protection against enemy fire and the heavy rains. Barely visible in the background is Mount Suribachi.

Marines and their equipment on the Motoyama airfield number one are dwarfed by the Suribachi volcano in the background. This sheer rock formation was the highest point of land on Iwo Jima and from well defended positions in the honey-combed caves, the Japanese laid a murderous fire on the Leatherneck beachhead. A TBF Avenger flies overhead.

Two members of the 5th Marine Division resting in the shadow of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima, February 1945.

Marine 37mm gun fires against Japanese cave positions dug in to the north face of Mount Suribachi.

Determination written on their countenances, Marines start the drive to the interior of Iwo Jima. Running at a crouch, they dart across the tableland in the shadow of Mount Suribachi, taking advantage of the scant protection offered by small rises in the volcanic sand. The Marine standing nearest the camera is carrying a shotgun. 

Marine with flamethrower advances on Iwo Jima.

Marine flamethrower operator with his assistant covering infantry attack on a pillbox. Many assistants and covering Marines died protecting the flamethrower operator.

Marine with flamethrower, February 1945.

Clearing a bunker with a flamethrower while another Marine gets ready to toss in a satchel charge, February 1945.

Marine operating a flamethrower, February 1945.

Flamethrowers move into position, February 1945.

Clearing a bunker with a flamethrower, February 1945.

Marine PFC John C. Georgilas (in foreground) carrying a flame thrower, moves up with his buddies on the desolate battlefield of Iwo Jima.

Two Marine privates hit the deck to throw a scorching inferno at the mighty defenses which blocked the way to Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi. They are (left to right) Private Richard Klatt and Private First Class Wilfred Voegeli. 

Between two airfields, Private First Class Thomas N. Brown, is refueling a flame thrower. 27 February 1945.

Marine with flamethrower, February 1945.

Flamethrower operators move back up the line after refilling their tanks with fuel. Iwo Jima, 1945.

Marines and M4 medium tanks, February 1945.

Marine motion pictures, taken through the front slot of a Marine tank on Iwo Jima on March 3, 1945, show Marines in a sheltered gully.

Marine motion pictures, taken through the front slot of a Marine tank on Iwo Jima on March 3, 1945, show Marines advancing behind an M4 medium tank as another American vehicle burns in the background.

A LVT(A)-4 amphibious tractor is lowered over the side of the U.S. Navy attack transport USS Hansford (APA-106) off Iwo Jima, circa 19 February 1945. Note the camouflage paint on the LVT, which is marked “D35” and carries the nickname “Corps”.

Rocket trucks and tank, February 1945. The vehicle at left is an M3A1 Satan flamethrower tank. The third vehicle from the right is an 75mm M3 GMC halftrack.

Tank and stretcher bearers, February 1945. Note the spikes welded on top and around the hatches on the tank as a deterrent to enemy soldiers.

With Fourth Division Marines watching from their foxholes, an American tank rumbles amid the wreckage of Japanese planes on the airfield on Iwo Jima, blasting at Nipponese positions during the bloody fighting on the island.

After spending the night under the protection of a cliff (left foreground) by the first aid establishment, the tanks of a Marine tank battalion get ready to move off and join the fighting on Iwo Jima.

A Japanese pillbox on Iwo Jima goes up in smoke when the Marine M3 GMC halftracks in the foreground score a direct hit. Japanese artillery in this area (note the gun at the extreme left), was previously zeroed on the landing beach and took a heavy toll of the invading Leathernecks.

After being on the receiving end of the “Mortar Happy” Japanese bombardment, Marines get their tanks into position to return to the enemy’s fire, in the struggle on Iwo Jima. In addition to five M4 medium tanks, the second vehicle from the left is an M32 tank recovery vehicle, based on the M4 medium tank chassis.

Supported by M4 medium tanks, Marines stage a frontal attack on Japanese positions in the craggy ridges of northern Iwo. The blasts in the center are Japanese mortar shells meant for the tank at the left. This advance netted twenty yards of ground.

This M4 medium tank “Cairo” was wrecked by a land mine and sustained five Japanese artillery hits, but the Marine crew escaped without a casualty. In the turret is Sergeant James W. Reeves; under the gun, left to right, Corporal Lynn S. Evans and Private First Class Lloyd F. Spickage. Sergeant Charles H. Saulman is examining the damaged tread.

Marines from the 24th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Iwo Jima. M4 medium tank “Red Bug” in background.

A Marine flame throwing tank, also known as a "Ronson", scorches a Japanese strongpoint. The eight M4A3 Shermans equipped with the Navy Mark 1 flame-thrower proved to be the most valuable weapons systems on Iwo Jima. March 1945.

Smashed by Japanese mortar and shellfire, trapped by Iwo’s treacherous black-ash sands, amtracs and other vehicles of war lay knocked out on the black sands of the volcanic fortress. February/March 1945.

Japanese tank crews of the 26th Tank Regiment during an exercise, January 1945.

Japanese Medium Tank Type 1 CHI-HE wedged between banks of solid earth was very difficult for Marines to see or attack from the front, Iwo Jima, March 25, 1945.

Japanese Medium Tank Type 97 CHI-HA, Iwo Jima.

Japanese Type 97 Shinhoto CHI-HA, 26th Tank Regiment, Iwo Jima, 1945.

Japanese Type 97 Shinhoto CHI-HA, 26th Tank Regiment, Hill 382, Iwo Jima.

Japanese Type 97 Shinhoto CHI-HA, 26th Tank Regiment, Hill 382, Iwo Jima.

Japanese Type 97 Shinhoto CHI-HA, 26th Tank Regiment, Iwo Jima, 1945. (USMC / U.S. National Archives 127-GW-304-142255)

Often buried in sand up to their turrets, there were Japanese tanks at Iwo Jima. They were commanded by the 1932 Gold Medal equestrian show jumper Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi. Type 95 HA-GO light tank.

Japanese Type 95 HA-GO light tank of the 26th Tank Regiment captured on Iwo Jima.

Type 97 CHI-HA of the 26th Tank Regiment at Hill 382, Iwo Jima, 1945.

Japanese medium tank emplaced in a fixed position to act as a pillbox. Rugged terrain throughout the area dictated this use of tank. This tank had a 57mm gun mounted in the turret.

Rear view of rifle pit constructed from a tank turret affording excellent observation of terrain sloping south from airfield No. 2. Sand bags and camouflage were blown away.

Rear view of Japanese Type 95 light tank revetted in position to fire on approaches to airfield No. 2.

Tank in fixed position camouflaged with rocks and vegetation which have been largely blown away.

Wrecked Type 97 CHI-HA medium tank, circa 1945/46.

Japanese dummy tank carved out of rock, Iwo Jima.

Disabled Japanese Type 95 HA-GO light tank, February 1945.

Marine rocket trucks in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima, February 28, 1945.

Rocket trucks, February 1945.

Rocket trucks, February 1945.

Hit and run rocket fire was the order when these Marines of the Fifth Division loosed a barrage at the enemy on Iwo Jima. Being mobile, the units used hit and run tactics so that the enemy could never get an exact fix on their positions.

A Marine rocket truck empties it’s launching rack of projectiles as it lays a barrage on Japanese positions on Iwo Jima.

D-day on Iwo Jima and the enemy’s mortar and artillery barrages are being replied to by 105mm guns of the U. S. Marines.

A general view of the southern end of Iwo Jima, above airfield number two. Marine artillery dug in and Japanese positions taken.

Marine artillerymen assume various poses as they stop up their ears against the concussion from a 155mm howitzer. Leatherneck cannoneers paving the way for a three division drive, laid a terrific barrage on intricately fortified enemy positions in the rocky ridges of northern Iwo.

At a forward observation post on Iwo Jima, Marine spotters have located the exact position of an enemy machine gun nest and one of the group calls instructions to be relayed to artillery and mortar units requesting a concentration of fire on the Japanese strong point.

Across the litter on Iwo Jima’s black sands, Marines of the 4th Division shell Japanese positions cleverly concealed back from the beaches. Here, a gun pumps a stream of shells into Japanese positions inland on the tiny volcanic island. February 1945.

Burrowed in his shallow foxhole at the edge of Motoyama airstrip on Iwo Jima, a Marine communicator calls for artillery support to silence the enemy mortars that are pinning down the leatherneck advance.

A 60mm mortar squad on Iwo Jima during an engagement. The gunner, on the left, adjusts the traverse wheel to “level the bubble.” The “A” gunner hangs an M49A2 high explosive round in the muzzle and stands by for the order to fire.

Wrecked Japanese Type 10 120mm anti-aircraft gun, circa 1945/46.

Wrecked Japanese Type 10 120mm anti-aircraft gun, circa 1945/46.

Wrecked Japanese Type 10 120mm anti-aircraft gun, circa 1945/46.

View of a 90mm Japanese coastal artillery gun on the island of Iwo Jima in September 1945.

The ‘Mortar Happy’ Japanese who raked the Marine lines with mortar fire almost constantly during the early days of the battle on Iwo Jima, used this 150mm mortar in the barrages. The mortar was captured by Marines at the foot of a hill.

Marines take a breather, overseen by a watchful war dog, February 1945.

Marines and war dog, February 1945.

Marine dog handler and his Doberman, February 1945.

Marine feeds his pet lamb, February 1945.

War dog handlers with their Dobermans, February 1945.

Members of a Marine Corps War Dog platoon move up to the front lines on Iwo Jima. The dogs were a great asset in this type of operation due to their ability to ferret out enemy snipers and to act as speedy messengers.

‘Butch’, a Doberman Pinscher Marine war dog stands guard as his partner, Private Rez Hester snatches a few winks in a sandy foxhole on Iwo Jima. Teams like this eliminated many Japanese snipers who played possum in blasted pillboxes.

"Marine Sergeant Bombspew C. Injector", a fox terrier attached to the Fifth Division, was the first American dog to set a paw on Iwo Jima. He is shown here proudly posing with his master, Marine First Lieutenant Howard L. Dalton.

Crouching in a foxhole they share on Iwo Jima are Marine Corporal Virgil W. Burgess and his war dog "Prince". Burgess is giving instructions to the dog which will shortly jump out of the foxhole and carry a message to another point on the Iwo battlefield.

Corporal Edward Burckhardy sports a kitten that he found at the base of Suribachi Yama on the battlefield at Iwo Jima, when he came ashore with the Fifth Marine Division.

Corporal Rusty, a Marine Corps war dog, seems slightly annoyed that his privacy be disturbed by the cameraman. His ramshackle abode on Iwo Jima is the remains of a Japanese version of the jeep. "Corporal Rusty" and his handler, Private First Class Walter Joseflack, are veterans of the Guam campaign.

Marines washing clothing, February 1945.

Marines doing laundry, February 1945.

Marines writing and reading letters, February 1945.

A scant ten days after D-Day on Iwo Jima the mailmen came in. Here two members of the Fourth Marine Division post office get things “squared away.” Painting the sign is Sergeant B.D. Bryant while Corporal Kenneth E. Hales looks on.

Business as usual is the motto of the Fourth Marine Division post office, established in a canvas-covered dugout on Iwo. Mail from home was as vital to front line troops as ammunition, and rates the same priority on cargo shipping lists.

This captured Japanese observation post is put to good use by two members of the Fifth Marine Division that stormed Iwo Jima. They are (left to right): Captain Stanley C. McDaniel and Lieutenant Garfield M. Randall.

Left, Sergeant W.A. Genaust and Corporal Atlee S. Tracy, movie photographers of the Marines, taking a rest and smoke in their temporary home on Iwo Jima. Genaust shot the movie footage of the second flag raising on Mt. Suribachi.

Iwo Japanese made suicidal but futile attempts to raid life-giving water dumps like the one pictured here. “Water boy” was a hazardous job in the early days of the battle as all water had to be brought ashore in cans and transported through heavy enemy fire to the front lines. Handling the distribution are (left to right): Marine Quartermaster Sergeant Frank Writter and Sergeant Edward M. Lipski.

Commander's Tent, Iwo Jima, 1945.

Holland Smith, Iwo Jima, 1945.

Mass is celebrated on Suribachi Yama by a Catholic chaplain of the Fifth Marine Division. The two Marines wearing helmets are shielding the improvised alter from the high winds that rake the volcano summit.

A hot sulphur pit on Iwo Jima doubles as a cooking range when Marine Corporal Roy F. Webster (left) and Sergeant Dewaine J. Fisk heat up their morning coffee. The pipe protruding from the mound was inserted by the Japanese who used the hot vapor for steam baths.

Marine Officers in Japanese Dugout: Here in this Japanese dugout twenty feet underground on the island of Iwo Jima, high-ranking Marines leaders in the battle for Iwo Jima, discuss the progress that the Marines of the Fifth Amphibious Corps are making as they push the Japanese defenders up toward the north end of the island.

A Marine reads a stack of letters in his foxhole with a rifle close by for instant use.

Kneeling in the sands of Iwo Jima, and surrounded by their equipment and empty shell casings, three Marines offer up a prayer during a lull in the fighting for Motoyama Airstrip Number One. Buddies in the background keep on the alert for enemy attack.

Prisoner captured by 5th Marine Division near Hill 165 is escorted to the rear for interrogation.

Marines help wounded Japanese prisoner on Iwo Jima.

U.S. Marines offer a Japanese prisoner of war, whose face is obliterated by censors, after he is captured during American invasion of Iwo Jima, Japanese Volcano Island stronghold, on Feb. 28, 1945 in World War II.

Marines feed Japanese POWs K-rations, Iwo Jima, February 1945. (USMC / Naval History & Heritage Command NH 104572)

Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by U.S. forces on Iwo Jima are evacuated from the volcanic island on a U.S. Coast Guard-manned transport. March 8, 1945.

Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by U.S. forces on Iwo Jima are evacuated from the volcanic island on a U.S. Coast Guard-manned transport. March 8, 1945.

Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by U.S. forces on Iwo Jima are evacuated from the volcanic island on a U.S. Coast Guard-manned transport. March 8, 1945.

Dead Japanese soldiers who defended the stronghold lie at the feet of U.S. Marines following American invasion of Iwo Jima, Japanese Volcano Island, March 2, 1945 in World War II.

A Navy corpsman (back right) dresses a wounded Marine while others keep down amidst a terrific barrage. This photograph, likely taken on February 19, 1945, depicts the harsh conditions on the landing beaches that the Marines encountered while advancing.

American casualty rests on a bed of life preservers aboard a US Coast Guard LCVP, 19 February 1945.

This Marine, member of the ‘Fighting Fourth Marine Division’, threatens the enemy even in death on the beach at Iwo Jima. His bayonet fixed and ready for the charge, he was killed by intense Japanese sniper fire during the attack on that enemy fortress.

Injured U.S. Marines walk down the hillside as another wounded is carried on a stretcher to a medical station below on Iwo Jima on March 2, 1945. Note the wreckage of a plane at far left.

Marines transport a wounded comrade, February 1945.

Fallen Marines and tanks, February 1945.

Corpsmen carry a wounded Marine away from the front lines on Iwo Jima.

Wounded Marines, February 1945.

Marines await medevac, February 1945.

Tending the wounded, February 1945.

A wounded U.S. Marine soldier, lying on stretcher at left, is given blood plasma by American Navy hospital corpsmen on Iwo Jima, Japan, on March 3, 1945 during World War II. Two Marines can be seen walking away, at right, after getting medical attention. The aid station is surrounded by captured Japanese equipment.

Wounded Marines await transport, February 1945.

Tending the wounded, February 1945.

Wounded Marines at the rear, February 1945.

Wreckage on the shoreline, February 1945.

Fallen Marines, February 1945.

Transporting the wounded, February 1945.

Treating the wounded on Green Beach, February 1945.

Marine casualty, February 1945.

Transporting the wounded, February 1945.

Tending the wounded, February 1945.

Somber signage, February 1945.

Smoking wreckage, February 1945.

Overturned Jeep, February 1945.

Marines inspect a casualty, February 1945.

Marine wounded awaiting transport, February 1945.

Transporting a wounded Marine, February 1945.

Loading the wounded onto a C-47, February 1945.

Wounded Marines evacuated via plane, February 1945.

Though the mortar fire of the enemy occasionally sweeps this road, the Marines wounded are sent back to the aid stations on Iwo Jima as quickly as humanly possible. These men have received first aid, the large tags are information on their wound and treatment, and they are walking back aiding each other on the journey.

Marine stretcher bearers bring back a Marine casualty while the Japanese mortars, which played among the Leatherneck troops like, rain, fire on the area. The men have taken advantage of a sunken path to gain a little protection on Iwo Jima.

Ignoring the heavy enemy fire in the area, Marine stretcher bearers carry a wounded Leatherneck to a foxhole aid station on the beach at Iwo Jima.

Stretcher bearers threading their way across the congested Iwo Jima beachhead, under fire from the enemy in their higher positions north and south of the Marines’ holdings, with their burden of a wounded Marine.

Marines who paid the supreme price to win a stepping stone to Tokyo are born toward the Iwo Jima beach by their comrades of the Fourth Marine Division.

While the Marine at the right covers a cave entrance with his Browning Automatic Rifle, stretcher bearers place a Japanese prisoner on a litter. Without food or water for ten days, the Nipponese could hold out no longer and crawled from his cave on northern Iwo, placing himself at the mercy of the Leathernecks.

Navy doctors and corpsmen administer to wounded Marines at an aid station established in a gully on Iwo Jima. The high casualty rate in this operation required the use of gallons of plasma and whole blood sent by air from the West Coast.

Marines, wounded in the battle for Iwo Jima, are sheltered in a Japanese concrete air raid shelter which was not completely destroyed in the three-day bombardment and aerial attack preceding the landing. The Americans are in the unharmed portions of the thirty-foot shelter which received a hit in the middle.

Holding the bottle overhead, a Navy corpsman administers blood plasma to a wounded Marine on the beach at Iwo Jima. Many lives were saved by the use of plasma in this operation.

Borne on a litter, a wounded Marine is brought to the Fourth Division evacuation hospital by his comrades. At this aid station established in a Japanese underground shelter on Iwo Jima, wounded Leathernecks received on-the-spot treatment before they were evacuated to rear base medical centers, or hospital ships offshore.

While a Corpsman administers the ether, Navy doctors operate to remove shrapnel from the abdomen of a wounded Leatherneck. The scene is the Fourth Marine Division evacuation hospital, functioning at an abandoned Japanese dugout several thousand yards from the front lines on Iwo Jima.

These wounded Marines, stretched out in a C-47 transport plane, were the first to be evacuated from bloody Iwo Jima. Crammed into every available stretcher space, the Leathernecks were flown to Guam for hospitalization. Previously ships had removed casualties to advanced bases for further flight to Guam and Pearl Harbor but this was the first flight to land on Motoyama airfield number one and take off with patients. The field was shelled at the time the plane was loading. Pharmacist's Mate First Class John Drust Jr., (left) and Chief Pharmacist's Mate Silas V. Sturtevant are the corpsmen attending the wounded.

The power of the invasion armada in the background stands out in ironic contrast with the scene on the Iwo beachhead. Marines of the Third Division, covered with their ponchos, lie on the beach they gave their lives to win. The battle still rages a few thousand yards away.

Beside the body of a slain Japanese officer, Marine Corporal Marling Hoge, cautiously watched the terrain ahead for any Japanese snipers or stragglers, on Iwo Jima.

A wounded Leatherneck gets a helping hand from a comrade to return to a safe area, after he was wounded by Japanese mortar fire on Iwo Jima. Casualties were treated at front line aid stations and evacuated to the rear base hospitals for further treatment.

This photo showing a Japanese burial ground on Iwo Jima was recovered after a Japanese mortar shell knocked the photographer down, and blasted the camera from his grasp. A few seconds later, another shell killed one Marine and wounded two others. The cameraman, Technical Sergeant Byrd F. Ferneyhough and Combat Correspondent Staff Sergeant Tony Smith were just dazed by the explosion.

Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith pauses to give encouragement and sympathy to a wounded Marine at a forward aid station on Iwo Jima. The wounded Marine is getting a whole blood transfusion before being evacuated to a hospital ship.

A group of Marines use a poncho as a litter for the wounded Corporal Porter.

Wounded Marines await evacuation to Guam, March 1945.

Ensign Jane Kendiegh, USNR, the first Navy flight nurse to set foot on any battlefield, bends over a badly wounded Marine. Seated in the background are three Marines, victims of shell shock.

A wounded Marine is helped to an aid station by a Navy corpsman and another Marine.

Marines retrieve Japanese bodies, 1945.

Corpsman treats a wounded Marine, 1945.

Sea burial, 1945.

Marine Corps Burial Ground, Iwo Jima, 1945.

3rd Marine Corps Iwo Jima Cemetery Entrance with 'Built by 133rd Naval Construction Battalion' plaque on the right column. 18 March 1945.

A Catholic service at the dedication ceremony for a 4th Division cemetery.

Building of the 4th USMC Division Cemetery Iwo Jima.

The "Fighting Fourth" Marine Division raise the Stars and Stripes over the graves of its slain, buried in the Division's cemetery.

Iwo Jima cemetery, 1945.

Iwo Jima cemetery, 1945.

Entrance to Fifth Marine Division Cemetery, Iwo Jima.

U.S. Marine cemetery on Iwo Jima.

Fourth Marine Division Cemetery, March 1945. Note DUKW and truck traffic in background, with wrecked Japanese aircraft beyond.

U.S. servicemen attend Good Friday services on Iwo Jima in 1945. (National Archives)

Holland Smith on Iwo Jima, 1945.

Holland Smith, Clifton Cates, and Harry Schmidt with two unidentified Marines, on Iwo Jima, 1945.

Fifth Division Marines grouped behind their light machine gun, display Japanese battle flags captured during the first few days of the fighting on Iwo Jima.

Marines with captured Japanese “Good Luck” flag.

Marines with captured Japanese “Good Luck” flag.

U.S. Marines pose with captured Japanese flag. Left to right: Private First Class J.L. Hudson, Jr.; Private First Class .L. Lofter; Private First Class Paul V. Parces (top of blockhouse); Private Fred Sizemore; Private First Class Hewey Kovitch; and Private Richard W. Pearson. Photographed February 23, 1945. (Naval History & Heritage Command U.S. National Archives 127-GW-304-112350)

The U.S. flag is officially raised over American Headquarters near Mount Suribachi (background) on 14 March 1945 after a proclamation from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz officially took possession of the island.

Following the formal flag raising on Iwo Jima, March 14, 1945, which officially announced a victory for the Marine and Naval forces seizing this Japanese possession in the Volcano Island group, Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith (right), Commanding General of the Expeditionary Troops in the Iwo Jima Operation, congratulates Major General Graves B. Erskine, Commanding General of the Third Marine Division, upon the splendid showing of the Division in the campaign.

Part of the Third Division staff, on Iwo Jima, with General Erskine in the center.

Easter morning on Mount Suribachi: In a drizzling rain, Marines and Navy Seabees attend open-air divine services atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Covered by a poncho, a small organ provides musical accompaniment while a small choir sings hymns. Even as Chaplain Alvo Martin conducted these Easter services, on April 1st, fellow Marines and Army troops were assaulting Okinawa, hundreds of miles away.

US Army Soldiers from the 147th Infantry engaging heavily fortified Japanese positions. Relieving Marine Corps units, the Soldiers of the Ohio National Guard’s 147th Infantry Regiment fought on the island from March to September 1945, clearing the remaining enemy troops, some of whom were hiding in intricate cave systems.

Capt. James T. Kolb of Company A, 147th Infantry, assisted by Sgt. Keogh, uses a flamethrower against dug-in Japanese troops on Iwo Jima. 20 April 1945.

147th Infantry flame thrower clearing Japanese cave on Iwo Jima.

Flame thrower in use against Japanese holding out in a cave along Iwo Jima's northern coastal cliffs. 8 April 1945.

Major Masaru Inaoka emerges from a cave on Iwo Jima to surrender. 5 April 1945.

Major Masaru Inaoka leads Japanese survivors into captivity. The US Army's 147th Infantry Regiment organized a systematic mop-up in April and May. An officer and ten men, Nisei who spoke Japanese, accompanied by prisoners who lent themselves to this work, broadcast invitations to surrender through loud-speakers, promising the Japanese good usage and plenty to eat and drink. These methods netted 867 more prisoners and killed another 1,602. Army troops also stumbled upon the field hospital of the 2nd Mixed Brigade, located 100 feet underground on eastern Iwo Jima. A language officer appealed to the Japanese to come out. The senior medical officer, Major Inaoka, called for a vote. The ballot turned out 69 for surrender, three opposed. Of the three nays, Corporal Kyutaro Kojima immediately committed suicide. The others came out, including the two officers, Captain Iwao Noguchi and Lieutenant Hideo Ota.

Japanese soldiers surrender.

During the battle, Japanese defense plans for Iwo Jima had made no provision for the evacuation of any wounded. They either crawled back or were carried to aid stations behind the lines. There, they might be placed in niches in the walls of tunnels, where their comrades would look after them as best they could. Some of the Japanese bound up their wounds and remained with their units, either to fight again if physically able or else perform other work behind the lines.Repeated appeals were made for surrender. Some propaganda leaflets were dropped from planes and fired in artillery shells, but the most frequently used method was voice appeals. Language officers, Nisei Japanese-Americans and volunteer prisoners participated in this last form of persuasion.

Members of Company F, 147th Infantry, display captured Japanese flags found in an underground hospital. 11 April 1945. Out of 65 captured Japanese who had some contact with United States propaganda, 53 were influenced and gave themselves up as a direct result. The remaining twelve stated that fear of their own officers and fear of trickery on the part of the Marines had deterred them. These last did not surrender, but were captured under other circumstances. After the war, Captain Noguchi, beset by remorse that he had lived while so many died, later emigrated to Brazil. He was unable to accept life in Japan.

29th Bombardment Group B-29s at North Field, Tinian, 1945. Iwo Jima constituted a danger to B-29 raids on the Home Islands, first because Japanese fighter aircraft were based there, and second, even when raids navigated courses to stay out of range of the island’s aircraft, radar on Iwo Jima could warn defenses that raids were on their way.

Captured airfields on Iwo Jima also permitted the P-51 Mustang to operate against the Japanese Home Islands escorting B-29s. These P-51s are tagging along with a B-29 Superfortress to navigate the long way back to their base at Iwo Jima in 1945.

“Dinah Might”, the first B-29 bomber to make an emergency landing at Motoyama Airfield No. 1 on Iwo Jima is surrounded by Marines and Seabees, March 4, 1945. Having Iwo Jima’s airfields to divert to in case of damage or emergencies is said to have saved the lives of up to 24,000 flight crew.

First B-29 to land on Iwo, 4 March 1945, and Marine observation plane are pictured together on Airfield Number 1. By 26 March, 36 Superforts had used the emergency facilities on the island.

Symbolic of American power in the Pacific is this Marine at a battered Japanese anti-aircraft gun outlined against Iwo’s Motoyama Airfield Number One, on which rests the first B-29 that landed on the island. Crippled during a raid on Japan, the giant bomber effected an emergency landing on the unfinished strip.

B-29 bomber "Bainbridge Belle", April 1945.

Motor housing on the "Bainbridge Belle", April 1945.

Wreckage of "Bainbridge Belle", April 1945.

A power shovel lifts volcanic ash and stone, while loading a 62nd Construction Battalion truck amid a steamy Iwo Jima landscape, March 1945. (National Archives)

Seabees leveling an airfield on Iwo Jima. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

North American P-51D Mustang 557 44-63909 of the 458th Fighter Squadron 506th Fighter Group, Iwo Jima, 1945.

A B-29 Superfortress rests on a dirt mound after it crash landed with two engines working at Iwo Jima on April 21, 1945.

A Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber burns on an Iwo Jima airfield after its brakes locked on landing and it swerved into an aircraft parking area, April 24, 1945. The B-29 hit and destroyed four P-51 Mustang fighters. One is burning by the bomber's nose, another off its right wing. (National Archives)

Seabees with the 31st Naval Construction Battalion building a road on the side of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. (Naval History and Heritage Command)