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 4 2 / 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 par...