Iwo Jima Essay

"Victory was never in doubt. Its cost was. What was in doubt was whether there would be any of us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end, or whether the last Marine would die knocking out the last Japanese gunner," Major General Graves Erskine, dedicating his 3rd Marine Division cemetery at Iwo Jima just after the battle.(Alexander 207)

Iwo Jima veteran, Hershel Woodrow Williams remembers, “The flag going up on Mount Suribachi, on Japanese territory, was something that we as marines really needed.”

The fight for control of Iwo Jima lasted thirty eight days. Over that course of time the U.S. lost almost six thousand Marines with another eighteen thousand men wounded. The Japanese however lost around twenty one thousand men. This was the only battle during the war with Japan when the U.S. suffered more casualties than the Japanese. Being one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the taking of Iwo Jima served as a valuable lesson for the upcoming Okinawa campaign. In the weeks following, the battle fell under heavy scrutiny from the press and the public. Many viewed it as an unnecessary fight and loss of

In February of 1944, the U.S. launched Operation Detachment, an effort to seize control of an important island close to Japan. Iwo Jima could provide a launching point for bombers flying to the Japanese Home Islands and help to defeat the Japanese.

he Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the Second World War in which the US Armed Forces captured the Iwo Jima Island from the Japanese. More than 6800 American servicemen lost their lives in the battle and thus the battle has come to known as the deadliest battle in Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima was an island strategically positioned and highly fortified as its three airfields were used to stage attacks on the US at the Pacific War. It was therefore Americas target to capture the island and use it to stage attacks on Japans mainland and use the airfields as emergency landing strips for the US Navy planes damaged during war. According to The Washington Post a small group gathered on Thursday February 18th

December 7, 1941, was one of the worst attacks on the United States in U.S. history. Of that day 2,403 soldiers were killed in action, 1,178 were wounded in action. Numerous U.S. armed forces personnel were misjudged, which allowed the Japanese to carry out this terrible attack. Not only did the Japanese hit the U.S. where they knew it would hurt the most, but it crippled the United States’ entire Pacific Fleet.

Iwo Jima remains the Marine Corps’s deadliest campaign. February 19, 1945 was the day of the initial assault on Iwo Jima. That morning nearly eight hundred vessels, ranging from battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to

3) Japanese strategy was for each Soldier to kill 10 Americans before they themselves are killed (The Battle – Japan’s Iwo Jima Strategy, n.d.). On top of that, Iwo Jima would have to be reinforced significantly if it were going to be held for any length of time, and preparations were made to send sizable numbers of men and quantities of materiel to that island.

The Marines were led by Major General "Howlin' Mad" Smith. He used the 3rd, 4th, and 5th division to assault and take the island. On February 23rd, the newly formed Marine 28th regiment fought its way up the 556 feet high extinct volcano called Mt. Suribachi. The American objective was to invade the island to take control of the islands three airstrips. On February 23rd, 1945, five soldiers went on top of Mt. Suribachi and raised the American flag during the battle of Iwo Jima. They took 3 pictures of the flag raising. The first picture was taken by a photographer named Sgt. Louis R. Lowery. As Louis was leaving, he saw the soldiers raising the flag and took one of the most famous picture that is known to the Marine Corps. In fact, this picture was made into a statue that is in front of the Marine Corps Base Quantico located in Quantico, Virginia. Another photographer named Rosenthal was going up to take a picture of the flag raising. Louis told them the flag raising was over but the Rosenthal still went up the hill. They could not find the original soldiers that raised the flag so they decided to do it again. This picture impressed President Roosevelt so much that he sent the soldiers that raised the flag home for a publicity tour. The island was finally declared secured on March 26. After the battle was over 21,000 Japanese soldiers were killed and over 3,000 captured. The battle became known as an important battle in the pacific theater due to what was captured and its

suffered a major defeat at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, took advantage of the situation the U.S. was put in after its losses during Pearl Harbor (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). With the backbone of U.S. Pacific Fleet torn out, Japan made several attempts to dominate the Pacific. Japan was anxious to settle their differences with the U.S., so they began risking large naval units in Pacific battles. An article posted in the Los Angeles Time, “Japs Risk Large Naval Units in Blows at U.S.” says, “For the sixth time in six months Japan made a deadly bid to capture the mastery of the Pacific, and for the sixth time she has failed after paying a price that is fast becoming prohibitive,” (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). This article was posted days after the Battle of Midway, on June 7th, 1942 reflecting the actions of the Japanese Navy in the previous months. The Japanese were anxious to pounce on the weakened U.S. after Pearl Harbor, backing their attacks with large naval units. The Japanese felt that they needed to take over Midway Island in order to claim dominance over the U.S. in the Pacific.

According to Okinawa survivor and native Kinya Taira, the Japanese, who controlled the island of Okinawa during World War II “lied to us about the fate that would be facing us if we surrendered to the Allies, so we were confused, utterly paranoid, and just wanted to survive and see our families. We were, essentially, being used by the Imperial Army as body shields, as puppets, forced to go into the most dangerous areas knowing we wouldn’t make it back alive.” (“Okinawans Remember”) Despite the effects of the Battle of Okinawa on the natives of the land and the Allied soldiers who fought in it, this battle was the most crucial in ending World War II efficiently, thus the claim that the Battle of Okinawa was the most important battle in the war against the Japanese during World War II.

The battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 and ended June . It took place over 82 days and fought on the grounds of Ryukyu, Islands of Okinawa.Okinawa was the second most deadliest battle fought in WW2. The battle was a stepping stone for an in invasion to get closer to the mainland, The battle involved the Japanese Army, minimal navy power and American and British navy support, along with Joint services of U.S Army, Marine Corps, and Navy.

More than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors died , and more than 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault president Franklin D. Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan. On this day, during the battle for Iwo Jima, six U.S. marines raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the two islands of Iwo Jima and a key strategic point. Marine commanders decided to raise a second, larger flag.

On December 7, 1942, hours prior to the attack on the Philippines, Japan attacked America 's Pearl Harbor. Japan sunk numerous American Naval Ships, while killing thousands from an unexpected aerial attack. Japan moved quickly to the Philippines deploying several groups of Japanese soldiers in the Filipino jungle and bombing airfield bases, shipyards, and harbors. Japan took over the capital of the Philippines and other larger cities and surrounded the American-Filipino military bases and trapped several platoons taking them prisoner. Japan continued to capture platoons and seize large cities, and finally on January 1, 1942 American and Filipino soldiers declared war on Japan. This battle was called the Battle of Bataan. The Battle of Bataan was very unexpected, Japan was relying on a quick fall of the American base and America did not see it coming. General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the American-Filipino army thought they were

On December 7, 1942, hours prior to the attack on the Philippines, Japan attacked America 's Pearl Harbor. Japan sunk numerous American Naval Ships, while killing thousands from an unexpected aerial attack. Japan moved quickly to the Philippines deploying several groups of Japanese soldiers into the Filipino jungle and bombing airfield bases, shipyards, and harbors. Japan took over the capital of the Philippines and other larger cities and surrounded the American-Filipino military bases and trapped several platoons taking them prisoner. Japan continued to capture platoons and seize large cities, and finally on January 1, 1942 American and Filipino soldiers declared war on Japan. This battle was called the Battle of Bataan. The Battle of Bataan was very unexpected, Japan was relying on a quick fall of the American base and America did not see it coming. General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the American-Filipino army thought they were prepared for