History Lesson: Iwo Jima

Today is Iwo Jima Memorial Dedication Day.  In 1954, the Iwo Jima Memorial, which commemorates one of the most stirring events of World War II (the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima), was dedicated at Arlington Cemetery.  The iconic image is well-known to most of us.  But, how much of the actual history of this moment do you remember?   

Invasion Beach

The invasion of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945, and continued to March 26, 1945. The battle was a major initiative of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Marine invasion, known as Operation Detachment,  was charged with the mission of capturing on the island.  Once the bases were secured, they could then be used in the impending invasion of the Japanese mainland.


The battle was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the War. The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified with bunkers and hidden artillery and 18 Km (11 mi) of tunnels. The battle was the first U.S. attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only 1,083 taken prisoner.

According to the United States Navy "the 36-day (Iwo Jima) assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead."

Mount Suribachi

One of the first objectives after landing on the beachhead was the taking of Mount Suribachi.


 At the second raising of a flag on the peak, Joe Rosenthal photographed six Marines:  Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franking Sousley and U.S. Navy corpsman John Bradley raising the U.S. flag on the fourth day of the battle (February 23). The photograph won the Pulitzer Prize in Photography that same year, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time.

Within the next month of fighting, three of the Marines raising the flag were killed: Strank, Block and Sousley. Contrary to popular belief, the famous picture of the six men raising the flag, was not the first time they raised it. The raised it about twenty minutes before hand, and then the photographer got there. The photographer had them take it down so he could get a famous picture of them putting it up "for the first time."