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Iwa Jima

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Submitted By omalleyjm1
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By: S. O'Malley

The battle for Iwo Jima was perhaps one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific campaign. The island of Iwo Jima was worth strategical importance to the U.S. and the Empire of Japan. For the Americans, Iwo Jima was the one island causing problems for their bombing raids on Tokyo. With Iwo Jima in Allied hands, bombers could fly through the Pacific and bomb Tokyo without problems. For the Japanese Iwo protected them from bombers and attacks, but it was more important to them for another reason. Iwo was Japanese soil or sacred ground to them, it was a matter of pride, no invading army had ever successfully invaded Japan. The U.S. Marine Corps strategy for taking Iwo was simple and straightforward. Three Marine Corps divisions were to invade Iwo Jima. The 4th and 5th divisions first task was to secure Mt. Suribachi and the surrounding area. Then with support from the 3rd Marine division they would advance northeast and secure the rest of Iwo Jima. The Japanese plan of defense was much more intricate and complicated. The Japanese commander General Kuribayashi constructed a massive tunnel network throughout Mt. Suribachi and the island. Mt. Suribachi was honeycombed with over 1,500 rooms underground. The surface of the island was covered in concealed foxholes, pillboxes, blockhouses, and other assorted structures. He had two more parts to this strategy. He told his troops that there was no surrender. To surrender was to bring dishonor on their family. The final part of Kuribayashi’s defense strategy was one of his final orders to his men; he told his men that each of them were required to kill 10 Americans before they were killed. This 10:1 kill death ratio, if successful, would cause so many casualties that the Americans would lose the will to fight. Kuribayashi intended to win the battle through a war of attrition. Before the Marines stormed the beaches on Iwo, U.S. air forces bombed Iwo in the longest sustained bombardment of the war. Surprisingly, the bombardment had little effect on the Japanese defenders; the massive bombardment simply moved the sand around. More Marines participated in the battle for Iwo Jima than in any other battle. Over 110,000 Marines were sent to Iwo Jima in 880 transports. It took the massive convoy 40 days to reach Iwo Jima from Hawaii. It was the largest armada invasion during the Pacific Campaign. On February 19, 1945, U.S. Naval guns opened fire on Iwo Jima, indicating the beginning of the Iwo Jima invasion. After an hour of naval bombardment, 110 bombers made a final bombing run on Iwo. Almost immediately after the bombers left, the naval guns opened fire again. At 8:30 in the morning the order to land was given and the Landing force began the journey to shore in amphibious tanks known as “tractors.” When the Marines landed they were bogged down by the wet volcanic ash mixed with sand. The Marines were unable to dig their protective foxholes were left in the open exposed to the concealed Japanese. As soon as the beach was crowded with Marines the slaughter began. Japanese guns of all size and type opened up on the Marines. No one was safe on the beach and disorder took hold. With the entire beach in confusion, landing reinforcements was near to impossible. Throughout the battle, no Marine was ever really safe; one was always in range of a Japanese gun. While on Iwo Jima, a marine rarely saw a Japanese soldier who was living (due to the fact that the Japanese fought the entire battle from underground). The battle lasted for 36 long hard days, and was only won because of the resolve of the Marines. There were more Medals of Honor awarded to the marines in that battle alone than in history.
Perhaps the most well known event that occurred on Iwo Jima was the memorable flag raising on top of Mt. Suribachi. The flag was raised by six men. Five of them were U.S. marines; the other was a Navy corpsman. Their names were John Bradley, Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Franklin Sousley, Rene Gagnon, and Harlon Block. These men were all members of Easy Company, and were 4 days into the fighting when they raised the flag. Sadly only three of those men walked off Iwo Jima. The photograph taken by photographer Joe Rosenthal quickly went on to become the most reproduced image in the history of photography. As well as the theme for the Seventh Bond Tour which featured reenactments of the flag raising, patriotic speeches by the survivors, and statue dedications. The bond tour was used to raise money and encourage people to buy war bonds. The bond tour featured the three survivors John Bradley, Ira Hayes, and Rene Gagnon. The U.S. Marines had won a great victory, they had conquered Kuribayashi’s seemingly impenetrable fortress, but it came at a price. At the end of the battle, there were a total of 25,851 U.S. casualties. Of those 25,851, there were 6,825 Marines killed in action. One in every three Marines was wounded or killed. The now famed Easy Company suffered 75% casualties, and only one out of seven officers survived. Of the 310 men it began with, only 50 men stepped onto the transport ship home. Practically every Japanese soldier was killed. The few who surrendered couldn’t return to Japan out of shame. If they returned they would be outcasts and scorned upon for surrendering. Many immigrated to South or Central America. Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle in the Pacific; over 6,000 young men were killed in the 36 days of ferocious fighting. The Marines paid for every inch on that island with their lives. The survivors were haunted by the battle for years; some of them were never the same. Despite the losses, the U.S. Marine Corps’ victory at Iwo Jima paved the way for more success in the Pacific Campaign. Without the vital victory at Iwo Jima, U.S. bombers wouldn’t have the ability to reach Japan safely, which could have changed the outcome of the war. It also showed Japan that they weren’t as invincible as they thought. Iwo Jima is one of those battles that need to be remembered.

Works Cited
Bradley, James. Flags of Our Fathers. New York: Bantam Dell, 2000.
“Iwo Jima.” Iwo Jima Incorporated. 26 March 2008. http://www.iwojima.com/
Newcomb, Richard. “The Battle of Iwo Jima.” WWII Timeline. 27 March 2008. http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/LUTZ/iwo.html

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