History of the Marine Corps

No picture is more tied to Iwo Jima than the flag raising on Mount Suribachi. On February 23, 1945, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the moment when six Marines raised the Stars and Stripes over the rocky summit. It has been sculpted in bronze, carved into memory, and etched into the collective image of the Marine Corps. For many, Suribachi is Iwo Jima. The photo was only one moment. The 550-foot volcanic cone at the island’s south tip, towered…

On the morning of February 19th, 1945, the invasion of Iwo Jima began.

The Marines were coming in force. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions led the assault, backed by the 3rd in reserve. Offshore, hundreds of ships filled the sea, their decks crowded with men climbing down cargo nets into landing craft and amphibious tractors.

This episode takes us into the brutal…

By early 1945, the Pacific war had reached a turning point. The United States held the Marianas, and from there, B-29 bombers struck directly at Japan, but the road to Tokyo was still dangerous. Halfway along that road lay Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island of black sand, jagged rock, and sulfur fumes. On the map it looked insignificant, but its location gave it enormous weight. For Japan, it was part of Tokyo Prefecture itself — “the doorkeeper to the capital.” For America, it was both a threat and an opportunity: a fighter base that could harass bombers, or an emergency airfield that could…