Original Article Posted by Fox 11 News Here.
ADAM FORGIE | The National Desk Wednesday, February 15th 2023
WASHINGTON (TND) — Toward the end of World War II, U.S. Marines launched a major amphibious attack against the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps and during all of World War II.
Today, U.S. Marines are learning about the battle while paying their respects to their fallen brothers in arms. Check out photos of their tour in the gallery below.
The Marine's mission, designated Operation Detachment, was to capture two heavily protected Japanese airfields on the island: South Field and Central Field.
The bloody battle lasted five weeks, from Feb. 15 to March 26, 1945, and proved to be a bigger challenge than the Americans expected.
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For instance, the beaches on Iwo Jima are made of steep yet soft sand dunes made from volcanic ash. This made transporting vehicles on the island difficult for the Marines.
After a few days, roughly 70,000 U.S. Marines had landed on Iwo Jima, outnumbering Japanese forces nearly 3 to 1. A total of 110,000 Marines would fight during the five-week melee.
While the Americans would go on to win the battle, they still had more casualties (deaths and injuries) than Japanese forces.
On Feb. 23, 1945, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a shot of six Marines raising an American Flag on the island.
Named "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima," the photo appeared in Sunday papers across the U.S., and it would eventually win a Pulitzer Prize for photography. The photo was also the inspiration for one of the country's iconic statues at the History of the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
About 7,000 American troops were killed in combat, with 6,100 of those deaths being Marines.
Now, 78 years later, U.S. Marines pay tribute to their fallen comrades by touring the island and learning about the historic fight.
Check out photos of their tour in the gallery Below
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