View source for Battle of Iwo Jima

{{Short description|Major World War II battle in the Pacific Theater}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Iwo Jima
| partof            = the [[Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign]] of the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] ([[World War II]])
| image             = [[File: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, larger - edit1.jpg |border|295px]]
| caption           = ''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]'', taken on [[Mount Suribachi]]
| date              = 19 February – 26 March 1945<br />({{Age in weeks and days|month1=02|day1=19|year1=1945|month2=03|day2=26|year2=1945}})
| place             = [[Iwo Jima]], [[Volcano Islands]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
| coordinates       = {{coord|24.78|N|141.32|E|type:event_region:JP-13|display=inline,title}}
| map_size          = 290
| result            = American victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| combatant2        = {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}
| commander1        = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Raymond A. Spruance]]
* [[Marc Mitscher]]
* [[William H. P. Blandy]]
* [[Holland Smith|Holland M. Smith]]
* [[Harry Schmidt (USMC)|Harry Schmidt]]
* [[Graves B. Erskine]]
}}
| commander2        = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Tadamichi Kuribayashi]]{{KIA}}
* [[Takeichi Nishi]]{{KIA}}
}}
| units1            = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[V Amphibious Corps]]
* [[147th Infantry Regiment (United States)|147th Infantry Regiment (separate)]]{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=68}}
* [[Seventh Air Force]]
* [[United States Fifth Fleet|U.S. 5th Fleet]]
}}
<!--{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=British Pacific Fleet
|dates=1944–45
|country={{UK}}
|allegiance=
|branch= [[Royal Navy]]; also [[Royal Australian Navy]]; [[Royal Canadian Navy]]; [[Royal New Zealand Navy]]
|type=[[Naval fleet|Fleet]]
}}-->| units2            = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[109th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|109th IJA Division]]
* Naval ground troops
}}
| strength1         = {{Indented plainlist|
* 110,000 (all branches){{sfn|Robertson|Neimeyer|Nash|2019|p=xvii}}
* 500+ ships
}}
| strength2         = {{Indented plainlist|
* 20,933<ref>[https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/IV/USMC-IV-VI-1.html#cn26 Garand and Strowbridge, "History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II" vol. IV, "Western Pacific Operations" (1971)] p. 458, note 26. Retrieved 2/5/2024. Also see Senshi Sosho vol. 13, "Army Operations in the Central Pacific (pt. 2): Peleliu, Angaur, and Iwo Jima." p. 415 (Japanese)</ref>
* (13,586 Army, 7,347 Navy)
}}
| casualties1       = '''Main battle phase:'''<ref name=Burrell83/><br>6,821 dead<br>19,217 wounded<br>2 captured<br>2,648 [[Combat stress reaction|fatigued]]<br> 44 tanks destroyed<ref>{{cite book |last=Cansière |first=Romain |date=2024 |title= Tanks on Iwo Jima 1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KogPEQAAQBAJ|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |pages=4–11 |isbn= 978-1-472-860-392}}</ref>{{efn|137 tanks damaged or destroyed.{{sfn|Coox|Naisawald|1951}}}}
<br>28,698 total
'''Post-battle phase:'''{{sfn|Robertson|Neimeyer|Nash|2019|p=39}}<br>15 killed<br>144 wounded
| casualties2       = '''Main battle phase:'''<ref name=Burrell83/><br>17,845–18,375 [[Killed in action|KIA]]/[[Missing in action|MIA]]<br>216 prisoners<br>
'''Post-battle phase:'''{{sfn|Toland|2003|p=669}}<br>867 prisoners<br>remainder killed, died, or dispersed{{efn|Many of which would succumb to their wounds, die of disease, or surrender at a later date. The last group of Japanese soldiers to surrender on Iwo Jima did so in 1949.}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Ryukyus}}
{{Campaignbox Pacific Ocean}}

The {{nihongo|'''Battle of Iwo Jima'''|硫黄島の戦い|Iōtō no Tatakai,<ref>{{cite video|script-title=ja:硫黄島の戦い　１００歳の告白 【シリーズ終戦特集⑦】|publisher=ANNnewsCH|website=[[YouTube]]|date=22 August 2021|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yavZ9ZQhAtY|lang=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite video|lang=ja|script-title=ja:【硫黄島の戦い】「上陸直後に仲間は死んでいった」当時の米兵が体験語る…今月で78年|publisher={{lang|ja|日テレ}}NEWS|website=[[YouTube]]|date=19 February 2023|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds-hfhFEUf4}}</ref> Iōjima no Tatakai<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary]]|editor-last=Watanabe|editor-first=Toshirō|editor-last2=Skrzypczak|editor-first2=Edmund|editor-last3=Snowden|editor-first3=Paul|edition=5th|location=[[Tōkyō]]|publisher=[[Kenkyūsha]]|date=July 2003|script-title=ja:研究社　新和英大辞典|isbn=4-7674-2026-1|page=123|language=ja,en}}</ref>|19 February – 26 March 1945}} was a major battle in which the [[United States Marine Corps]] (USMC) and [[United States Navy]] (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of [[Iwo Jima]] from the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] (IJA) during [[World War II]]. The American invasion, designated '''Operation Detachment''', had the goal of capturing the island with its two airfields: [[South Field (Iwo Jima)|South Field]] and [[Central Field (Iwo Jima)|Central Field]].

The Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and {{cvt|18|km|mi}} of tunnels.{{efn|"...&nbsp;the defenders of Iwo literally developed [the improvement of natural caves] into a science. Because of the importance of the underground positions, 25 percent of the garrison was detailed to tunneling. Positions constructed underground ranged in size from small caves for a few men to several underground chambers capable of holding 300 or 400 men. In order to prevent personnel from becoming trapped in any one excavation, the subterranean installations were provided with multiple entrances and exits, as well as stairways and interconnecting passageways.&nbsp;... the northern slope of Mount Suribachi alone harbored several thousand yards of tunnels. By the time the Marines landed on Iwo Jima, more than 11 miles of tunnels had been completed."{{sfn|Garand|Strobridge|1971|pp=455–456}}}} American ground forces were supported by extensive [[naval artillery]], and enjoyed complete [[air supremacy]] provided by USN and Marine Corps aviators throughout.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=19 March 1945 |title=Carriers Hit Tokyo! |url=https://archive.org/details/1945-03-19_Carriers_Hit_Tokyo |publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]] |access-date=22 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103132054/http://archive.org/details/1945-03-19_Carriers_Hit_Tokyo |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The five-week battle saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the [[Pacific War]].

Unique among Pacific War battles involving amphibious island landings, total American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese, with a ratio of three American casualties for every two Japanese.{{Sfn|Burrell|2006|p=2006}} Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some only captured because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled.{{efn|name="note Burrell2006p83"}} Most Japanese were killed in action, but it has been estimated that as many as 3,000 continued to resist within various cave systems on the island after most major fighting ended, until they eventually succumbed to their injuries or surrendered weeks later.<ref name=Burrell83/>{{sfn|Toland|2003|p=669}}

The invasion of Iwo Jima was controversial, with retired Chief of Naval Operations [[William V. Pratt]] stating that the island was useless to the Army as a staging base and useless to the Navy as a fleet base.<ref name= Newsweek_Pratt_19450402/> The Japanese continued to maintain early-warning radar capabilities on the island of [[Rota (island)|Rota]], which was never invaded by American forces.<ref name=Rota/> Experiences with previous Pacific island battles suggested that the island would be well-defended and that seizing it would result in significant casualties. Lessons learned on Iwo Jima served as guidelines for American forces in the [[Battle of Okinawa]] two months later and the [[Operation Downfall|planned invasion of the Japanese homeland]].

[[Joe Rosenthal]]'s [[Associated Press]] photograph of the [[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima|raising of the U.S. flag]] at the summit of the {{cvt|169|m|ft}} [[Mount Suribachi]] by six Marines became a famous image of the battle and the American war in the Pacific.<ref name="ap">{{cite news |url=http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pulitzer/rosenthal.html |title=Fifty Years Later, Iwo Jima Photographer Fights His Own Battle |first=Mitchell |last=Landsberg |year=1995 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=11 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905115709/http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pulitzer/rosenthal.html |archive-date=5 September 2007 <!--DASHBot--> |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19950217&slug=2105566 |title=Photographer FiGhts Life-Long Battle Over Famous Flag- Raising Photo |first=Mitchell |last=Landsberg |year=1995 |agency=The Seattle Times |access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref>

==Background==
[[File:Iwo jima location mapSagredo.png|thumb|left|Location of Iwo Jima]]
After the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign|American capture of the Marshall Islands]] and the [[Operation Hailstone|air attacks]] against the Japanese fortress island of [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk Atoll]] in the [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]] in January 1944, Japanese military leaders reevaluated their strategic position. All indications pointed to an American drive toward the [[Mariana Islands]] and the Carolines.{{fact|date=November 2025}} To counter such an offensive, the IJA and the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] (IJN) established an inner line of defenses extending generally northward from the Carolines to the Marianas, from there to Japan via the [[Volcano Islands]], and westward from the Marianas via the Carolines and the [[Palau Islands]] to the [[Philippines]].{{fact|date=November 2025}}

In March 1944, the [[Thirty-First Army (Japan)|Japanese 31st Army]], commanded by General [[Hideyoshi Obata]], was activated to garrison this inner line. (Note that an army-sized unit in Imperial Japanese military doctrine was about the size of an American, [[British Army]], or [[Canadian Army]] [[corps]].)

The commander of the Japanese garrison on [[Chichi Jima]] was placed nominally in command of IJA and IJN units in the Volcano Islands.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=14}} After the American conquest of the Marianas, daily bomber raids from the Marianas began to strike mainland Japan in [[Operation Scavenger]]. Iwo Jima served as an early warning station that radioed reports of incoming bombers back to the [[Japanese archipelago|home islands]], allowing Japanese air defenses to prepare for the arrival of American bombers.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=46}}

After the U.S. seized bases in the Marshall Islands in the battles of [[Battle of Kwajalein|Kwajalein]] and [[Battle of Eniwetok|Eniwetok]] in February 1944, Japanese reinforcements were sent to Iwo Jima: 500 men from the naval base at [[Yokosuka]] and 500 from Chichi Jima reached Iwo Jima during March and April 1944. At the same time, with reinforcements arriving from Chichi Jima and the home islands, the army garrison on Iwo Jima reached a strength of more than 5,000 men.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=14}} The loss of the Marianas during the summer of 1944 greatly increased the importance of the Volcano Islands for the Japanese, who were concerned that the loss of those islands would further facilitate American air raids against the home islands, disrupt war manufacturing, and severely damage civilian morale.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=67}}

The final Japanese plans for the defense of the Volcano Islands were hamstrung by several factors:

# The Combined Fleet had lost almost all of its striking power during naval engagements in the latter half of 1944, and could not interdict American landings.
# Aircraft losses in 1944 had been so severe that even if war production was not affected by American air attacks, the combined Japanese air strength was not expected to increase to 3,000 warplanes until March or April 1945.
# Those aircraft could not be used from bases in the home islands to support the defense of Iwo Jima because their range was not more than {{cvt|900|km|mi}}.
# Available warplanes had to be hoarded to defend [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Taiwan]] and the home islands.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=50}}
# There was a serious shortage of properly trained and experienced pilots because many pilots and aircrews died in battles over  the [[Solomon Islands]] in 1942 and the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] in mid-1944.

In a postwar study, Japanese staff officers described the strategy used in the defense of Iwo Jima:

{{blockquote|In the light of the above situation, seeing that it was impossible to conduct our air, sea, and ground operations on Iwo Island [Jima] toward ultimate victory, it was decided that to gain time necessary for the preparation of the Homeland defense, our forces should rely solely upon the established defensive equipment in that area, checking the enemy by delaying tactics. Even the [[kamikaze|suicidal attacks]] by small groups of our Army and Navy airplanes, the surprise attacks by our submarines, and the actions of parachute units, although effective, could be regarded only as a strategical ruse on our part. It was a most depressing thought that we had no available means left for the exploitation of the strategical opportunities which might from time to time occur in the course of these operations.<ref>{{harvnb|Japanese Monograph No. 48|p=62}}, cited in {{harvnb|Garand|Strobridge|1971|p=450}}.</ref>||Japanese Monograph No. 48}}

After the [[Battle of Leyte]] in the Philippines, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] were left with a two-month lull in their offensive operations before the planned [[Battle of Okinawa|invasion of Okinawa]]. Iwo Jima was considered strategically important since it provided an air base for Japanese [[fighter aircraft|fighter planes]] to intercept long-range [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29 Superfortress]] bombers flying to strike targets in Japan. In addition, it was used by the Japanese to stage intermittent [[Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands|air attacks on the Mariana Islands]] from November 1944 to January 1945. The capture of Iwo Jima would eliminate those problems. The island's airfield would also support [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51 Mustang]] fighters, which could escort and protect bombers en route to Japan.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=120}}

American intelligence sources were confident that Iwo Jima would fall in one week. In light of optimistic intelligence reports, the decision was made to invade Iwo Jima, and the operation was codenamed Operation Detachment.{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=100}}

==Planning and preparation==
{{Main|Planning for the Battle of Iwo Jima}}

===Japanese preparations===
[[File:Tadamichi Kuribayashi.jpg|upright|thumb|Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi]]
In June 1944, Lieutenant General [[Tadamichi Kuribayashi]] was assigned to command the defense of Iwo Jima. Kuribayashi knew that if the Americans decided to land on Iwo Jima, his garrison could not win the battle, but he hoped to inflict massive casualties on the American forces so that the United States, and its Australian and British allies, might reconsider carrying out an [[Operation Downfall|invasion of the Japanese home islands]].

Drawing inspiration from Japanese defensive tactics used in the [[Battle of Peleliu]], Kuribayashi designed a defensive strategy that broke with traditional Japanese military doctrine. Rather than establishing defenses on the beach to contest the landings directly, he opted for [[Defence in depth|defenses in depth]]. Kuribayashi's troops constructed a complex system of mutually-supporting fortifications, often linked by a vast tunnel system, equipped with heavy machine guns and artillery. [[Takeichi Nishi]]'s armored tanks were camouflaged and used as static artillery positions. Because the tunnel linking [[Mount Suribachi]] to the rest of the island was never completed, Kuribayashi organized the southern area of the island in and around the mountain as a semi-independent sector, with his main defensive zone built up in the north. The expected American naval and air bombardment prompted the creation of an extensive network of tunnels connecting otherwise disparate fighting positions, so that a [[pillbox (military)|pillbox]] that had been cleared could be later reoccupied. This network of [[bunker]]s and pillboxes was designed for protracted resistance. For instance, the Nanpo Bunker (Southern Area Islands Naval Air HQ) east of Airfield Number 2, had enough food, water, and ammunition for the Japanese to hold out for three months. The bunker was 90 feet underground with tunnels running in various directions. Approximately five hundred 55-gallon drums filled with water, kerosene, and fuel oil for generators were stored inside the complex. Gasoline-powered generators allowed for radios and lighting to be operated underground.{{sfn|King|2014|pp=58–59}}

By the time the Americans invaded on 19 February 1945, {{cvt|18|km|mi}} of a planned {{cvt|27|km|mi}} of tunnels had been dug. Besides the Nanpo Bunker, there were numerous other command centers and barracks 75 feet below ground. Tunnels allowed for troops to move undetected between defensive positions.{{sfn|Hammel|2006|p=36}} Hundreds of hidden artillery and mortar positions were placed all over the island, and many areas extensively mined. Among the Japanese weapons were [[320 mm Type 98 mortar|320 mm spigot mortars]] and a variety of explosive rockets.{{sfn|King|2014|p=80}} Nonetheless, the Japanese supply situation was inadequate. Troops were supplied 60% of the ammunition normally considered sufficient for single engagement by one division, and food for no more than four months.{{sfn|Japanese Monograph No. 45|p=257}}

Numerous Japanese sniper nests and camouflaged machine gun positions were set up. Kuribayashi engineered the defenses so that every part of Iwo Jima was subject to Japanese defensive fire. He also received a handful of ''kamikaze'' pilots to use against the enemy fleet;{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} their attacks during the battle killed 318 American sailors. However, against his wishes, Kuribayashi's superiors on [[Honshu]] ordered him to erect some beach defenses.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Starting on 15 June 1944, the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] and the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] began shore bombardment and air raids against Iwo Jima, which would become the longest and most intense preliminary bombardments in the Pacific Theater.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chronology of the Battle of Iwo Jima |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/pactheatercamp/iwo/chronology.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707082542/http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/pactheatercamp/iwo/chronology.htm |archive-date=7 July 2010}}</ref> They consisted of a combination of [[naval artillery]] attacks and [[strategic bombing|aerial bombings]], which would last for nine months. Unaware of Kuribayashi's tunnel defense system, some American planners assumed that most of the Japanese garrison had been killed by the constant bombing raids.

On 17 February 1945 the [[destroyer escort]] {{USS|Blessman|DE-69|6}} deployed [[Underwater Demolition Team]] 15 (UDT-15) onto Iwo Jima's Blue Beach for reconnaissance. They were spotted by Japanese infantry and fired upon, killing one American diver. On the evening of 18 February, ''Blessman'' was hit with a bomb by Japanese aircraft, killing 40 sailors, including 15 members of the UDT.

===Pre-landing bombardment===
[[File:USS New York (BB-34) bombarding Japanese defenses on Iwo Jima, 16 February 1945 (80-G-308952).jpg|thumb|The battleship {{USS|New York|BB-34|6}} firing her {{cvt|14|in|mm}} main guns on the island, 16 February 1945 (D minus 3)]]
Major General [[Harry Schmidt (USMC)|Harry Schmidt]], commander of the Marine landing force, requested a 10-day heavy bombardment of the island immediately preceding his planned [[amphibious assault]]. However, Rear Admiral [[William H. P. Blandy]], commander of the Amphibious Support Force (Task Force 52), believed that such a bombardment would not allow him time to replenish his ships' ammunition before the landings; he thus refused Schmidt's request. Schmidt then asked for nine days of shelling; Blandy again refused and insisted upon a three-day bombardment. This decision was resented among the Marines in the landing force. After the war, Lieutenant General [[Holland Smith|Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith]], commander Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56, which consisted of Schmidt's Fifth Amphibious Corps), bitterly complained that a frequent lack of supporting naval gunfire had cost Marine lives throughout the Allied island-hopping campaign.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=22}}

Each heavy warship was assigned an area on Iwo Jima to saturate with shells, ultimately covering the entire island. Each warship fired for approximately six hours before stopping for a certain amount of time. Poor weather on D-3 (three days before the landings) led to uncertain results for that day's bombardment. On D-2, the time and care that the Japanese had taken in preparing their artillery positions became clear. When [[heavy cruiser]] {{USS|Pensacola|CA-24|6}} got within range of Japanese shore batteries, the ship was quickly hit six times and suffered 17 dead. Later, 12 small craft attempting to land a UDT were all struck by Japanese fire and quickly retired. While aiding these vessels, the [[destroyer]] {{USS|Leutze|DD-481|6}} was also hit and suffered 7 dead. On D-1, Blandy's gunners were once again hampered by rain and clouds. Schmidt summed up his feelings by stating, "We only got about 13 hours worth of fire support during the 34 hours of available daylight."{{sfn|Wright|2004|pp=22–23}}

The limited bombardment had a questionable impact on the enemy since the Japanese were heavily dug-in and well fortified. The craters left behind by the barrage also provided additional cover for the defenders, while hampering the attackers' advance.{{Original research inline|date=April 2021}} Despite this, many bunkers and caves were destroyed during the bombardment. The Japanese had been preparing for this battle since March 1944, which gave them a significant advantage.{{sfn|Navy Department, ''Amphibious Operations, Iwo Jima''|1945|loc=Chapter II: Naval Gunfire}} By the time of the landing, about 450 American ships were located off Iwo Jima, and the battle ultimately involved about 60,000 U.S. Marines and several thousand U.S. Navy [[Seabee]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=United States Marine Corps War Memorial |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~memory/issues/museums/IwoJima.html |publisher=The George Washington University |access-date=28 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629000010/http://www.gwu.edu/~memory/issues/museums/IwoJima.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Opposing forces==
{{further|Battle of Iwo Jima order of battle}}
{{multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 135
| header            = Naval commanders for Operation ''Detachment''
| image1            = Ray Spruance (cropped).jpg
| caption1          = Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
| image2            = Richmond_K._Turner.jpg
| caption2          = Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner
}}
{{multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 135
| header            = Ground force commanders
| image1            = Holland_Smith.jpg
| caption1          = Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith
| image2            = Harry Schmidt;USMC-C-Marshalls-p3.jpg
| caption2          = Major General Harry Schmidt
}}
{{multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 135
| header            = Marine division commanders on Iwo Jima
| image1            = Rockey, Keller E..jpg
| caption1          = [[File:US 5th Marine Division SSI.svg|20px]] Major General Keller Rockey
| image2            = Clifton B. Cates.jpg
| caption2          = [[File:USMC - 4th Division.png|24px]] Major General Clifton Cates
| image3            = Graves_B_Erskine_USMC.jpg
| caption3          = [[File:US 3d Marine Division SSI.svg|20px]] Major General Graves Erskine
}}

===American===
{{tree list}}
*'''[[United States Fifth Fleet]]'''
*Admiral [[Raymond A. Spruance]] in heavy cruiser [[USS Indianapolis (CA-35)|''Indianapolis'']]
** Joint Expeditionary Force (Task Force 51)
*** Vice Admiral [[R. Kelly Turner|Richmond Kelly Turner]] in amphibious command ship [[USS Eldorado|''Eldorado'']]
** Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56)
*** Lieutenant General [[Holland M. Smith]], USMC
{{tree list/end}}

{{tree list}}
*'''[[V Amphibious Corps]]'''
*Major General [[Harry Schmidt (USMC)|Harry Schmidt]], USMC
**'''Southern sector (Green and Red beaches):'''
*** [[File:US 5th Marine Division SSI.svg|20px]] '''[[5th Marine Division]]''' (25,884 officers and enlisted)
*** Major General [[Keller E. Rockey]]
**** [[26th Marine Regiment (United States)|26th Marine Regiment]] (Colonel Chester B. Graham)
**** [[27th Marine Regiment (United States)|27th Marine Regiment]] (Colonel [[Thomas A. Wornham]])
**** [[28th Marine Regiment (United States)|28th Marine Regiment]] (Colonel [[Harry B. Liversedge]])
**** [[13th Marine Regiment (United States)|13th Marine Regiment (Artillery)]] (Colonel James D. Waller)
**'''Northern sector (Yellow and Blue beaches):'''
*** [[File:USMC - 4th Division.png|24px]] '''[[4th Marine Division]]''' (24,452 officers and enlisted)
*** Major General [[Clifton B. Cates]]{{efn|Served as [[Commandant of the United States Marine Corps|Commandant of the Marine Corps]] from 1948 to 1951.}}
**** [[23rd Marine Regiment (United States)|23rd Marine Regiment]] (Colonel [[Walter W. Wensinger]])
**** [[24th Marine Regiment (United States)|24th Marine Regiment]] (Colonel [[Walter Irvine Jordan|Walter I. Jordan]])
**** [[25th Marine Regiment (United States)|25th Marine Regiment]] (Colonel [[John R. Lanigan]])
**** [[14th Marine Regiment (United States)|14th Marine Regiment (Artillery)]] (Colonel Louis G. DeHaven)
**'''Floating reserve:'''
*** [[File:US 3d Marine Division SSI.svg|20px]] '''[[3rd Marine Division]]''' (19,597 officers and enlisted)
*** Major General [[Graves B. Erskine]]
**** [[3rd Marine Regiment (United States)|3rd Marine Regiment]]{{efn|Did not land on Iwo Jima}} (Colonel James A. Stuart)
**** [[9th Marine Regiment (United States)|9th Marine Regiment]] (Colonel Howard N. Kenyon)
**** [[21st Marine Regiment (United States)|21st Marine Regiment]] (Colonel Hartnoll J. Withers)
**** [[12th Marine Regiment (United States)|12th Marine Regiment (Artillery)]] (Lieutenant Colonel Raymond F. Crist Jr.)
*** [[File:147RegimentCOA.jpg|12px]] [[147th Regiment (United States)|147th Infantry Regiment (Ohio Army National Guard)]] (2,952 officers and enlisted)
{{tree list/end}}

===Japanese===
21,060 total men under arms<br />
Lieutenant General [[Tadamichi Kuribayashi]], commanding<br />
Colonel Tadashi Takaishi, chief of staff<br />
: '''Army'''
:: [[109th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|109th Division]]
: '''Navy'''
:: 4 anti-aircraft defense units

==First day – 19 February 1945==
===Amphibious landing===
During the night of 18 February 1945, Vice Admiral [[Marc Mitscher]]'s large carrier force, [[Fast Carrier Task Force|Task Force 58]], arrived off Iwo Jima. Also in this flotilla was Admiral [[Raymond A. Spruance]], the overall commander for the invasion, in his flagship {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|6}}. Smith was once again deeply frustrated that Mitscher's powerful carrier group had been bombing the Japanese home islands instead of softening the defenses of Iwo Jima. Mitscher's fliers did, however, assist the additional surface vessel bombardment that accompanied the launch of the amphibious landing craft toward the island.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=23}}
[[File:80-G-304972 (29474492816).jpg|thumb|19 February 1945 air view of Marines landing on the beach]]
[[File:80-G-307196 (29219205340).jpg|thumb|19 February 1945 air view of Marines landing on the beach]]
Unlike many days during the three-day preliminary bombardment, D-Day dawned clear and bright.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=23}} At 08:59, one minute ahead of schedule, the first wave of Marines landed on the beaches of the southeastern coast of Iwo Jima. Under Major Howard Connor, [[5th Marine Division (United States)|5th Marine Division]] signal officer, six [[Navajo code talkers]] worked around the clock during the first two days of the battle. These six men sent and received over 800 messages, all without error. Connor later stated, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."{{sfn|Navy Department Library, "Navajo Code Talkers"}}
[[File:Tracked landing vehicles (LVTs) approach Iwo Jima;fig14.jpg|thumb|LVTs approach Iwo Jima]]
[[File:USMC-17446.jpg|thumb|Marines landing on the beach]]

===Situation on the beaches===
Unfortunately for the landing force, the planners at Pearl Harbor severely misjudged the situation that would face Schmidt's Marines. The beaches had been described as "excellent," and the thrust inland expected to be "easy." The apparent lack of a vigorous Japanese response to the landings led the Navy to conclude that its bombardment had effectively suppressed the Japanese defenses. The Marines initially began deployment on the beach in good order,{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=26}} but the landings swiftly became congested due to the loose volcanic ash covering the island. After allowing the Americans to concentrate men and materiel on the beach for just over an hour, throughout which they maintained cohesive fire discipline, the Japanese opened fire. Shortly after 10:00 machine guns, mortars, and heavy artillery began to rain down on the crowded beach.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=26–27}}

{{blockquote|At first it came as a ragged rattle of machine-gun bullets, growing gradually louder and fiercer until at last all the pent-up fury of a hundred hurricanes seemed to be breaking upon the heads of the Americans. Shells screeched and crashed, every hummock spat automatic fire and the very soil underfoot erupted with hundreds of exploding land mines&nbsp;... Marines walking erect crumpled and fell. Concussion lifted them and slammed them down, or tore them apart&nbsp;...{{sfn|Leckie|1967|p=28}}}}Furthermore, after crossing the beach, the Marines were faced with {{cvt|15|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} slopes of soft black volcanic ash.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=26}} This ash allowed for neither secure footing nor the construction of [[Defensive fighting position|foxholes]] to protect the Marines from hostile fire. However, the ash did help to absorb some of the [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|fragments]] from Japanese artillery.<ref name="Allen" />{{blockquote|Marines were trained to move rapidly forward; here they could only plod. The weight and amount of equipment was a terrific hindrance and various items were rapidly discarded. First to go was the gas mask&nbsp;...{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=26}}}}
[[File:Marines burrow in the volcanic sand on the beach of Iwo Jima.jpg|thumb|Members of the [[1st Battalion 23rd Marines]] burrow in the volcanic sand on Yellow Beach 1. A beached LCI is visible upper left with Mount Suribachi upper right.]]
The Japanese crews manning the heavy artillery in Mount Suribachi opened reinforced steel doors shielding their positions in order to fire, and then closed them immediately afterward to prevent counterfire from the Marines and USN gunners. This made it exceedingly difficult for American units to destroy a Japanese artillery piece.<ref name="Allen" /> To make matters worse for the Americans, most bunkers were connected to the elaborate tunnel system running through most of the island. Bunkers cleared with [[flamethrower]]s and grenades were often reoccupied shortly afterwards by Japanese troops moving underground. This tactic caused many casualties among the Marines, as they walked past reoccupied bunkers without expecting to suddenly take fresh fire from them.<ref name="Allen" />

''Time-Life'' correspondent [[Robert Sherrod]] described the landing simply as "a nightmare in hell."{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=27}}
[[File:Marines with LVT(A)-5 in Iwo Jima 1945.jpg|thumb|U.S. Marines of the Second Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Regiment, wait to move inland on Iwo Jima, soon after going ashore on 19 February 1945. An LVT(A)-5 amphibious tractor is in the background. Red Beach One.]]

===Moving off the beaches===
[[Landing Vehicle Tracked|Amtracs]], unable to gain traction in the black ash, made no progress up the slopes dominating the beach; their Marine passengers had to dismount and slog forward on foot.{{sfn|Leckie|1967|p=25}} Men of [[Seabee|Naval Construction Battalions]] 31 and 133, braving enemy fire, were eventually able to bulldoze roads off of the beach. This allowed the Marines to finally make some progress inland and get off the beach, which had become overcrowded with both men and materiel as follow-on waves of landing craft continued to unload. Casualties on the beach were heavy, with historian Derrick Wright noting "in virtually every shell hole there lay at least one dead Marine."{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=32}}

By 11:30, some Marines had managed to reach the southern tip of Airfield No. 1, the seizure of which had been one of the original objectives for the first day. They repelled a fanatical charge by over 100 Japanese troops and were able to keep their toehold on Airfield No. 1 as night fell.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=32}}

===Crossing the island===
In the left-most sector of the landings, the Americans did manage to achieve one of their objectives for the battle that day. Led by Colonel [[Harry B. Liversedge|Harry B. "Harry the Horse" Liversedge]], the 28th Marines drove across the island at its narrowest width, around {{cvt|800|m|yd}}, thereby isolating the Japanese dug in on Mount Suribachi.

===Action on the right flank===
The rightmost landing area was dominated by Japanese fortifications located at "the Quarry". The 25th Marine Regiment conducted a two-pronged attack to neutralize this position. 2nd Lieutenant Benjamin Roselle, part of a ground team directing naval gunfire, described the following experience:

{{blockquote|Within a minute a mortar shell exploded among the group&nbsp;... his left foot and ankle hung from his leg, held on by a ribbon of flesh&nbsp;... Within minutes a second round landed near him and fragments tore into his other leg. For nearly an hour he wondered where the next shell would land. He was soon to find out as a shell burst almost on top of him, wounding him for the third time in the shoulder. Almost at once another explosion bounced him several feet into the air and hot shards ripped into both thighs&nbsp;... as he lifted his arm to look at his watch a mortar shell exploded only feet away and blasted the watch from his wrist and tore a large jagged hole in his forearm: "I was beginning to know what it must be like to be crucified," he was later to say.{{sfn|Wright|2004|pp=30–31}}}}

The 25th Marines' 3rd Battalion had landed approximately 900 men on the island that morning. Japanese resistance at the Quarry was so fierce that by nightfall, only 150 Marines were left in fighting condition, an 83.3% casualty rate.{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=31}}

By the evening of 19 February, 30,000 Marines had landed. About 40,000 more would follow.<ref name=Allen/> Aboard the command ship [[USS Eldorado|USS ''Eldorado'']], Smith saw the lengthy casualty reports and was briefed on the slow progress of the ground forces. To the war correspondents covering the operation, Smith remarked: "I don't know who he is, but the Japanese general running this show is one smart bastard."{{sfn|Wright|2004|p=33}}

==Subsequent combat==
[[File:147th-inf-regt-in-combat-iwo-jima-bazooka-and-bar-team-040845-1-of-1.jpg|thumb|U.S. Army Soldiers engaging heavily fortified Japanese positions]]
In the days after the landings, the Marines expected the usual Japanese [[Banzai charge|''banzai'' charge]] during the night. This had been the standard Japanese defense strategy in previous island battles against enemy ground forces in the Pacific, such as the [[Battle of Saipan]] in June 1944. In those attacks, for which the Marines had usually been at least somewhat prepared, the majority of Japanese attackers had been killed and the overall Japanese fighting strength significantly degraded. However, General Kuribayashi had strictly forbidden these "human wave" attacks, considering them a futile waste of resources.<ref name= Allen/>

[[File:Captured Japanese flag on Iwo Jima.jpg|thumb|left|U.S. Marines pose with a captured Japanese flag on top of enemy pillbox.]]
The fighting near the [[beachhead]] remained intense, and the American advance was stalled by numerous defensive positions augmented by artillery. Marines were frequently ambushed by Japanese troops who sprang out of previously-unseen tunnels. At night, the Japanese left their defenses in small groups to attack American foxholes under cover of darkness, and USN ships began firing star shells to illuminate the battlefield. Similar to previous battles on Japanese-held islands, Japanese soldiers who knew English were used to harass and deceive Marine units. English-speaking IJA troops often yelled "corpsman", pretending to be a wounded Marine, in order to lure and kill the USN medical personnel attached to Marine infantry companies.<ref name=Allen/>

[[File:Marine Corps photo 15-20.jpg|thumb|upright|Culvert serves as command post for 23rd Marine Regiment on Iwo Jima]]
The Marines learned that firearms were relatively ineffective against the Japanese defenders, and turned to flamethrowers and grenades to flush the Japanese troops out of their tunnels. One of the technological innovations of the battle, the eight [[M4 Sherman|Sherman M4A3R3]] medium tanks [[Flame tank|equipped with a flamethrower]] ("Ronson" or "Zippo" tanks), proved highly effective at clearing hardened Japanese positions. The Shermans were difficult to disable, often requiring Japanese defenders to assault them in the open, where they were vulnerable to the superior numbers and firepower of the Marines.<ref name=Allen/>

[[Close air support]] was initially provided by fighters from [[escort carrier]]s off the coast. This shifted over to the [[15th Fighter Group]], flying P-51 Mustangs, after they arrived on the island on 6 March. Similarly, illumination rounds (flares), used to light up the battlefield at night, were initially provided by ships but were later provided by land-based artillery. Navajo code talkers were part of the American ground communications system, along with [[walkie-talkie]]s and SCR-610 backpack radio sets.<ref name=Allen/>

After running out of water, food and most other supplies, Japanese troops became desperate toward the end of the battle. Kuribayashi, who had argued against banzai attacks for most of the fighting, realized defeat was imminent.

Marines began to face increasing numbers of nighttime attacks; these were only repelled by a combination of machine-gun fire and artillery support. At times, the Marines engaged in hand-to-hand fighting to repel the Japanese attacks.<ref name=Allen/> Once the landing area was secured, more troops and heavy equipment came ashore, and the Americans proceeded north to capture the airfields and the remainder of the island. Most Japanese soldiers fought to the death.<ref name=Allen/>

==Raising the flag on Mount Suribachi==
[[File:Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi (Iwo Jima).jpg|thumb|upright|U.S. flag over Mount Suribachi]]
[[File:3c-Iwo Jima.jpg|thumb|upright|U.S. postage stamp, 1945 issue, commemorating the Battle of Iwo Jima]]

''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]'' is a black and white photograph taken by [[Joe Rosenthal]] depicting six Marines from E Company, [[2nd Battalion, 28th Marines]], raising a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945,<ref name="ap"/> the second of two flag-raisings on the site that day. The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the [[Pulitzer Prize for Photography]] in the same year as its publication, becoming one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time.<ref name="ap"/> The image was later used by [[Felix de Weldon]] to sculpt the 1954 [[Marine Corps War Memorial]] located adjacent to [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name="ap"/>

Three of the six Marines depicted in the photograph, Sergeant [[Michael Strank]], Corporal [[Harlon Block]], and Private First Class [[Franklin Sousley]], were killed in action days after the flag-raising. Surviving flag-raiser Private First Class [[Ira Hayes]], together with Private First Class [[Rene Gagnon]] and [[Hospital corpsman|Navy hospital corpsman]] Pharmacist's Mate Second Class [[John Bradley (United States Navy)|John Bradley]], became celebrities upon their participation in a [[war bond]] selling tour after the battle. Three subsequent Marine Corps investigations into the identities of the six men in the photograph determined: in 1946 and 1947, that Harlon Block was incorrectly identified as Henry Hansen (both killed six days after the photo was taken); in May and June 2016, that John Bradley was not in the photograph and Private First Class [[Harold Schultz]] was;<ref>[https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/810457/usmc-statement-on-iwo-jima-flagraisers/ USMC Statement on Marine Corps Flag Raisers] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624115022/http://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/810457/usmc-statement-on-iwo-jima-flagraisers/|date=24 June 2016}}, Office of U.S. Marine Corps Communication, 23 June 2016</ref> and in 2019, that Rene Gagnon was not in the photograph and Private First Class [[Harold Keller]] was.<ref>{{cite news |title=Warrior in iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photo was misidentified, Marines Corps acknowledges |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/warrior-iconic-iwo-jima-flag-raising-photo-was-misidentified-marines-n1064766 |work=NBC News |date=2019-10-16 |access-date=2020-03-02 |archive-date=19 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219165628/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/warrior-iconic-iwo-jima-flag-raising-photo-was-misidentified-marines-n1064766 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By the morning of 23 February, Mount Suribachi was effectively cut off above ground from the rest of the island. The Marines knew there was an extensive network of below-ground defenses, and that in spite of its isolation above ground, the volcano was still connected via the tunnel network. They expected a fierce fight for the summit. Two small patrols from two rifle companies of the 2/28 Marines were sent up the volcano to reconnoiter routes on the mountain's north face. The recon patrols made it to the summit and scrambled down again, reporting all enemy contacts to the 2/28 Marines commander, Lieutenant Colonel [[Chandler W. Johnson]].<ref name=Allen>{{harvnb|Allen|2004}}</ref>

Popular accounts published by the press in the aftermath of the release of the photo of the flag raising had the Marines fighting all the way up to the summit. Although the riflemen expected an ambush, the larger patrol going up afterwards encountered only a few defenders once on top and after the flag was raised. The majority of the Japanese troops stayed in the tunnel network during shelling, only occasionally attacking in small groups, and were generally all killed.

Johnson called for a reinforced platoon-size patrol from E Company to climb Suribachi and seize and occupy the crest. The patrol commander, First Lieutenant [[Harold G. Schrier]], was handed the battalion's American flag to be raised on top to signal Suribachi's capture, if they reached the summit. Johnson and the Marines anticipated heavy fighting, but the patrol encountered only a small amount of sniper fire on the way up the mountain. After the mountain top was secured by Schrier and his men, a length of Japanese water pipe was found among the wreckage; the American flag was attached to the pipe, then raised and planted atop Mount Suribachi, the first foreign flag to fly on Japanese soil.<ref name="LAT_20070626">{{cite news |access-date=30 November 2008 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-26-me-lindberg26-story.html |title=Charles Lindberg, 86; Marine helped raise first U.S. flag over Iwo Jima |date=26 June 2007 |page=B8 |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022152425/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/26/local/me-lindberg26 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Photographs of the flag and some of the patrol members around it were taken by Marine photographer [[Louis R. Lowery]], the only photographer who had accompanied Schrier's patrol up the mountain.

As the flag went up, Secretary of the Navy [[James Forrestal]] had just landed on the beach at the foot of Mount Suribachi and decided that he wanted the flag as a souvenir. Johnson believed that the flag belonged to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, who had captured that section of the island. In the early afternoon, Johnson sent Gagnon, a runner (messenger) from his battalion for E Company, to take a larger flag up the volcano to replace the smaller and less visible flag. The replacement flag was attached to a heavier section of water pipe, and six Marines proceeded to raise it into place as the smaller flag was taken down and delivered to the battalion's headquarters down below. It was during this ''second'' flag-raising that Rosenthal took the iconic photograph "''Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima"''. The second flag flew on Mount Suribachi until it was taken down on 14 March, when, at the same time, an American flag was officially raised during a ceremony at the [[V Amphibious Corps]] command post near Mount Suribachi. The official flag raising was ordered by General Holland Smith and attended by General Erskine and some members of the 3rd Marine Division.

==Northern Iwo Jima==
[[File:Iwo Jima Tunnels.JPG|thumb|left|Sketch of Hill 362A, made by the 31st U.S. Naval Construction Battalion. Dotted lines show the Japanese tunnel system.]]

Despite the loss of Mount Suribachi on the south end of the island, the Japanese still held strong positions on the north end. The rocky terrain vastly favored defense, even more so than Mount Suribachi, which was much more vulnerable to naval artillery fire. The fortifications on the northern section of Iwo Jima were also more impressive than those at the southern end of the island.<ref name="Wheeler 1979">{{harvnb|Wheeler|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/roadtotokyo0000whee/page/50 50]}}</ref> Remaining under the command of Kuribayashi was the equivalent of eight infantry battalions, a tank regiment, and two artillery and three heavy mortar battalions. There were also about 5,000 gunners and naval infantry available for combat.{{fact|date=October 2025}} The most arduous task left to the Marines was seizing the Motoyama Plateau, with its distinctive Hill 382 and "Turkey knob", as well as the area in between, referred to as "the Amphitheater". These obstacles formed the basis of what came to be known to the Marines as the "meatgrinder". While these Japanese positions were being reduced on the right flank, American units on the left were clearing out Hill 362 with just as much difficulty.{{fact|date=October 2025}}

The Marines' overall objective at this point was to take control of Airfield No. 2 in the center of the island. However, every "penetration seemed to become a disaster" as "units were raked from the flanks, chewed up, and sometimes wiped out. Tanks were destroyed by interlocking fire or were hoisted into the air on the spouting fireballs of buried mines".{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/870 870]}} As a result, the fighting bogged down, and American casualties piled up rapidly. Even capturing these points did not guarantee that the captured territory was secure, since a previously cleared fortification could be reoccupied by Japanese troops utilizing the island's tunnel system. As such, it was said that "[the Marines] could take these heights at will, and then regret it".{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/871 871]}}

[[File:Browning M1917 Marine Iwo Jima fixed.jpg|thumb|A U.S. Marine firing his [[M1917 Browning machine gun|Browning M1917]] machine gun at the Japanese]]
[[File:"Hotch Kiss" From Japs, 1945 (16989117215).jpg|thumb|Two Marines using a "[[Type 3 heavy machine gun|Hotch Kiss]]" from the Japanese, 1945]]
American troops observed that during bombardments, the Japanese would hide their guns and themselves in caves, only to reemerge when Marine units began to advance and lay down devastating fire on them. Over time, the Japanese learned basic American combat tactics, which usually involved laying down a heavy bombardment before an infantry attack. Consequently, Erskine ordered the [[9th Marine Regiment (United States)|9th Marine Regiment]] to attack under cover of darkness with no preliminary barrage. This was a resounding success, with many Japanese soldiers killed while still asleep. This became a key moment in the capture of Hill 362.{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/872 872]}} The hill held such strategic importance that the Japanese organized a counterattack to retake it the following night. Although Kuribayashi had forbidden the massed infantry charges often used by the Japanese in previous battles in the Pacific, the local IJA commander of the area decided on a ''banzai'' charge with the optimistic goal of recapturing Mount Suribachi.

On the evening of 8 March, Captain Samaji Inouye and his 1,000 men charged the American lines, inflicting 347 casualties (90 deaths). The Marines counted 784 dead Japanese soldiers the next day.<ref name="Wheeler 1979" /> The same day, elements of the 3rd Marine Division reached the northern coast of the island, splitting Kuribayashi's defenses in two.{{sfn|Antill|2001}} There was also a ''kamikaze'' air attack (the only one of the battle) on the ships anchored at sea on 21 February, which resulted in the sinking of the escort carrier {{USS|Bismarck Sea|CVE-95|6}}, severe damage to {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}}, and slight damage to the escort carrier {{USS|Lunga Point||6}}, an LST, and a transport.{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/872 872]}}

Although the island was declared secure at 18:00 on 16 March (25 days after the landings), the 5th Marine Division still faced Kuribayashi's main stronghold, located in a gorge {{cvt|640|m|yd}} long at the northwestern end of the island. On 21 March, the Marines destroyed the command post in the gorge with four tons of explosives, and on 24 March Marines sealed the remaining caves at the northern tip of the island.<ref>{{harvnb|Moskin|1992|pp=372–373}}</ref> However, on the night of 25 March, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final [[counterattack]] in the vicinity of Airfield No. 2. Army pilots, Seabees, and Marines of the 5th Pioneer Battalion and 28th Marines fought the Japanese force for up to 90 minutes, suffering heavy casualties (53 killed, 120 wounded).{{citation needed|date=January 2009}} Although still a matter of speculation due to conflicting accounts from surviving Japanese veterans, it is possible that Kuribayashi personally led this final assault,{{efn|"General Kuribayashi may have been killed in this foray; but his body was not identified, and it seems more likely that this brave and resourceful officer committed ''hara-kiri'' in his subterranean command post."{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=68}}}} which – unlike the loud ''banzai'' charge of previous battles – was conducted in silence by the Japanese infantrymen. If he did participate in this assault, Kuribayashi would have been the highest ranking Japanese officer to have personally led an attack during World War II.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Additionally, this would also be a departure from the normal practice of commanding Japanese officers committing [[seppuku]] behind the lines while their subordinates perished in a last-ditch ''banzai'' charge, as occurred during the battles of Saipan and Okinawa. The island was officially declared secure at 09:00 on 26 March.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Once the island was officially declared secure, the U.S. Army's [[147th Regiment (United States)|147th Infantry Regiment]] was ostensibly there to act as a garrison force, but soon found itself locked in a bitter struggle against thousands of [[Japanese holdout]]s engaging in a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] campaign to harass the Americans.<ref name="theamericanwarrior.com">{{cite web |url=https://theamericanwarrior.com/2015/12/06/the-curious-case-of-the-ohio-national-guards-147th-infantry/ |title=The Curious Case of the Ohio National Guard's 147th Infantry |date=6 December 2015 |access-date=26 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003162404/https://theamericanwarrior.com/2015/12/06/the-curious-case-of-the-ohio-national-guards-147th-infantry/ |archive-date=3 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Morison|1960|pp=68–70}} Utilizing caves and tunnel systems, the remnants of the Japanese garrison conducted numerous attacks on American forces. For three months, the 147th slogged across the island, using flamethrowers, grenades, and [[satchel charge]]s to dig out the enemy, ultimately killing some 1,602 Japanese soldiers in small unit actions (along with many others who died in sealed caves) while suffering fifteen men killed in action and another 144 wounded. The Ohioans were also credited with capturing 867 Japanese soldiers; combined with the number of enemy soldiers killed by the regiment, this casualty figure represented over 10% of the original Japanese garrison.{{sfn|Robertson|Neimeyer|Nash|2019|p=39}}

==Flamethrowers==
[[File:Flamethrower-iwo-jima-194502.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A flamethrower operator of E Company, [[2nd Battalion 9th Marines]], [[3rd Marine Division]], runs under fire on Iwo Jima.]]

The United States [[M2 flamethrower]] was heavily used in the Pacific. It features two tanks containing fuel and one of compressed gas, which are combined and ignited to produce a stream of flaming liquid out of the tip.<ref>{{cite web |author=Division of Military History and Diplomacy, National Museum of American History |title=Flamethrower |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=246 |access-date=10 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628182414/http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=246 |archive-date=28 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Flamethrowers were used to kill Japanese inside pillboxes, buildings and caves. A battalion would assign one flamethrower per platoon with one reserve flamethrower in each group. Flamethrower operators were usually in more danger than regular troops as the short range of their weapon required close combat, and the visibility of the flames on the battlefield made them a prominent target for snipers. Still, they were essential to breaking the dug-in enemy.

For better protection, flamethrowers were mounted on [[flame tank]]s, and one battalion commander called these the "best single weapon of the operation."<ref name="USAFlame" /> Prior to Saipan the Marine Corps had left flamethrowing tank development to the Army. They had placed an order with the Army for nine tanks per division. At [[Schofield Barracks]] in Hawaii, Colonel Unmacht's [[Classified information#Top Secret (TS)|top secret]] "Flame Thrower Group" located eight [[M4 Sherman|M4A3 Sherman]] medium tanks to convert for Operation Detachment. His Seabees, from the 117th CB, worked to combine the best features of three different flame units, the [[Ronson flamethrower|Ronson]], the Navy model I and the Navy Mk-1,{{sfn|Quinlan|1948|p=51}} which soon led to the far better CB-H2.{{sfn|Quinlan|1948|p=52}} The U.S. Army [[Chemical Corps]] variously identified these tanks as POA-CWS-H1,{{sfn|Unmacht|1948}} (Pacific Ocean Area-Chemical Warfare Section-Hawaii) CWS-POA-H2, CWS-POA-H1 H2, OR CWS-"75"-H1 H2 mechanized flamethrowers. U.S. Marine and U.S. Army observer documents from Iwo Jima refer to them as the CB-Mk-1 or CB-H1.<ref name=Chicago/> Marines on the lines simply called them the Mark I.<ref name="Chicago"/> The official USMC designation was "M4 A3R5".<ref name="Chicago"/> The Japanese referred to them as M1 tanks, and it is speculated that they did so because of a poor translation of "MH-1".<ref name="Chicago">{{citation |title=History Friday: Technological Surprise & the Defeat of the 193rd Tank Battalion at Kakuza Ridge |first=Trent |last=Telenko |date=30 August 2013 |work=Chicago Boyz Blog archive |url=https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/38455.html |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030135734/https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/38455.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Marine Flamethrower Squad Firing on Japanese Defenses, Iwo Jima, February 1945.jpg|thumb|Two Marines throwing fire at the defenses which blocked the way to Mount Suribachi, D-Day, February 19]]
On Iwo Jima the flame tanks all landed on D-Day and went into action on D+2, sparingly at first. As the battle progressed, portable flame units wielded on foot sustained casualty rates up to 92%, leaving few troops trained to use the weapon. More and more calls came for the Mark-1 flame tanks, to the point that the Marines became dependent upon them and would hold up their assault until a flame tank was available.<ref name="USAFlame"/> Since each tank battalion had only four, they were pooled among units and would dispatch from their respective refueling locations as the battle progressed. Towards the end of the battle, 5th Marine tanks expended between {{cvt|5000|to|10,000|usgal|L}} of [[napalm]] per day.<ref name="USAFlame">{{harvnb|Kelber|Birdsell|1990|pp=558–583, 586}}</ref>

==Navajo Code Talkers==
[[Navajo Code Talkers|Navajo code talkers]] were a vital part in the Pacific and especially the Battle of Iwo Jima. "Before the War Navajo boys were sent to a boarding school where Indians were taught to read, write and speak English. If they were caught speaking Navajo they would be punished.<ref name="NavajoCodeTalkers">Fenwick, B. (2002). Navajo Code Talker. Sooner Magazine, 22(4), 9–12.
</ref> "This caused the United States to almost lose one of its secret weapons. When [[Pearl Harbor]] happened in 1941 "The United States had been caught unprepared. In addition to being out-manned, outgunned and outsmarted in the early days of the war, the U.S. was also out-coded. With the Japanese breaking the coding system of the Pacific fleet."<ref name="NavajoCodeTalkers" /> This is where the Code Talkers play a vital role during the war. In 1942, Sergeant Phillip Johnson was assigned to direct the code training of Platoon 382 made up of Navajo men.<ref name="UnbreakalbeLanguage">Gyi, M. (1982). The Unbreakable Language Code in the Pacific Theatre of World War Ii. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 39(1), 8–15.
</ref> "They were trained in sending and receiving messages from air to ground, ship to shore, tank to command post. Messages included missions and maneuvers, location and strength of the enemy, time and place of attack and other tactical orders."<ref name="UnbreakalbeLanguage" /> While on the Island of [[Iwo Jima]], "Code Talkers acted as forward observers, calling in artillery strikes against positions that were causing the Marines problems. Code Talkers on land would radio positions to a command ship offshore, their messages then given to admirals and generals. A new strike plan would be drawn then the information transmitted back onto the shore all without being tapped by the Japanese, to whom such information would have proven decisive"<ref name="NavajoCodeTalkers" />  "By the end of the battle, Billison and other Code Talkers had transmitted more than 800 messages error-free."<ref name="NavajoCodeTalkers" /> These messages would be important information like new plans, or artillery barrages from the Navy Ships. Overall, the Navajo Code Talkers were a huge success in the Pacific and Iwo Jima. A few successes were only 28 non-Navajos who could speak the language, none of whom were German or Japanese. The Navajo language is one of the most difficult languages to learn; even if someone would learn it, it would be hard to imitate. Lastly, the Japanese tried to bribe the Navajo to decipher the code,{{how|date=July 2025}} however, they remained loyal to the U.S.<ref name="UnbreakalbeLanguage" />

==Aftermath==
Japanese [[Japanese holdout|holdouts on the island]], including two of Lieutenant Toshihiko Ohno's men, {{nihongo|Yamakage Kufuku{{sic}}|山蔭光福|Yamakage Kōfuku}} and {{nihongo|Matsudo Linsoki{{sic}}|松戸利喜夫|Matsudo Rikio}}, lasted four years without being caught, and finally surrendered on 6 January 1949.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japanese Surrender After Four Year Hiding |date=10 January 1949 |work=Pacific Stars and Stripes |page=5 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/pacific-stars-and-stripes/1949-01-10/page-5?tag=kufuku&rtserp=tags/kufuku?ndt=by&py=1949&pey=1951 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717075553/http://newspaperarchive.com/pacific-stars-and-stripes/1949-01-10/page-5?tag=kufuku&rtserp=tags/kufuku%3Fndt=by&py=1949&pey=1951 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=Cook>{{cite web |url=http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/profiles/kufuku.html |first=Donald |last=Cook |title=Capture of Two Holdouts January 6, 1949 |work=No Surrender: Japanese Holdouts |access-date=11 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009185024/http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/profiles/kufuku.html |archive-date=9 October 2007 <!--DASHBot--> |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=山蔭光福 |author2=松戸利喜夫 |date=1968 |script-title=ja:硫黄島最後の二人|trans-title=The Last Two of Iwo Jima |publisher=読売新聞社 |language=ja}}</ref>

The American victory at Iwo Jima had been extremely costly. According to the [[Navy Department Library]], "the 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead."{{sfn|Navy Department Library, "Battle for Iwo Jima"}} By comparison, the much larger-scale 82-day [[Battle of Okinawa]] lasting from early April until mid-June 1945 (involving five U.S. Army and two Marine Corps divisions) resulted in over 62,000 U.S. casualties, of whom over 12,000 were killed or missing. Iwo Jima was also the only U.S. Marine battle where the American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese,<ref name="O'Brien">{{cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Cyril J. |title=Iwo Jima Retrospective |url=http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,NI_Iwo_Jima2,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607061101/http://www.military.com/NewContent/0%2C13190%2CNI_Iwo_Jima2%2C00.html |archive-date=7 June 2007 |access-date=21 June 2007}}</ref> although Japanese combat deaths numbered three times as many as American KIA. Two U.S. Marines were captured during the battle, neither of whom survived their captivity.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The {{USS|Bismarck Sea}} was sunk during the battle, the last U.S. aircraft carrier sunk in World War II. 20 [[Grumman F4F Wildcat|Grumman FM-2 Wildcat]] fighters and 11 [[Grumman TBF Avenger|Grumman TBM Avenger]] torpedo bombers went down with ''Bismarck Sea''. The {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}} was so severely damaged that she took no part in either combat or transportation duties for the rest of the war, and became a training ship for night fighter operations.<ref>Wilgus, J. Brandon. "Iwo Jima: A Tale of Two Carriers" ''Naval History''. USNI, February 2021. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2025/february/iwo-jima-tale-two-carriers</ref> 31 [[Grumman F6F Hellcat]] fighters and nine Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers were destroyed by the kamikaze attack on ''Saratoga'' along with the loss of 132 men.<ref name="LLFeb45">{{cite web |url=https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLFeb45.htm |title=USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List February 1945 |work=Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309173809/https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLFeb45.htm |archive-date=9 March 2021 |access-date=15 September 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Morison|1960}}{{page needed|date=July 2021}} Because all civilians had been evacuated, there were no civilian casualties on Iwo Jima, unlike at Saipan and Okinawa.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/This_Month_History/03_March.htm |title=This Month in History: Selected March Dates of Marine Corps Historical Significance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128105745/http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/This_Month_History/03_March.htm |archive-date=28 November 2010 |publisher=[[United States Marine Corps History Division]] |access-date=23 August 2015}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=July 2021}}
<gallery mode="packed">
File:3rd Marine Corps Iwo Jima Cemetery Entrance.jpg|Iwo Jima cemetery entrances built by the 133rd Seabees, with the 3rd Marine Division forward and the 4th Marine Division opposite.
File:127-GW-305-142760 (24467231344).jpg|Interments of the 4th Marine Division.
File:4th Marine Division cemetery, Iwo Jima, 1945 (5600761284).jpg|4th USMC Division Cemetery Iwo Jima
File:127-GW-305-145467 (24730253279).jpg|5th USMC Division Cemetery entrance built by the 31st CB with Mt. Suribachi center.

</gallery>

==Strategic importance==
{{more citations needed|section|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Lieutenant Wade discusses overall importance of target at pre-invasion briefing HD-SN-99-02874.jpg|thumb|Lieutenant Wade discusses the overall importance of the target at a pre-invasion briefing.]]
[[File:American supplies being landed at Iwo Jima.JPEG|thumb|American supplies being landed at Iwo Jima]]
In hindsight, given the number of casualties, the necessity and long-term significance of the island's capture to the outcome of the war became a contentious issue and remains disputed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/LUTZ/iwo.html |title=The Battle of Iwo Jima |publisher=History Department at the University of San Diego |access-date=10 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720132646/https://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/LUTZ/iwo.html |archive-date=20 July 2009}}</ref> The Marines, who conducted the landings and suffered the vast majority of the casualties, had not been consulted in the planning of the operation.{{sfn|Burrell|2004}} As early as April 1945, retired Chief of Naval Operations [[William V. Pratt]] stated in ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine that the "expenditure of manpower to acquire a small, God-forsaken island, useless to the Army as a staging base and useless to the Navy as a fleet base&nbsp;... [one] wonders if the same sort of airbase could not have been reached by acquiring other strategic localities at lower cost."<ref name= Newsweek_Pratt_19450402>{{cite news |first=William V. |last=Pratt |author-link=William Veazie Pratt |title=What Makes Iwo Jima Worth the Price |work=Newsweek |date=2 April 1945 |page=36}}</ref>

The lessons learned on Iwo Jima served as guidelines for the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945, and influenced American planning for an invasion of the Japanese home islands. For example, on Okinawa, "because of the casualties taken at Iwo Jima on the first day, it was decided to make the preparatory bombardment the heaviest yet delivered on to a Pacific island".{{sfn|Keegan|1990|p=566}} Additionally, in the planning for a potential invasion of Japan itself, it was taken into account that around a third of the troops committed to Iwo Jima, and later again at Okinawa, had been killed or wounded.{{sfn|Keegan|1990|p=575}}

The justification behind Iwo Jima's strategic importance to the United States' war effort revolves around the island's role as a landing and refueling site for long-range fighter escorts. These escorts ultimately proved both impractical and unnecessary, and only ten such missions were flown from Iwo Jima.<ref>{{cite news |author=Assistant Chief of Air Staff |title=Iwo, B-29 Haven and Fighter Springboard |work=Impact |date=September–October 1945 |pages=69–71}}</ref> By the time Iwo Jima had been captured, the bombing campaign against Japan had switched from daylight precision bombing to nighttime incendiary attacks, so fighter escorts were of limited utility.<ref name="navytimes19feb20">[https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/02/20/what-if-the-navy-and-marine-corps-had-bypassed-iwo-jima/ What if the Navy and Marine Corps had bypassed Iwo Jima?] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113132317/https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/02/20/what-if-the-navy-and-marine-corps-had-bypassed-iwo-jima/ |date=13 January 2022 }}. ''[[Navy Times]]''. 19 February 2020.</ref>

Japanese fighter aircraft based on Iwo Jima occasionally attacked U.S. Army Air Force bombers, which were vulnerable en route to Japan because they were heavily laden with bombs and fuel. However, the impact of Iwo Jima-based Japanese interceptors on the American bombing effort was marginal; in the three months before the invasion, only 11 B-29s had been lost to Japanese aircraft flying out of the [[Bonin Islands]].{{sfn|Cate|Olson|1983a|pp=581–582}} The Superfortresses largely found it unnecessary to make any major detour around the island.{{sfn|Cate|Olson|1983b|p=559}} Capturing the island neutralized Japanese air attacks on the Marianas, but these attacks were too small to ever seriously threaten American military assets based on Saipan and Tinian.<ref name="navytimes19feb20"/>
[[File:24th marines wwii iwo jima.jpg|thumb|Marines from the 24th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Iwo Jima]]

The Japanese garrison on Iwo Jima possessed [[radar]]{{sfn|Newcomb|1982|pp=50–51}} and was thus able to notify air defenses on the home islands of incoming B-29 Superfortresses flying from the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]]. However, the capture of Iwo Jima did not affect the Japanese early-warning radar system, which continued to receive information on incoming B-29s from the island of [[Rota (island)|Rota]] (which was never invaded).<ref name=Rota>Joint War Planning Committee 306/1, "Plan for the Seizure of Rota Island," 25 January 1945.</ref>

As early as 4 March 1945, while fighting was still taking place, the B-29 ''Dinah Might'' of the USAAF [[9th Bomb Group]] reported it was low on fuel near the island and requested an emergency landing.{{fact|date=October 2025}} Despite enemy fire, the airplane landed on the Allied-controlled section of the island (South Field) without incident and was serviced, refueled and departed.{{fact|date=October 2025}}

In all, 2,251 B-29 landings on Iwo Jima were recorded during the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.506thfightergroup.org/iwotojapan.asp |title=Iwo To Japan |publisher=506th Fighter Group |access-date=10 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208225826/http://www.506thfightergroup.org/iwotojapan.asp |archive-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> Author J. Robert Moskin records that 1,191 fighter escorts and 3,081 strike sorties were flown from Iwo Jima against Japan.{{sfn|Moskin|1992|p=373}} A more recent Air Force study found the contribution of VII Fighter Command, based on Iwo Jima, to be superfluous. Another rationale for capturing the island was to provide a base for shorter-range [[B-24 Liberator]] bombers against Japan, but no significant B-24 bombing campaign ever materialized.<ref name="navytimes19feb20"/>

Some downed B-29 crewmen were saved by air-sea rescue aircraft and vessels operating from the island, but Iwo Jima was just one of many islands that could have been used for such a purpose. As for the importance of the island as a landing and refueling site for bombers, Marine Captain Robert Burrell, then a history instructor at the [[United States Naval Academy]], suggested that only a small proportion of the 2,251 landings were for genuine emergencies, with the vast majority possibly being for minor technical checkups, training, or refueling. According to Burrell,

{{blockquote|text=This justification became prominent only after the Marines seized the island and incurred high casualties. The tragic cost of Operation Detachment pressured veterans, journalists, and commanders to fixate on the most visible rationalization for the battle. The sight of the enormous, costly, and technologically sophisticated B-29 landing on the island's small airfield most clearly linked Iwo Jima to the strategic bombing campaign. As the myths about the flag raisings on Mount Suribachi reached legendary proportions, so did the emergency landing theory in order to justify the need to raise that flag.{{sfn|Burrell|2004}}}}

The "emergency landing" thesis counts every B-29 landing on Iwo Jima as an emergency and asserts that capturing the island saved the lives of the nearly 25,000 crewmen of all 2,251 planes (2,148 B-29 crewmen were killed in combat during the entire war in all theaters). However, of the nearly 2,000 B-29s which landed from May–July 1945, more than 80% were for routine refueling. Several hundred landings were made for training purposes, and most of the remainder were for relatively minor engine maintenance. During June 1945, which saw the largest number of landings, none of the more than 800 B-29s that landed on the island did so because of combat damage. Of the aircraft that would have been lost without being able to land, air-sea rescue figures indicate that 50% of crewmen who ditched at sea survived, so even if Iwo Jima had not been taken the estimate of the supposedly potential 25,000 dead crewmen from airplanes crashing into the ocean should be dwindled down to 12,500.<ref name="navytimes19feb20"/>{{additional citation needed|date=October 2025}} 

According to Robert S. Burrell, author of ''The Ghosts of Iwo Jima'', the very losses formed the basis for a "reverence for the Marine Corps" that not only embodied the "American national spirit" but ensured the "institutional survival" of the Marine Corps.<ref name="tamu">{{cite web |date=2006 |url=http://www.tamupress.com/product/Ghosts-of-Iwo-Jima,3173.aspx |title=The Ghosts of Iwo Jima |publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]] |access-date=14 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101092631/http://www.tamupress.com/product/Ghosts-of-Iwo-Jima,3173.aspx |archive-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Naval vessels badly damaged==
The following table lists for each ship badly damaged in the Battle of Iwo Jima, the dates they received hits, the cause, the type of ship, and the casualties inflicted during 17–28 February. The carrier {{USS|Lunga Point}}, which received light damage, was listed because of the importance of escort carriers in the battle.

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="font-size: 95%;" style="text-align:right;"
|+ Naval vessels badly damaged and sunk by Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, primarily kamikazes, 17–28 February 1945{{efn|All information is public domain from United States Navy, with casualties taken from individual action reports; table format and structure is heavily borrowed from {{harvnb|Morison|1960|p=388|loc=Appendix II}}.}}{{sfn|Navy Department Library, "Battle for Iwo Jima"}}
|-
! scope="col" style="width:6em;"|Ship
! scope="col" style="width:5em;"|Day
! scope="col" style="width:13em;"|Type
! scope="col"|Cause
! scope="col" style="max-width:4em;"|Killed
! scope="col" style="max-width:4em;"|Wounded
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-438''
|17 Feb 1945
|rowspan="9" style="text-align:left;"|Landing craft infantry{{thinsp}}/{{thinsp}}gunboat
|rowspan="9" style="text-align:left;"|Coastal battery
|0
|4
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-441''
|17 Feb 1945
|7
|21
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|LCI(G)-449||2}}
|17 Feb 1945
|21
|18
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-450''
|17 Feb 1945
|0
|6
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-457''
|17 Feb 1945
|1
|20
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-466''
|17 Feb 1945
|5
|19
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-469''
|17 Feb 1945
|0
|7
|-
! scope="row"|''LCI(G)-473''
|17 Feb 1945
|3
|18
|-
! scope="row" style="background:pink;"|''LCI(G)-474'' *
|17 Feb 1945
|3
|18
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Blessman||2}}
|18 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Destroyer
|style="text-align:left;"|Aerial bomb over engine room
|42
|29
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Gamble||2}}
|18 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Destroyer{{thinsp}}/{{thinsp}}minesweeper
|style="text-align:left;"|2 aerial bombs
|5
|9
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|LSM-216||2}}
|20 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Landing ship, medium built
|style="text-align:left;"|Coastal battery/air attack
|0
|0
|-
! scope="row" style="background:pink;"|{{USS|Bismarck Sea||2}} *
|21 Feb 1945
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"|Escort carrier
|style="text-align:left;"|5 bomb hits and kamikaze hits, one on low angle dive, hit after elevator, thru to hangar deck, sunk
|318<ref>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bismarck-sea-cve-95.html |title=Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) 1944–1945 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915160600/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bismarck-sea-cve-95.html |archive-date=15 September 2021 |access-date=15 September 2021}}</ref>
|99
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Lunga Point||2}}
|21 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|kamikaze Nakajima B6N skidded into her, light damage
|0
|6
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|2}}
|21 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Carrier
|style="text-align:left;"|kamikaze dove w/bomb penetration
|123
|192
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Keokuk|CMc-6|2}}
|21 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Net cargo ship
|style="text-align:left;"|kamikaze dove w/bomb penetration
|17
|44
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|LCI(G)-760||2}}
|25 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Landing craft infantry, mortar
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"|Coastal battery
|0
|2
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Terry|DD-513|2}}
|28 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Destroyer
|11
|19
|-
! scope="row"|{{USS|Whitley|AKA-91|2}}
|28 Feb 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|Large cargo ship
|style="text-align:left;"|Air attack
|0
|5
|- class="sortbottom"
! style="border-right: 0;" |Total
! colspan="3" style="border-left: 0;" |
|556
|536
|-
|colspan=6 |{{left|'''Legend''': {{legend-inline|pink|Ship sunk or scuttled|text={{asterisk}} |outline=#A2A9B1}}}}
|}

==Medal of Honor recipients==
{{Main|List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima}}
[[File:Harry Truman congratulates Hershel Williams on being awarded the Medal of Honor.jpg|thumb|Harry Truman congratulates Marine Corporal Hershel Williams of the Third Marine Division on being awarded the Medal of Honor, 5 October 1945.]]
The [[Medal of Honor]] is the highest [[Awards and decorations of the United States military|military decoration]] awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States Armed Forces who distinguishes himself by "...&nbsp;conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States&nbsp;..." Because of its nature, the medal is commonly awarded posthumously.

The Medal of Honor was awarded to 22 Marines (12 posthumously), and five were presented to sailors, four of whom were hospital corpsmen (two posthumously) attached to Marine infantry units. The medals awarded for the battle accounted for 28% of the 82 awarded to Marines in World War II.<ref name=MOHSTAT>{{cite web |access-date=6 March 2008 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/mohstats.html |title=United States Army Center of Military History Medal of Honor Citations Archive |work=Medal of Honor Statistics |publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |date=16 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809030651/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/mohstats.html |archive-date=9 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the time of his death on 29 June 2022, Marine [[Hershel W. Williams]] was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carroll |first1=David |title=Local World War II veteran & Medal of Honor recipient Charles H. Coolidge dies at 99 |url=https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/43622304/local-world-war-ii-veteran-and-medal-of-honor-recipient-charles-h-coolidge-dies-at-99 |website=WRCB |date=7 April 2021 |access-date=19 September 2021 |archive-date=7 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407182346/https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/43622304/local-world-war-ii-veteran-and-medal-of-honor-recipient-charles-h-coolidge-dies-at-99 |url-status=live}}</ref> He received his medal for actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

==Legacy==

[[File:Marine Corp Memorial Iwo Jima.jpg|thumb|The [[Marine Corps War Memorial|U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] with the [[Washington Monument]] and the [[United States Capitol]] in the distance.]]

The [[Marine Corps War Memorial|Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial]] was dedicated on 10 November 1954 at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].

The [[United States Navy|USN]] has commissioned two ships with the name {{USS|Iwo Jima|LPH-2}} (1961–1993) and {{USS|Iwo Jima|LHD-7}} (2001–present).

The first large-scale reunion on the island was held in 1970 on the 25th anniversary of the battle. The event was sponsored by the Fifth Marine Division Association and included both American and Japanese veterans of the battle. Other notable attendees included then Brigadier General [[William K. Jones]] commander of the [[3rd Marine Division]] and [[NBC]]’s senior correspondent in Asia [[John Rich (war correspondent)|John Rich]]. The widows of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Colonel [[Takeichi Nishi]] also attended events with American veterans held in [[Tokyo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://5thmarinedivision.org/iwo-jima-reunion-1970/|title=Iwo Jima Reunion 1970|publisher=Fifth Marine Division Association|access-date=2024-10-08|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008173253/https://5thmarinedivision.org/iwo-jima-reunion-1970/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= First Reunion on Iwo Jima of Japanese & American Veterans 19 February 1970 25th Anniversary of the Landing|url=https://camptarawacollections.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1970-reunion-pdf-complete-2.pdf|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20241009015232/https://camptarawacollections.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1970-reunion-pdf-complete-2.pdf|access-date=2024-10-08|archive-date = 2024-10-09}}</ref>

On 19 February 1985, the 40th anniversary of the landings on Iwo Jima, an event called the "Reunion of Honor" was held (the event has been held annually since 2002).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Mar/13/iwojima-veteran-visit-reunionofhonor/ |title=Iwo Jima: A veteran returns |author=Jeanette Steele |publisher=UT San Diego |date=13 March 2014 |access-date=6 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140406050537/http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Mar/13/iwojima-veteran-visit-reunionofhonor/ |archive-date=6 April 2014}}</ref> Veterans of both sides of the battle attended the event, which is sited on the beach where U.S. forces landed. A memorial on which inscriptions were engraved by both sides was built at the center of the meeting place. Japanese attended at the mountain side, where the Japanese inscription was carved, and Americans attended at the shore side, where the English inscription was carved.<ref>[http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/8286/Reunion-of-Honor-Memorial.htm Reunion of Honor Memorial] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319013517/http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/8286/Reunion-of-Honor-Memorial.htm|date=19 March 2014 }} Retrieved 14 July 2013.</ref> After unveiling and offering of flowers were made, the representatives of both countries approached the memorial; upon meeting, they shook hands. The combined Japan-U.S. memorial service of the 50th anniversary of the battle was held in front of the monument in February 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paradise |first=James |date=1995-03-11 |title=Iwo Jima 50th anniversary US, Japanese vets to meet on Iwo Jima |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/03/11/Iwo-Jima-50th-anniversary-US-Japanese-vets-to-meet-on-Iwo-Jima/6794794898000/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126144948/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/03/11/Iwo-Jima-50th-anniversary-US-Japanese-vets-to-meet-on-Iwo-Jima/6794794898000/ |archive-date=November 26, 2024 |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=UPI}}</ref> Further memorial services have been held on later anniversaries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7166241 |title=Veterans mark 60th anniversary on Iwo Jima |publisher=NBC News |date= 12 March 2005|access-date=2022-01-13 |archive-date=6 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106002223/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7166241 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The importance of the battle to Marines today is demonstrated in pilgrimages made to the island, and specifically the summit of Suribachi.<ref name="MarinesMag">{{cite news |url=http://www.mcnews.info/mcnewsinfo/marines/2007/20072nd/onliberty/Suribachi.shtml |title=From Black Sands to Suribachi's Summit: Marines Reflect on Historic Battle |last=Blumenstein |first=LCpl Richard |author2=Sgt. Ethan E. Rocke |date=October–December 2007 |work=Marines Magazine |publisher=[[United States Marine Corps]] |access-date=18 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211215607/http://www.mcnews.info/mcnewsinfo/marines/2007/20072nd/onliberty/Suribachi.shtml |archive-date=11 February 2009}}</ref> Marines will often leave [[dog tag]]s, [[United States Marine Corps rank insignia|rank insignia]], or other tokens at the monuments in homage. Iwo Jima Day is observed annually on 19 February in the [[Massachusetts|Commonwealth of Massachusetts]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/6/6-12aa.htm |title=The General Laws of Massachusetts – Declaration of Iwo Jima Day |publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date=9 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305062926/http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/6/6-12aa.htm |archive-date=5 March 2010 <!--DASHBot--> |url-status=live}}</ref> with a ceremony at the State House.

The Japanese government continues to search for and retrieve the remains of Japanese military personnel who were killed during the battle.<ref>[[Kyodo News]], "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120505b2.html Map of Iwo Jima's underground bunkers found in U.S.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519084120/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120505b2.html|date=19 May 2012 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 6 May 2012, p. 2.</ref>

<gallery>
File:MemorialonMtSuribachi.jpg|The memorial on top of Suribachi
File:60th Anniversary reunion at Iwo Jima.jpg|The 60th anniversary reunion at the Japanese part of the memorial
File:120314-M-PY060-127 (6838510218).jpg|The 67th anniversary ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, the government of Japan, and the Iwo Jima Associations of America and Japan
File:Iwo Jima 71st Reunion of Honor 160319-M-JD520-158.jpg|Commencement of the 71st commemoration of the anniversary
File:WWII Veterans, guests remember the battle of Iwo Jima 170325-M-MV819-299.jpg|U.S. and Japanese color guard teams stand at attention during the 72nd Reunion of Honor ceremony.
File:IwoJima Homage Insignia Devices.jpg|Insignia and other remembrances left by visitors on Mount Suribachi’s summit
File:Reunion_of_Honor_memorial_on_Iwo_Jima.jpg|Reunion of Honor Memorial
</gallery>

==See also==

{{Library resources box}}
* [[List of naval and land-based operations in the Pacific Theater during World War II]]
*[[Naval Base Iwo Jima]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name="note Burrell2006p83"|Burrell writes about how many historians have overestimated the number of Japanese casualties, with 20,000 and even 25,000 listed. Burrell puts the range between 18,060 and 18,600, with exactly 216 of these taken prisoner during the course of the battle. Another 867 prisoners were taken by the U.S. Army between April and June, after the Marines had left.<ref name=Burrell83>{{harvnb|Burrell|2006|p= [{{GBurl|id=K8J4wkgcqCIC|p=83}} 83]}}.</ref>}}
}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Allen |first=Robert E. |date=2004 |title=The First Battalion of the 28th Marines on Iwo Jima: A Day-by-Day History from Personal Accounts and Official Reports, with Complete Muster Rolls |publisher=McFarland & Company |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=0-7864-0560-0}}
* {{cite web |last=Antill |first=P. |date=6 April 2001 |title=Operation Detachment: The Battle for Iwo Jima, February – March 1945 |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_iwojima.html |website=HistoryOfWar.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612121459/http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_iwojima.html |archive-date=12 June 2021 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=James |last2=Powers |first2=Ron |date=2001 |orig-year=2000 |title=Flags of Our Fathers |url=https://archive.org/details/flagsofourfather00brad |url-access=registration |publisher=Bantam |isbn=0-553-38029-X |location=New York |author-link1=James Bradley (American author) |author-link2=Ron Powers}}
* {{cite journal |last=Burrell |first=Robert S. |date=2004 |title=Breaking the Cycle of Iwo Jima Mythology: A Strategic Study of Operation Detachment |journal=[[Journal of Military History]] |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=1143–1186 |doi=10.1353/jmh.2004.0175 |s2cid=159781449}}
* {{cite book |last=Burrell |first=Robert S. |date=2006 |title=The Ghosts of Iwo Jima |publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]] |location=College Station, Texas |isbn=1-58544-483-9}}
* {{cite book|first1= Alvin|last1=Coox|first2=Louis|last2=Naisawald|oclc=21347186 |url=http://cdm16635.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16635coll14/id/56035|date= 31 March 1951|id= Technical Memorandum ORO-T-117|title= Survey of Allied tank casualties in World War II|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190717223049/http://cdm16635.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16635coll14/id/56035 |archive-date=17 July 2019|access-date =1 March 2025|publisher= Department of the Army|location= Washington D.C.|at=Table 1}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Craven |editor-first1=Wesley Frank |editor-last2=Cate |editor-first2=James Lea |date=1983 |title=The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki, June 1944 to August 1945 |volume=V |series=The Army Air Forces in World War II |url=https://archive.org/details/Vol5ThePacificMatterhornToNagasaki/ |orig-year=1953 |edition=New Imprint |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=091279903X}}
** {{harvc|last1=Cate|first1=James Lea|last2=Olson|first2=James C.|anchor-year=1983a|contribution=Precision Bombardment Campaign|in=Craven|in2=Cate|year=1983|nb=yes}}
** {{harvc|last1=Cate|first1=James Lea|last2=Olson|first2=James C.|anchor-year=1983b|contribution=Iwo Jima|in=Craven|in2=Cate|year=1983|nb=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Crumley |first=B. L. |date=18 December 2012 |title=The Marine Corps: Three Centuries of Glory |publisher=Amber Books |isbn=9781908273963 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X97OBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318203551/https://books.google.com/books?id=X97OBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 |archive-date=18 March 2020}}
* {{cite book |last1=Garand |first1=George W. |last2=Strobridge |first2=Truman R. |date=1971 |chapter=Part VI: Iwo Jima |title=Western Pacific Operations |volume=IV |series=History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II |publisher=Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps |isbn=0-89839-198-9 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/IV/|chapter-url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/IV/USMC-IV-VI-1.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929202140/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/IV/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite AV media |ref={{sfnRef|''Glamour Gal''|1945}} |title=Glamour Gal|date=1945 |publisher=Marine Corps Photographic Service |url=https://archive.org/details/25642GlamourGal|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Hammel |first=Eric |date=2006 |title=Iwo Jima: Portrait of a Battle: United States Marines at War in the Pacific |publisher=Zenith Press |isbn=978-0760325209 |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |oclc=69104268 |author-link=Eric M. Hammel}}
* {{cite book |last=Keegan |first=John |date=1990 |orig-year=1989 |title=The Second World War |publisher=Viking Penguin |location=New York |isbn=9780670823598 |url=https://archive.org/details/secondworldwar00keeg |url-access=registration |access-date=4 July 2021}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kelber |first1=Brookes E. |last2=Birdsell |first2=Dale |editor-last=Conn |editor-first=Stetson |date=1990 |orig-year=First printed 1966 |chapter=Chapter XV, The Flame Thrower in the Pacific: Marianas to Okinawa |title=The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat |series=U.S. Army in World War II: The Technical Services |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=558–583, 586 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/USA-in-WWII/Set-4-of-7/Disk-1/Combat.pdf |id=CMH Pub 10-3 |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225030526/http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/USA-in-WWII/Set-4-of-7/Disk-1/Combat.pdf |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=King |first=Dan |date=2014 |title=A Tomb Called Iwo Jima |publisher=Pacific Press |isbn=978-1500343385}}
* {{cite book |last=Leckie |first=Robert |date=1967 |title=The Battle for Iwo Jima |url=https://archive.org/details/battleforiwojima00leck |url-access=registration |access-date=4 July 2021 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |oclc=56015751}}
* {{cite book |last=Leckie |first=Robert |date=1988 |orig-year=First published 1987 |title=Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II |edition=First Perennial Library |publisher=Harper & Row |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/870 870] |isbn=0-06-091535-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck |url-access=registration |access-date=4 July 2021}}
* {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Adrian R. |date=2007 |orig-year=2006 |edition=Ebook reprint |title=The American Culture of War: The History of U.S. Military Force from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780203944523 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanculturew00lewi/ |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite book |last=Morison |first=Samuel Eliot |date=1960 |author-link=Samuel Eliot Morison |title=Victory in the Pacific: 1945 |series=[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]] |volume=XIV |publisher=Little, Brown, & Co. |location=Boston, Massachusetts |url=https://archive.org/details/victoryinpacific00mori |url-access=registration |access-date=4 July 2021}}
* {{cite book |last=Moskin |first=J. Robert |date=1992 |edition=3rd Revised |title=The U.S. Marine Corps Story |url=https://archive.org/details/usmarinecorpssto0003mosk |url-access=registration |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/usmarinecorpssto0003mosk/page/373 373] |isbn=0-448-22688-X}}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Navy Department Library, "Battle for Iwo Jima"}} |author=Navy Department Library |author-link=Navy Department Library|date=25 September 2020 |title=Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945 |publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]|location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/battle-for-iwo-jima.html |access-date=9 July 2020 |archive-date=8 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708181918/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/battle-for-iwo-jima.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Navy Department Library, "Navajo Code Talkers"}} |author=Navy Department Library |author-link=Navy Department Library|date=16 April 2020 |title=Navajo Code Talkers: World War II Fact Sheet |publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]|location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514052920/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html |archive-date=14 May 2021 |access-date=9 July 2021 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Newcomb |first1=Richard F. |date=1982 |orig-year=First published 1965 |title=Iwo Jima |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=0-553-22622-3 |location=New York |author-link=Richard Newcomb |url=https://archive.org/details/iwojima0000newc/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Quinlan |first=O'Neill P. |date=February 1948 |title=New Tanks for Old! |periodical=U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Bulletin |volume=2 |issue=15 |pages=51–53 |publisher=BuDocks, Deptarment of the Navy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_dUAAAAYAAJ&q=Seabee+CWS+Hawaii&pg=RA3-PA51 |access-date=12 July 2021 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410223135/https://books.google.com/books?id=x_dUAAAAYAAJ&q=Seabee+CWS+Hawaii&pg=RA3-PA51 |url-status=live}}
*{{source attribution| {{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Breanne |last2=Neimeyer |first2=Charles |last3=Nash |first3=Douglas |date=2019 |title=Investigating Iwo: The Flag Raisings in Myth, Memory & Esprit de Corps |publisher=Marine Corps History Division |url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Investigating%20Iwo_WEB3.pdf?ver=2019-10-22-085649-137 |isbn=978-1732003071 |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122030038/https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Investigating%20Iwo_WEB3.pdf?ver=2019-10-22-085649-137 |url-status=live}}}}
* {{cite AV media |ref={{sfnRef|''To the Shores of Iwo Jima''|1945}} |title=To the Shores of Iwo Jima|date=1945 |publisher=U.S. Government Office of War Information |url=https://archive.org/details/iwojima|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Toland |first=John |author-link=John Toland (author) |date=2003 |orig-year=1970 |title=The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936–1945 |publisher=Random House |url=https://archive.org/details/risingsundecline00john_1 |isbn=978-0-8129-6858-3 |url-access=registration |access-date=4 July 2021}}
* {{cite report |ref={{sfnRef|Japanese Monograph No. 45}} |author=U.S. Army Japan, HQ G3 |title=History of Imperial General Headquarters, Army Section (Japanese Monograph No. 45)|page=257 |publisher=U.S. Army Japan, Foreign Histories Division |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/Monos/JM-45/ |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406174019/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/Monos/JM-45/ |archive-date=6 April 2016 |url-status=live|via=HyperWar Foundation }}
* {{cite report |ref={{sfnRef|Japanese Monograph No. 48}} |author=U.S. Army, Far East Command|date=n.d. |title=Operations in the Central Pacific (Japanese Monograph No. 48)|series=Japanese Studies in World War II |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History|location=Washington, D.C.|via=HyperWar Foundation |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/Monos/pdfs/JM-48/JM-48.pdf |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011122900/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/Monos/pdfs/JM-48/JM-48.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite report |ref={{sfnRef|Navy Department, ''Amphibious Operations, Iwo Jima''|1945}} |author=United States Fleet, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief|date=17 July 1945 |title=Amphibious Operations – Capture of Iwo Jima – 16 February to 16 March 1945 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/a/amphibious-operations-capture-iwo-jima.html|location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Navy Department|via=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605081132/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/a/amphibious-operations-capture-iwo-jima.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite magazine |last=Unmacht |first=George F. |date=April 1948 |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1948/april/flame-throwing-seabees |url-access=subscription |title=Flame Throwing Seabees |magazine=Proceedings |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] |location=Annapolis, Maryland |volume=74 |number=342 |pages=425–427 |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=18 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218153906/https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1948/april/flame-throwing-seabees |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Keith |date=1979 |title=The Road to Tokyo |series=World War II |volume=19 |url=https://archive.org/details/roadtotokyo0000whee |url-access=limited |publisher=Time-Life Books |location=Alexandria, Virginia |isbn=0-8094-2540-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Derrick |date=2004 |orig-year=2001 |title=Iwo Jima 1945: The Marines Raise the Flag On Mount Suribachi |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=0-275-98273-4 |location=Oxford}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Joseph H. |title=Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima |series=Marines in World War II Commemorative Series |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=History and Museums Division, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps |date=1994 |oclc=32194668 |url=http://www.nps.gov/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003131-00/index.htm |access-date=6 February 2009 |archive-date=22 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622134626/http://www.nps.gov/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003131-00/index.htm |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Alexander |first=Joseph |date=February 2000 |title='In for One Hell of a Time': Bloody Sacrifice at the Battle of Iwo Jima |url=http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-iwo-jima.htm/1 |magazine=World War II |publisher=HistoryNet.com |access-date=25 June 2009 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611232749/http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-iwo-jima.htm/1 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Bartley |first=Whitman S. |date=1954 |title=Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic |series=Marines in World War II Historical Monograph |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Historical, Division of Public Information, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps |oclc=28592680 |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-IwoJima/index.html |via=HyperWar Foundation |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831093052/http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-IwoJima/index.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Bradley |first=James |date=2003 |title=Flyboys: A True Story of Courage |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=0-316-10584-8 |location=Boston |author-link=James Bradley (American author) |url=https://archive.org/details/flyboystruestory00brad |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Buell |first=Hal |date=2006 |title=Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue: Iwo Jima and the Photograph that Captured America |url=https://archive.org/details/uncommonvalorcom00buel |url-access=registration |publisher=Penguin Group |isbn=0-425-20980-6 |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last=Dyer |first=George Carroll |date=1956 |title=The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |via=HyperWar Foundation |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/index.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521010748/http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/index.html |archive-date=21 May 2011 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Eldridge |first1=Robert D. |last2=Tatum |first2=Charles W. |date=2011 |title=Fighting Spirit: The Memoirs of Major Yoshitaka Horie and the Battle of Iwo Jima |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-856-2 |location=Annapolis}}
* {{cite book |last=Hearn |first=Chester |date=2003 |title=Sorties into Hell: The Hidden War on Chichi Jima |publisher=Praeger Publishers |isbn=0-275-98081-2 |location=Westport, Connecticut}}
* {{cite book |last=Kakehashi |first=Kumiko |date=2007 |title=So Sad to Fall in Battle: An Account of War Based on General Tadamichi Kuribayashi's Letters from Iwo Jima |url=https://archive.org/details/sosadtofallinbat00kake |url-access=registration |publisher=Presidio Press |isbn=978-0-89141-917-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Kirby |first=Lawrence F. |date=1995 |title=Stories From The Pacific: The Island War 1942–1945 |publisher=The Masconomo Press |isbn=0-9645103-1-6 |location=Manchester, Massachusetts}}
* {{cite journal |last=Linenthal |first=Edward T. |date=March 1993 |title=Shaping a Heroic Presence: Iwo Jima in American Memory |journal=Reviews in American History |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=8–12 |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |doi=10.2307/2702942 |jstor=2702942}} – review of {{cite book |last1=Marling |first1=Karal Ann |last2=Wetenhall |first2=John |date=1991 |title=Iwo Jima: Monuments, Memories, and the American Hero |location=Cambridge |publisher=Harvard University Press}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lucas |first1=Jack |last2=Drum |first2=D. K. |date=2006 |title=Indestructible: The Unforgettable Story of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=0-306-81470-6 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=https://archive.org/details/indestructibleun00luca}}
* {{cite book |last=Overton |first=Richard E. |date=2006 |title=God Isn't Here: A Young American's Entry into World War II and His Participation in the Battle for Iwo Jima |publisher=American Legacy Media |isbn=0-9761547-0-6 |location=Clearfield, Utah |url=https://archive.org/details/godisnthereyoung0000over}}
* {{cite book |last=Rawson |first=Andrew |date=2016 |title=Battle Story: Iwo Jima 1945 |location=Toronto |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=9781459734074 |url={{GBurl |id=0swSDQAAQBAJ}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Ross |first=Bill D. |date=1986 |orig-year=1985 |title=Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor |publisher=Vintage |isbn=0-394-74288-5 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/iwojimalegacyofv00ross_0 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Shively |first=John C. |date=2006 |title=The Last Lieutenant: A Foxhole View of the Epic Battle for Iwo Jima |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-34728-9 |location=Bloomington, Indiana}}
* {{cite serial |last1=Salomon |first1=Henry (writer, producer) |last2=Hanser |first2=Richard (writer) |last3=Adams |first3=M. Clay (director) |date=1952 |title=Target Suribachi |series=[[Victory at Sea]] |number=23 |publisher=NBC |access-date=8 July 2021 |url=https://archive.org/details/VAS_23_Target_Suribachi |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Toll |first=Ian W. |date=2020 |author-link=Ian W. Toll |title=[[Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944–1945]] |location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton}}
* {{cite book |last=Toyn |first=Gary W. |date=2006 |title=The Quiet Hero: The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima |publisher=American Legacy Media |isbn=0-9761547-1-4 |location=Clearfield, Utah}}
* {{cite book |last=Veronee |first=Marvin D. |date=2001 |title=A Portfolio of Photographs: Selected to Illustrate the Setting for My Experience in the Battle of Iwo Jima, World War II, Pacific Theater |publisher=Visionary Pub. |isbn=0-9715928-2-9 |location=Quantico, Virginia}}
* {{cite book |last=Wells |first=John K. |date=1995 |title=Give Me Fifty Marines Not Afraid to Die: Iwo Jima |publisher=Quality Publications |isbn=0-9644675-0-X |location=Abilene, Texas}}
* {{cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Richard |date=1994 |orig-year=1980 |title=Iwo |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=1-55750-922-0 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |author-link=Richard "Dick" Wheeler}}
* {{cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Richard |date=1994 |orig-year=1965 |title=The Bloody Battle for Suribachi |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=1-55750-923-9 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |author-link=Richard "Dick" Wheeler}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Derrick |date=2007 |orig-year=1999 |title=The Battle for Iwo Jima 1945 |publisher=Sutton Publishing |isbn=978-0-7509-4544-8 |location=Stroud}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=12 Battle of Iwo Jima: 19 Feb 1945 – 26 Mar 1945], by C. Peter Chen. The site contains 250 photographs of and about Iwo Jima.
* [http://www.iwojimahistory.com Iwo Jima, a look back], by Raymond C. Backstrom.

{{World War II}}
{{Ogasawara, Tokyo}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwo Jima}}
[[Category:Battle of Iwo Jima| ]]
[[Category:1945 in Japan]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Japan|Iwo Jima]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving the United States|Iwo Jima]]
[[Category:Japan campaign]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps in World War II|Iwo Jima]]
[[Category:World War II invasions|Iwo jima]]
[[Category:World War II operations and battles of the Pacific theatre|Iwo Jima]]
[[Category:Invasions by the United States]]
[[Category:Last stands|Iwo Jima]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations of World War II|Iwo Jima]]
[[Category:February 1945 in Asia]]
[[Category:March 1945 in Asia]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations involving the United States]]
[[Category:Military history of the Bonin Islands]]