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How the Battle of Iwo Jima was a defining moment in US Marine Corps' history

Photograph of Flag Raising on Iwo Jima ON A BACKGROUND CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

The iconic flag raising on Iwo Jima (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

Warning: This article contains some distressing photographs.

The flag raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima is one of the most inspiring and iconic US images from the Second World War, forever etched in the spirit of America's military history.

However, while its authenticity has been questioned, the tragic story behind it was shaped by the brutal battle that resulted in the death of 6,800 US Marines – about 800 men died for every square mile of Iwo Jima's unforgiving black volcanic sand.

The Battle of Iwo Jima – the US Marine Corps' bloodiest battle in the Pacific Theatre – took place between 19 February and 26 March 1945 and was a defining moment in the history of the USMC.

Known as Operation Detachment, the goal of the amphibious assault was to secure the strategically vital island of Iwo Jima.

The island – now called Iwo To – was dominated by the dormant volcano vent Mount Suribachi where the historic flag-raising image was taken.

Covering just eight square miles, the evacuated island became crucial to the Pacific campaign due to its two operational airfields and a third being built.

Securing Iwo Jima and its airstrips would enable heavy bombers to operate within a striking distance of 750 miles from the Japanese mainland.

But, as always when it comes to warfare, taking the island wasn't going to be straightforward.

It wasn't going to be like Normandy

Op Detachment began with heavy bombardment from American bombers and seemingly never-ending shelling by the US Navy.

The plan was to overpower Japanese forces on the island before US Marines invaded on 19 February.

However, the plan backfired and all the damage the bombardment did to the island only gave Japanese forces an advantage, slowing down US Marines' advance.

General Holland 'Howlin' Mad' Smith, commander of Commander Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56) during the battle, said of the pre-invasion bombardment: "Like the worm, which becomes stronger the more you cut it up, Iwo Jima thrived on our bombardment.

Gen Holland M Smith and Col Dudley S Brown look at the surf battered wreckage at the Battle of Iwo Jima CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

Gen Holland M Smith and Col Dudley S Brown look at the surf battered wreckage (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

"The airfields were kept inactive by our attacks and some installations were destroyed, but the main body of defences not only remained physically intact, but they strengthened markedly."

To secure Iwo Jima, US Marines had to invade it but, lulled into a false sense of dominance with the first three waves of marines able to land on the beaches with less resistance than expected, they weren't prepared for the onslaught they were to face.

Waiting for the US Marines inside an almost impenetrable web of bunkers and tunnels were 21,000 Japanese soldiers willing to fight to the death rather than surrender.

Black smoke is seen over the shores of Iwo Jima as the fifth assault wave of Marines lands on the island CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

Black smoke is seen over the shores of Iwo Jima as the fifth assault wave of Marines lands on the island (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

Aware of the island's possible value to Allied forces, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi had spent several months ensuring Iwo Jima could be defended at all costs.

At one point, blowing up the island was considered but quickly dismissed.

Convinced the pre-bombardment had paved the way for a smoother amphibious landing than previous battles on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, the fourth wave of US Marines had no clue what was coming.

An injured US Marine is carried back to a behind the lines aid staion during the Battle of Iwo Jima CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

An injured US Marine is carried back to a behind the lines aid staion during the Battle of Iwo Jima (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

Unlike the flat Normandy beaches on D-Day, the sandy beaches of Iwo Jima were steep and constantly shifting, which made moving around difficult and prevented the construction of foxholes to offer protection from enemy fire.

But it wasn't just the soldiers being affected.

The steep beach also proved incompatible with vehicles which left soldiers, amphibious tractors, tanks and supplies at the shoreline.

Second World War veteran John Stewart 'Stew' Lahey, who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima and died in December 2024, spoke to FOX61 Connecticut News earlier that year, sharing what it was like to land on the beaches, saying: "I don't know how we survived. God had to be intervening in our lives.

Men from 5th Marine Division work their way up on the steep slope of the beach toward Suribachi Yama CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

Men from 5th Marine Division work their way up on the steep slope of the beach toward Suribachi Yama (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

"The first night there I said, where do we sleep? He said, 'Well, jump in the bomb crater' and I did.

"I wake up in the morning and look around, and I said, 'that's where they put the bodies'.

"I'd never seen a dead person before. Here I am at 18, I didn't know how fortunate I was at the time."

Quick-thinking US Marines used moving tanks to shield themselves from enemy fire as they made their way from the shoreline and further into land.

A US Marine veteran interviewed for the 1970s British documentary The World At War, said: "The waste, the barrenness of the place… it was actually like a nightmare.

Dead US Marines lie on the Iwo Jima beach with Jeeps and smashed landing craft seen in the distance CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

Dead US Marines lie on the Iwo Jima beach with Jeeps and smashed landing craft seen in the distance (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

"It was the closest thing you could see to hell. If ever hell looked like anything, it must look like Iwo Jima."

The traumatic memories of Iwo Jima's D-Day haunted the dreams of the men who survived for the rest of their lives.

In total, 27 Medals of Honour were presented to those who fought on Iwo Jima, more than any other battle in the history of the US.

Of the 27, 14 were presented posthumously.

Wounded marines pictured in a makeshift aid station in a Japanese concrete air raid shelter CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

Wounded marines pictured in a makeshift aid station in a Japanese concrete air raid shelter (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

Raising the flag

There is plenty of footage from the Battle of Iwo Jima, but it is one singular photo taken on 23 February by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal that has become inextricably linked with the US Marine Corps and their valiant fight.

But it was the second of its kind.

Seventeen minutes before, a smaller flag was raised once Mount Suribachi was captured at about 10.20am.

USMC Staff Sergeant Louis R Lowery, staff photographer for Leatherneck Magazine, took that photo, but the image by Mr Rosenthal was embraced by the world.

The first flag raising on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945 ON A BACKGROUND CREDIT Naval History and Heritage Command

The first flag raising on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945 (Picture: Naval History and Heritage Command)

People believed the photo was staged but video footage taken at the time by Marine Sergeant Bill Genaust, who was standing beside Mr Rosenthal as the photo was taken, proved it was not.

The image of the flag-raising won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 1945, and it was featured on a stamp issued in July of that year, but it became truly iconic when it was immortalised in 1954 at the US Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Photograph of the iconic flag raising on Iwo Jima (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

Photograph of the second flag raising on Iwo Jima (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

A history-defining battle

Despite the battle ending on 26 March, some fighting continued on the island until Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945.

Somehow, two Japanese soldiers remained concealed in the island's caves and tunnels, only surrendering four years later.

Of the battle, US Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz said: "If there had been any question whether there should be a Marine Corps after this war, the Battle of Iwo Jima will assure that there will always be a Marine Corps."

Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz signs for the US during the surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 31 Aug 45 CREDIT National Archives and Records

Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz signs for the US during the surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 31 August 1945 (Picture: National Archives and Records)

The victory at Iwo Jima ensured the US Marine Corps would forever fill US citizens with a sense of national pride about the brave men who fought so valiantly to secure a vital island in the Pacific theatre.

At an event marking the 70th anniversary of the battle, General Joseph F Dunford spoke of how the battle helped define the US Marine Corps, saying: "Over the past 70 years, the Battle of Iwo Jima has become part of the very ethos of the Marine Corps.

"For marines, Iwo Jima is synonymous with extraordinary courage, will and self-sacrifice.

A US Marine charges in the face of intense enemy fire during the Battle of Iwo Jima CREDIT National Archives and Records Administration

A US Marine charges in the face of intense enemy fire during the Battle of Iwo Jima (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)

"Marines who have carried the colours of combat since 1945 have been inspired by the spirit of Iwo Jima and that spirit will continue to inspire marines in every time and place for generations to come."

The fall of Iwo Jima severely damaged Japanese morale and played a crucial part in the country's eventual defeat on 15 August 1945.