Flags Of Our Fathers

Most noticeable, as this speck of land came into view, was a “mountain” on its southern end. Rising more than five hundred feet, Mt. Suribachi is a dormant volcano. Inside it, as the American ships approached, were dug-in, heavily armed Japanese defenders.

Allied forces had already experienced deadly encounters with Japanese soldiers on other Pacific islands. But Iwo Jima would be significantly worse.

This piece of windswept land, totaling eight square miles, was special to the Emperor and his people. This island was actually part of Japan. And no foreign invader had set foot on Japanese soil in thousands of years.

Iwo Jima, as the Marines soon learned, would be a fight to the death.