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Roy Exum: Our Flag At Iwo Jima Wednesday, February 24, 2021 - by Roy Exum
Roy Exum
This morning marks the 76
th anniversary of the sun coming up on Mount Suribachi and, as it lit the dawn, every warrior in one of the most merciless battles in the Pacific theater could see the American flag on the crest of the 554-feet-tall hill. The battle to secure the island was perhaps the most intense fighting in World War II.
Almost 7,000 Marines and Navy Seabees were killed on the heavily fortified 8-square-mile island between February 19 and March 26 in 1945 while the Japanese lost approximately - get this number 28,000. (Remember, in just five weeks!) Only 214 of the enemy were able to surrender after five weeks of horrors, with as many as 3,000 Japanese hiding in the 11 miles of tunnels on the three-by-five-mile island.
6 reasons the Battle of Iwo Jima is so important to US Marines Blake Stilwell ,
But the battle had significance for the Marine Corps for more than just its brutality.
No historical account of World War II would be complete without covering the Battle of Iwo Jima.
At first glance, it seems similar to many other battles that happened late in the Pacific War: American troops fiercely fought their way through booby traps, Banzai charges and surprise attacks while stalwart dug-in Japanese defenders struggled against overwhelming US power in the air, on land and by sea.
For the United States Marine Corps, however, the Battle of Iwo Jima was more than one more island in a string of battles in an island-hopping campaign. The Pacific War was one of the most brutal in the history of mankind, and nowhere was that more apparent than on Iwo Jima in February 1945.
6 Reasons Why the Battle of Iwo Jima Is So Important to Marines
In this Feb. 23, 1945, file photo, Marines with the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Japan. (AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal)
No historical account of World War II would be complete without covering the Battle of Iwo Jima.
At first glance, it seems similar to many other battles that happened late in the Pacific War: American troops fiercely fought their way through booby traps, Banzai charges and surprise attacks while stalwart dug-in Japanese defenders struggled against overwhelming U.S. power in the air, on land and by sea.
Marine Who Witnessed Iwo Jima Flag-Raising Dies Before Battle s 76th Anniversary
Elwood Woody Hughes, who died Feb. 2, 2021 at age 95, landed on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 22, 1945, the day before the flag-raising. (Elk Grove High School)
16 Feb 2021
A Marine who was present for the Battle of Iwo Jima s history-making flag-raising has died days before the battle s 76th anniversary.
Elwood Woody Hughes died Feb. 2 at age 95, the Daily Herald newspaper reported. Hughes, of Illinois, landed on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 22, 1945, the day before the flag-raising. He was a private first class at the time, who had joined the Corps in 1943 and had served under legendary Marine Corps Gen. H.M. Howlin Mad Smith, known as the father of U.S. amphibious warfare.