This month marks the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle Iwo Jima which saw some of the bloodiest fighting in World War II. In a photo special, Reuters looks at the battle and its aftermath…
This month marks the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Iwo Jima, which saw some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II take place on a small Japanese island 1,200 kilometres south of Tokyo.
Iwo Jima was the first native Japanese soil to be invaded during the Allied advance. Located halfway between Tokyo and Guam, it was regarded as a strategic outpost. Close to 7,000 US Marines and nearly all of the 21,000 Japanese defenders of the island died during the 36-day battle.
The flags of US and Japan are hoisted as participants attend a memorial service jointly held by Japan and the United States to mark the 70th anniversary of one of World War II’s bloodiest and most symbolic battles on the remote island of Iwo Jima, which is now officially called Iwo To in Japan, south of Tokyo, on 21st March, 2015. PICTURE: Reuters/Pool/File Photo
The Japanese troops held the heavily fortified island for more than a month, supported by a network of bunkers and tunnels and hidden artillery positions.
From 19th February, 1945, more than 500 warships and 1,000 warplanes from the US navy and army pounded Iwo Jima so heavily that the shelling and bombing changed the shape of the island’s highest point, Mount Suribachi, located at its southern tip.
White phosphorus was used in the pre-invasion bombardment and US troops wielded flame-throwers during the battle.
Mount Suribachi was captured on 23rd February. A photograph of six US marines raising a US flag on the mountain, the second flag-raising that day, was taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal and won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography that year. It later formed the subject for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
Iwo Jima reverted from US to Japanese rule in 1968 and since then has housed about 400 Japanese navy and air force personnel who operate a landing strip. The runway is also used for night-landing practice by a Japan-based US aircraft carrier.
Joint US-Japan memorial services to mark the anniversary of the battle are held every year. In 1994, then Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the service, the first time a Japanese emperor had visited the island.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi became the first Japanese Prime Minister to attend the ceremonies in 2005.
US Marines covering the beach area at the south-east edge of Motoyama Airfield on Iwo Jima, 1945. PICTURE: Courtesy US National Archives/US Marine Corps Photograph/Sgt P Scheer/Handout via Reuters
US Marines pass the body of a Japanese soldier while under fire on Iwo Jima, 1945. PICTURE: Courtesy US Naval History and Heritage/US Marine Corps Photograph/Handout via Reuters
Wrecked US Marine vehicles litter an Iwo Jima beach, 1945. PICTURE: Courtesy US National Archives/US Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert M Warren/Handout via Reuters
US Marines raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, 1945. PICTURE: Courtesy US National Archives/US Marine Corps Photograph/Private Bob Campbell/Handout via Reuters
Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pays tribute to those who died in World War II during a ceremony in Iwo Jima, south of Tokyo, on 19th June, 2005. PICTURE: Reuters/Shuzo Shikano/Pool/File Photo
Dogtags and pins placed by United States soldiers decorate a signboard at the United States Marine Corps Landing Memorial on top of Mount Suribachi, Iwo-Jima, on 13th December, 2006, the site of a fierce battle between Japanese and United States forces for control of airfields on the island during World War II. PICTURE: Reuters/Michael Caronna/File Photo
Family members of soldiers who died in the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of World War II’s bloodiest and most symbolic battles, walk around a battery on the remote island of Iwo Jima, which is now officially called Iwo To in Japan, south of Tokyo, on 21st March, 2015, to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle. PICTURE: Reuters/Pool/File Photo
The Iwo Jima memorial is shown under cloudy skies in Arlington, Virginia, overlooking Washington, DC, on 23rd February, 2005. PICTURE: Reuters/Jason Reed/File Photo
