Cpl. Harlon Block, USMC, November 6, 1924 - March 1, 1945

Place of birth Weslaco, Texas
Place of death Iwo Jima island
Allegiance USMC
Years of service 1943-1945
Rank Corporal
Unit 28th Marines
Battles/wars Battle of Iwo Jima

Block was born in Yorktown, Texas, the eldest of the four sons of Edward ("Ed") Frederick Block and Ada Belle ("Belle") Block, a family of Seventh day-Adventists. In hopes of improving the family farming fortunes, the Block family moved to Weslaco, a small town in the middle of the Rio Grande Valley. Block was an outgoing daredevil with many friends at Weslaco High School. A natural athlete, Block led the Weslaco Panther Football Team to the Conference Championship. He was honored as "All South Texas End."

Block and twelve of his teammates enlisted in the Marine Corps through the Selective Service System at San Antonio on February 18, 1943. After basic training in San Diego, he took parachute training and qualifying as a Paramarine, and was promoted to Private First Class, on May 22, 1943.

He was sent to the Pacific, and arrived at New Caledonia on November 15, 1943, where he joined the Headquarters and Service Company of the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, I Marine Amphibious Corps. He fought on Bougainville after landing there on 21 December. He returned to San Diego, where the Marine Parachute Regiment was disbanded on February 29, 1944. He joined Company E, 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, and was promoted corporal on October 27, 1944.

Block landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, and was involved in the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. As a corporal, he was second-in-command of his squad to Sgt. Mike Strank at Iwo Jima. He idolized Strank, and as written in the book "Flags of Our Fathers", he followed Strank without question. Block took over the leadership of his squad when Sgt. Strank was killed, but Block was himself killed by a mortar blast just hours later on the same day, March 1, as the squad attacked toward Nishi Ridge.

After the battle, there was controversy as to the identity of the Marine who planted the flag in the famous photograph of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima. When his mother saw Joe Rosenthal's iconic flag raising photograph in the Weslaco newspaper on February 25, just two days after the photo was taken, she immediately exclaimed, "That's Harlon", pointing to the figure on the far right. However, Rene Gagnon mistakenly identified the figure as Sergeant Hank Hansen of Boston, another Paramarine who was involved in the first flag-raising earlier that day, but who was not included in the famous photograph. John Bradley concurred with Gagnon at that time.

Belle never wavered in her belief that it was Harlon insisting, "I know my boy", but no one believed her. Some eighteen months later, a Congressional investigation revealed that it was indeed Block and not Hansen in the photograph. Fellow Paramarine Ira Hayes was instrumental in proving Block's involvement in the famous photo, and in the end, both Gagnon and Bradley agreed that "it could be Block." In fact, Hayes had told Marine officials that the sixth flag raiser was Block, but since the Marines had already made announcements that Hansen had been identified, he was told not to make waves.

Block was originally buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, and then re-interred in Weslaco in January 1949. His body was moved in 1995 to a burial place near to the Iwo Jima Monument in Harlingen, Texas, near the Marine Military Academy.

Source: Isn't Wikipedia grand?

Sgt. Michael Strank, USMC, November 10, 1919 - March 1, 1945

Sergeant Michael Strank (in Rusyn: Mykhal Strenk; in Slovak: Michal Strenk) (November 10, 1919 – March 1, 1945) was a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was photographed raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The leader of the group in the famous picture was Strank, who got the order to climb Mt. Suribachi to lay telephone wire. Accompanying him were CPL Harlon Block, PFC Ira Hayes and PFC Franklin Sousley. About halfway up the mountain, they were joined by PFC Rene Gagnon, who was carrying a larger flag to the summit to replace the smaller one which had been raised earlier in the day. Upon reaching the summit, Strank took the flag from Gagnon, and explained to Lieutenant Harold Schrier that "Colonel Johnson wants this big flag run up high so every son of a bitch on this whole cruddy island can see it." Strank, along with his aforementioned men and Navy Corpsman John Bradley (who was already on the summit of Mt. Suribachi), raised the second flag.

Michael Strank was born in Jarabina, a small Rusyn-inhabited village in Slovakia. He was the son of Vasil Strenk and Marta Grofikova, natives of Czechoslovakia (his father was also known as Charles Strank). His father moved to Franklin Borough in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, found work in a steel mill and brought his family over when he had enough money to pay for the trip.

He attended the schools of Franklin Borough, Pennsylvania and graduated from high school in 1937. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps where he remained for 18 months and then became a highway laborer for the state.

Michael Strank enlisted in the regular Marine Corps for four years at Pittsburgh on October 6, 1939. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island where, after completing recruit training in December, Private Strank was transferred to Headquarters Company, Post Troops, at the same base. Transferred to Provisional Company W at Parris Island on January 17, 1941, Strank, now a Private First Class, sailed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arriving on the 23rd. Strank was assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Brigade (on 1 February, the 1st Marine Brigade was later redesignated the 1st Marine Division). On April 8, now assigned to Company K, he returned to the States and proceeded to MCRD Parris Island. In September, Strank moved with the division to New River, North Carolina. He was promoted to Corporal on April 23, 1941, and was advanced to Sergeant on January 26, 1942.

With 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, early in April 1942, he journeyed cross-country to San Diego, California, from whence he sailed on the 12th. On May 31, 1942, he landed on Uvea, largest of the Wallis Islands. In September, after a short tenure with the 22nd Marines, he was transferred to the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, also at Uvea. With the Raiders, he participated in the landing operations and occupation of Pavuvu Island in the Russell Islands from February 21 until March 18, and in the seizure and occupation of the Empress Augusta Bay during the Battle of Bougainville from November 1 until January 12, 1944. On February 14, he was returned to San Diego for rest and reassignment.

On return from leave, Sergeant Strank was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. After extensive training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and in Hawaii, Strank was placed in command of a squad, and landed with them on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was instructed by a commanding officer to hoist a larger flag on top of Mount Suribachi so that it could be seen at great distance. While doing this, he and the other five men were photographed in mid-action. The photo was later titled Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, and has since became the most copied photograph in history.

By the end of March, three of the six men in the photograph had been killed in action, including Strank, never knowing the impact the photograph would have stateside. Another of the six, John Bradley, had been wounded in action and sent out of the battle zone.

After the fall of Mount Suribachi, he moved northward with his unit. Fighting was heavy, and both the Japanese and the American forces were taking heavy casualties. On 1 March, his squad came under heavy fire, and took cover. While forming a plan of attack, he was killed by artillery fire. It was most likely friendly fire from an offshore U.S Navy destroyer. Cpl Harlon Block, who looked up to Strank as all of his squad did, took over command, but also was killed just hours later. Mike Strank was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery with the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church. On 13 January 1949, his remains were reinterred in Grave 7179, Section 12, Arlington National Cemetery. Michael Strank had two brothers, and one of them, Peter Strank, was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin in the South Pacific when Michael was killed.

On the DVD documentary "Heroes of Iwo Jima", and in the book "Flags of Our Fathers", Strank is described as bigger than life. Sgt Mike Strank's squad idolized him, and many men since who served along side him have stated he had a way of setting them at ease, making them feel that he could help them survive the war. Of the men photographed raising the flag on Iwo Jima, Strank was the oldest and most experienced in combat. In interviews conducted years later, many documented in the book "Flags of Our Fathers" written by James Bradley, he is described by men who served with him as "a Marine's Marine", a true warrior and leader, who led his men by example. He often told his men, "Follow me, and I'll try to bring you all safely home to your mothers". One former Marine who served with Strank stated "He was the kind of Marine you read about, the kind they make movies about". Another stated "He was the finest man I ever knew". Cpl Harlon Block idolized Strank, and followed his every instruction without question. L.B. Holly, who served in his squad and who was with him when he died, stated of Strank that "He was the best Marine I ever knew".

Since he was killed in action, Strank never knew the impact of the photo taken on Iwo Jima. Of those who survived the battle who did see the impact, only one, John Bradley, lived to an old age (70). Bradley avoided the fame that being a flag raiser brought him throughout his lifetime, with his family only discovering he'd earned the Navy Cross on Iwo Jima after his death. Ira Hayes had numerous brushes with law enforcement, serious alcohol problems, and suffered greatly from shell shock, died in 1955 at the age of thirty-two. Rene Gagnon enjoyed the fame for a time, always believing it would eventually bring wealth, but in later life became uncomfortable with it, only taking part in celebrations of the event at the urging of his wife, who also craved the limelight. Gagnon died of a heart attack at fifty-four, in 1979, only days after complaining to his son that he felt there was "no escape" from his uncomfortable life and fame.

from Wikipedia

PFC Franklin Sousley, USMC KIA March 21, 1945

Place of birth Hilltop, Kentucky
Place of death KIA on Iwo Jima
Allegiance USMC
Rank Private First Class
Unit 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
Battles/wars Battle of Iwo Jima
Awards Purple Heart

Sousley was born in Hilltop, Kentucky, to parents Duke and Goldie Sousley as the middle child of three sons. When Franklin was three, his five-year-old brother died of appendicitis. Franklin attended a two-room schoolhouse in the nearby town of Elizaville, and another brother, Julian, was born in May of 1933. Just a year later, Franklin's father died of diabetes at age 35. Only nine years of age, Franklin now found himself the man of the family, keeping his mother's spirits up with his sense of humor and easygoing personality.

Sousley received his draft notice at eighteen and decided to become a U.S. Marine. After extensive training, he eventually found himself as part of the U.S. 5th Marine Division landing force in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Together with John Bradley, Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, and Michael Strank, he helped raise a replacement flag on Mount Suribachi, immortalized along with the others in Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph.

The importance of the photograph as a propaganda tool was recognized immediately, and word had been sent that Sousley was to be brought back to America for a publicity tour along with John Bradley and Rene Gagnon (at that time Gagnon, under threat from Ira Hayes, had not revealed Hayes' participation in the flagraising). According to Shadow of Suribachi: Raising The Flags on Iwo Jima by Parker Bishop Albee, Jr. and Keller Cushing Freeman, when the word reached Iwo Jima, Sousley was on a dangerous part of the island, and his company commander, Captain Dave Severance, decided it was safer to leave him where he was than attempt an extrication under the conditions.

According to James Bradley's Flags of Our Fathers, on March 21, 1945, PFC Sousley was shot in the back by a Japanese sniper while walking down the middle of an open road on the nearly-secured island. He was nineteen years old. A fellow Marine saw Sousley lying on the ground and asked, "How bad are you hit?" Sousley's reply (and last words) were reportedly, "Not bad, I can't feel a thing." Originally buried on the island of Iwo Jima, his body was reinterred on May 8, 1947, in Elizaville Cemetery, Kentucky.

Portrayal in film
In the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, Sousley is portrayed by Joseph Cross.

In the 1961 film The Outsider, Sousley's role in the flagraising is given to a fictional character named James B. Sorenson, played by James Franciscus.

from Wikipedia

3rd Marine Division e-book

This e-book is the battle of Iwo Jima as described in the official records of the 3rd Marine Division. It is composed of the after action reports filed by the units of the Third Marine Division after the battle. It included battalion and regimental daily summaries of the 9th and 21st Marine Regiments along with the Division level daily summaries and war diary. It is the battle of Iwo Jima as described by the 3rd Marine Division. The introduction comes from CINCPAC CINCPOA Bulletin 135-45 offered above. Format PDF . Price $5.00 (Order this book from e-bookstand)

Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Iwo Jima - The Photograph

The six flag raisers in the picture are (left to right) Pfc Ira Hayes, Pfc Franklin Sousley, Sgt Michael Strank, Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John H Bradley, Pfc Rene A Gagnon and Cpl Harlon H Block. Sousley, Strank and Block were tragically killed on Iwo Jima.


The picture of the Stars and Stripes*=

The picture of the Stars and Stripes being raised on Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945 is one of the most famous pictures of World War Two. It was taken by Associated Press photographer, Joe Rosenthal. There has always been speculation as to its authenticity as it was in fact the second flag raised that day, and a statement by Rosenthal himself, saying that he had taken a posed photograph on the summit that day.

In a letter to the author Derrick Wright, Rosenthal pointed him to the account he gave in 1955 of the incident (recounted in The Battle for Iwo Jima 1945, Appendix 2). He was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines and landed on Iwo Jima around noon of D-Day. He was to remain on Iwo for eleven days taking some sixty-five photographs, occasionally returning to the USS Eldorado to write captions and dispatch photos via the daily seaplane to Guam. After taking a photograph of 'Howlin' Mad' Smith and Secretary of the Navy James V Forrestal looking towards the beach, Rosenthal boarded an LCT with Bill Hipple, a magazine correspondent. Upon reaching the beach they were told that a patrol from the 28th Marines was due to go up Suribachi with a flag, following other patrols that had gone up earlier. When the two reached the 28th Marines Command Post they were informed that the patrol had already left. Already there were Bob Campbell, a combat photographer and Sergeant Bill Genaust, a cine photographer. The group set off, pausing occasionally while Marines fought by-passed Japanese emplacements.

They met Lou Lowery, a photographer for Leatherneck, who informed them that the flag had already been raised at 10.20am on a piece of pipe from the wrecked Japanese radar station and that he had taken a photograph. The flag was from the USS Missoula and had been carried by the Battalion Adjutant. Rosenthal decided to carry on and take a photograph anyway. As they reached the summit, they saw the flag flying and a group of Marines dragging a much longer piece of pipe. When asked what they were doing, they responded that they were going to hoist a much larger Stars and Stripes up on this longer piece of pipe and keep the other as a souvenir. This flag had come from LST 779, which was beached near the base of the volcano and was given to the Marines by Ensign Alan Wood, confirmed in a letter to Derrick Wright. Colonel Dave Severence (at the time a Captain in E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines) also confirmed that Rosenthal had followed the detail up Mount Suribachi and not gone up with them and was not aware of the second flag until he arrived. Rosenthal thought about getting a shot of the two flags together but couldn't get a clear enough shot, and it was Bob Campbell who managed to snap the event. He decided he would snap the moment of the second flag going up and backed off around thirty-five feet. Unfortunately, the ground sloped away quite sharply and his view was blocked at that distance, being only 5' 5" tall. He made use of a sandbag and some stones to make a platform and set his camera between f8 and f11 at a speed of 1/400 second. Bill Genaust took up position just to his right with a cine camara, shouting to Rosenthal that the Marines had started to raise the flag. Both men took their shots. Afterwards, Rosenthal took a number of other photos (including a posed one of the Marines cheering around the flag). Rosenthal looked at his watch for the first time when he reached the 28th Marines' Command Post.

It was a little after 13.00. Rosenthal subsequently packed them off to Guam with some captions, where they were processed by Picture Pool Coordinator Murray Befeler and sent to the US mainland, where the flag-raising picture became a sensation. Rosenthal didn't see it until some nine days after it was taken when he returned to Guam. A correspondent walked up to him and congratulated him on the shot. The correspondent asked if he had posed it, Rosenthal confirming that he had, thinking that the guy was referring to the photograph of the Marines waiving and cheering. Another correspondent came up to him with the photo of the flag going up and Rosenthal was quite taken aback but corrected his mistake by pointing out that he hadn't posed that one.

The congratulations started, as did the misunderstandings as another correspondent only overheard the first part of the conversation and wrote that the picture was a posed one. Rosenthal was now a celebrity and on his return to the US met President Truman and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for photography. Even though the photograph was owned by Associated Press, they generously gave over all proceeds for ten years to the Navy Relief Society (over $12m).

The picture has become one of the most reproduced photographs of all time, with the final accolade being its reproduction by Felix de Weldon as a hundred ton bronze statue that stands at the northern end of Arlington National Cemetery as a memorial to the US Marine Corps. As Rosenthal himself says: "What difference does it make who took the picture? I took it, but the Marines took Iwo Jima."

Source

Blood Is Thicker Than Water: The Japanese Prepare

"I don't know who he is, but the Japanese General running this show is one smart bastard." Lt General Holland M Smith, Commander, Fleet Marine Force Pacific

The Japanese High Command had astutely noted the strategic importance of Iwo Jima as early as March 1944. They started to reinforce the island and diverted the 145th Infantry Regiment (Colonel Masuo Ikeda) that was originally intended to reinforce Saipan to the island before the American attack. They also sent the 109th Division, which consisted of the 2nd Mixed Brigade (Major General Sadasue Senda), 26th Tank Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel [Baron] Takeichi Nishi), 17th Mixed Infantry Regiment (Major Tamachi Fujiwara), divisional artillery brigade (Colonel Chosaku Kaido) as well as additional combat support battalions (anti-aircraft, artillery and machine gun). The naval force consisted mainly of anti-aircraft, communications, supply and engineering units, was commanded by Rear Admiral Toshinosuke Ichimaru (who also commanded the 27th Air Flotilla). The total garrison strength at the time of Operation Detachment was 21,060.

Lt General Tadamichi Kuribayashi had been assigned to command the garrison of Iwo Jima in May 1944. He had served in the United States as a deputy defence attaché and considered the USA the "last country in the world that Japan should fight." When he arrived he immediately began to reorganise the chaotic defences that were in place and with the arrival of additional troops and Korean labourers began a huge construction programme that included tunnels, caves, gun emplacements, pillboxes, bunkers and command posts, many of which were mutually supporting and linked by a vast underground communications system. Many were so well constructed that the intensive naval shelling and aerial bombing in the weeks before the attack simply failed to damage them. A lot of these fortifications were dug into the soft pumice-like volcanic rock, which mixed well with cement to provide additional reinforcement. Supply areas, ammunition stores and medical facilities were all constructed within the underground tunnel system and when the fighting was at its height, many Marines report hearing voices emanating from the ground below them. The tunnel system was so extensive that many of the troops that were defending Mount Suribachi managed to escape to the north before the volcano fell. Kuribayashi had studied traditional Japanese defensive tactics that emphasised halting the invader on the beach and realised that they had usually failed and the traditional 'banzai' charge, unless unleashed with care and precision, was a waste of men and resources. He looked at the tactics used by Lt General Sadae Inoue at Peleliu, who had abandoned the old style, and concentrated on a battle of attrition in order to wear down the enemy. Kuribayashi decided he too would adopt these tactics - the Americans would eventually take the islands but he would extract a fearful price. As the geography of Iwo Jima virtually dictated where the Marines would have to land (the only possible landing site being that already described), Kuribayashi set his defences accordingly. In addition, he acted on advice from his Staff Officer, Major Yoshitaka Horie to use the majority of anti-aircraft guns in the ground role as the Americans were bound to have such overwhelming air superiority that any guns that revealed themselves would be quickly destroyed. Many of his Staff Officers seem to have objected to this and used their anti-aircraft guns in both roles and many were put out of action quickly.

You might see some of this again in your student future!

Source

Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Operation Detachment: The Battle for Iwo Jima February - March 1945

"Victory was never in doubt. What was in doubt in all our minds was whether there would be any of us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end." Major General Graves B Erskine, Commander, 3rd Marine Division

Towards the end of 1944, the Allied forces were successfully pushing the Japanese back from their earlier conquests. In Burma, the British 14th Army had advanced across the Burma-Indian border and was pushing the Japanese Army down the Irrawaddy River, while the American advance across the Pacific had brought it to the inner ring of Japanese defences before the mainland. General Douglas MacArthur had advanced across the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and had invaded Leyte in the Philippines in October. The US Navy and Marine Corps under Admiral Chester Nimitz had continued their 'island hopping' campaign that had begun at Guadalcanal in 1942 and continued through Tarawa (1943), the Mariana Islands (1944), Peleliu (1944) and was to reach its climax at Okinawa (1945).

After the capture of the Mariana Islands, the US 20th Air Force could mount a large-scale campaign against the industrial centres of Japan. The only obstacle to this was the strategically important island of Iwo Jima that housed two airfields, with a third under construction, as well as a radar station that could give up to two hours warning of an impeding raid. The Air Force needed to eliminate the fighter threat to their bombers and neutralise the radar station there. The island would also be useful as a refuge for damaged aircraft returning from raids, as a base for air-sea rescue flying boats and for P-51 long-range fighters to escort the B-29 bombers. On 3rd October 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a directive to Admiral Nimitz to take Iwo Jima. The battle, which was described as the "most savage and costly battle in the history of the Marine Corps" (Lt Gen Holland M Smith), pitted three Marine divisions against 21,000 well-entrenched Japanese defenders.

The Americans Prepare
"It was an operation of one phase and one tactic . . . until the mission was completed it was a matter of frontal assault maintained with relentless pressure." Lt Gen Holland M Smith, Commander, Fleet Marine Force Pacific

The US invasion force would consist of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions from the US V Amphibious Corps under Major General Harry Schmidt with over 70,000 men, many of whom were veterans of previous battles. The plan called for the Marines to land on a two-mile stretch of beach on the southeast coast of the island between Mount Suribachi and the East Boat Basin. The beaches were divided into seven sections, each of 550 yards (503 metres).

The 3rd Marine Division sailed from Guam, which it had taken from the Japanese garrison in August 1944, while the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions sailed from Hawaii. While the invasion had been delayed twice by the huge requirements of General MacArthur's Philippines campaign, it had to be completed as quickly as possible to release resources for the invasion of Okinawa (Operation Iceberg), which was scheduled to begin on the 1st April 1945. On February 15th, the invasion force left Saipan and was soon spotted by Japanese naval patrol aircraft, which alerted the Iwo Jima garrison.

The American landings would take place on a two-mile stretch of beach between Mount Suribachi and the East Boat Basin on the southeast coast. The beaches were divided into seven landing zones, each of 550 yards (503 metres). Moving northeast from Mount Suribachi the beaches and the initial assault forces were:
Green Beach - 1st and 2nd Battalions, 28th Marine Regiment
Red Beach 1 - 2nd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment
Red Beach 2 - 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment
Yellow Beach 1 - 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment
Yellow Bach 2 - 2nd Battalion, 23rd Regiment
Blue Beach 1 - 1st and 3rd Battalions, 25th Marine Regiment
Blue Beach 2 - None

As Blue Beach 2 lay directly under known enemy gun positions in the Quarry, it was decided that both the 1st and 3rd Battalions, 25th Marine Regiment should land on Blue Beach 1. The 28th Marines would attack straight across the island from their landing zone and after reaching the northwest coast, turn southwest and isolate Mount Suribachi. They would then assault and secure it. The 27th Marines coming ashore on the Red Beaches would also drive northwest to the opposite coast but then turn northeast. The 23rd Marines would attack inland to capture Airfield No. 1 and then move northeast towards Airfield No. 2 while the 25th Marines would land and almost immediately move northeast to attack the high ground around the Quarry (see historical note below).

Historical Note: The Marine Corps does not distinguish the combat and combat support regiments by military occupational speciality, i.e. infantry, artillery, armour etc. They are all simply referred to as Marines.

Source

Japan's Iwo Jima Strategy

JAPANESE STRATEGY
General Kuribayashi, the Japanese Commander of Iwo Jima, was brilliant.

An aristocrat, he was educated in Canada and toured the US. In Japan, he was one of the few soldiers ever granted an audience by Emperor Hirohito. His preparations, fortifications and strategy were marvels in the history of warfare.

The Japanese strategy was unique for three reasons:
1. The Japanese didn't fight above ground. They fought the battle entirely from beneath the ground. They dug 1,500 rooms into the rock. These were connected with 16 miles of tunnels.
2. Japanese strategy called for "no Japanese survivors." They planned not to survive.
3. Japanese strategy was for each soldier to kill 10 Americans before they themselves are killed.


Both Japan and the US valued the sulfurous island Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima was Japanese home soil, part of Japan, only 650 miles from Tokyo. It was administered by the Tokyo metropolitan government. No foreign army in Japan's 5000 year history had trod on Japanese soil.

To the US, Iwo Jima's importance lay in its location, midway between Japan and American bomber bases in the Marianas.

Since the summer of 1944, the Japanese home islands had been reeling from strikes by the new, long range B-29's. The US, however, had no protective fighters with enough range to escort the big superfortresses. many bombers fell prey to Japanese fighter-interceptor attacks. Iwo, with its three airfields, was ideally located as a fighter-escort station. It was also an ideal sanctuary for crippled bombers returning from Japan.

In Tokyo months before the invasion, General Kuribayashi had been told "if America's casualties are high enough, Washington will think twice before launching another invasion against Japanese territory."

The Japanese strategy of "no Japanese survivors" is heroic Japanese stance is commonly glorified in Japanese historical novels, plays and movies. It touches at the heart of the Japanese sense of sacrifice of the individual for the greater good.

"You must not expect my survival," General Kuribayashi wrote to his wife long before the invasion came.

General Kuribayashi's command center had 5 ft. thick walls, a 10 ft. thick roof. This cement capsule was under 75 ft. of solid rock.


Source

Warming up for Iwo Jima

When the public first demanded a stamp commemorating the Flag Raising picture, the US Post Office initially rejected the idea out of hand. "No living person(s) can appear on a US stamp," they replied. But the public demand was so great that Congress pushed for the stamp. It was issued just five months after the Flag-Raising. On the day of issue, people stood patiently in lines stretching for city blocks on a sweltering July day in 1945 for a chance to buy the beloved stamp.
For many years, this was the biggest selling stamp in the history of the US Post Office. (Over 137 million sold.)

A retouched copy of the original photograph. Issued in 1995 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first Iwo Jima stamp.