This day in history commemorates the 79th anniversary of the opening of the battle of Iwo Jima. As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I present the following to you:
On this day in 1945, the 5th Amphibious Corps, which to date is still the largest combat landing in the history of the US Marines, launched the historic attack on the imperial Japanese Forces that defended the island. In anticipation of what would be necessary to prevail, the size of the entire US Marine Corps was increased in the months leading up to the epic battle.
It also marked the first time during World War II that Allied combatants landed on sovereign Japanese soil. All of the previous such amphibious landings in the Pacific region, the so-called ”Island-Hopping Campaign” in that war, had taken place where the Japanese had invaded, captured, and occupied territories as opposed to being places that had already belonged to Japan.
The battle of Iwo Jima is also where one of the most famous pictures of World War II was taken:
Iwo = Sulphur
Jima = Island
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One half of it means island, the other half names which one it is.
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Believe me, I know the entire story of the original photo and the final photo. I love knowing about history and all of its twists and turns.
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Shuhak 