Iwo Jima Flag raised on Mt. Suribachi February 23 rd.

1. The assault began with shelling of the island from ships at sea.

2. Next, 120 planes strafe the island with napalm and gunfire.

3. 60,000 Marines conduct amphibious landing on island.

Japanese used kamikaze attacks on offshore ships.

1.Japanese were hidden in underground tunnels & caves. 2.Japanese told not to surrender. 3.Marines lured into pill box nests and fired upon.

Flamethrowers and grenades used to clear tunnels. Japanese lost 21,570 men. 6,821 U.S. Marine KIA. Battle raged for 36 days. Valued as an airstrip 625 miles southwest of Tokyo. Convinced the U.S. that an invasion of the mainland would not be easy.

1945 Over 137 million sold Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications and winning the Pulitzer Prize for photography. It came to be regarded in the United States as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war.

Of the six men depicted in the picture, three: 1. Franklin Sousley 2.Harlon Block 3.Michael Strank were killed during the battle; the three survivors: 1.John Bradley 2.Rene Gagnon 3.Ira Hayes became celebrities upon their identification in the photo.