Iwo Jima << EE woh JEE muh >> , Battle of, was fought between United States and Japanese forces during World War II (1939-1945). Iwo Jima (now Iwo To) is a volcanic island about 750 miles (1,210 kilometers) south of Japan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The capture of Iwo Jima was of great strategic importance to U.S. forces in the final stages of the war with Japan.
In 1945, the 8-square-mile (21-square-kilometer) island of Iwo Jima was defended by about 21,000 Japanese troops. On February 19, after a lengthy bombardment by U.S. warships and bombers, U.S. Marines hit the island’s black sand beaches. The Japanese fought desperately from camouflaged pits, from caves, from trees, and from concrete bunkers. The Marines made slow progress, eventually taking the island and its vital airfields.
The famous U.S. flag-raising on Mount Suribachi occurred on February 23. However, desperate fighting dragged on into April. It was the bloodiest battle in U.S. Marine Corps history, with about 25,000 casualties, including nearly 7,000 killed in action. Just over 200 of the Japanese defenders survived. The fighting was savage, and 22 Marines and 5 sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor—the highest military decoration awarded by the U.S. government.
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As U.S. forces secured the island, American fighter planes began using Iwo Jima’s airstrips, allowing them to protect bombers flying missions over Japan. In the coming months, Iwo Jima also served as an emergency landing site for some 2,250 B-29 Superfortress bombers.
The United States controlled the island until 1968, when it was returned to Japan. In 2007, the Japanese government officially renamed the island Iwo To, a name the islanders used before World War II. Iwo To and Iwo Jima both mean Sulfur Island. Before the war, people mined sulfur there.
