Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

The Battle of Iwo Jima


26,038. That’s how many wounded, missing, or killed Americans in the battle of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima, which means Sulfur Island, was very important as an air base for fighter escorts making long-range bombing missions against Japan - (First paragraph of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz). The tiny island had taken America over one month to take. The Marines lost 6,891 men killed and 18,070 wounded. Out of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, only 212 were taken prisoners. Although it was a long battle, the U.S.A. prevailed on March 26, 1945.
Just south of Japan lies a small but critical island during WWII. This island is called Iwo Jima. The U.S.A. invaded this land for a close landing and refueling strip for planes to bomb Japan. The other islands were too far away to reach Japan and back, thus leading them to take Iwo Jima. The attack began on February 29, 1945. The U.S. Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Army launched an attack on the island to get them at all angles. 70,000 marines reached the shore protected with B-29 Super Fortresses.
A B-29 Super Fortress, A.K.A. the weapon that won the war in the Pacific, was designed to carry large bombs loads long distances. It had a 3,700 mile range and originally used for fighting over Europe but then switched to mainly Japan. The 340 gallon behemoth carrying 20,000 pounds of bombs was a great advantage during Iwo Jima.
Some other new weapons or vehicles were also used in Iwo Jima. M2 Flamethrower, “Bazookas”, and Browning machine guns are all examples of fairly new guns used at Iwo Jima.
Iwo Jima was also an uphill battle. Any uphill battle is hard for the troops at the bottom and easy for the troops at the top. Too bad we were at the bottom, but that didn’t matter because we still seeked revenge from Pearl Harbor. Even though we suffered more casualties, our perseverance paid off in the end. Again, we had more casualties because of the uphill battle because the enemy can just aim down the...

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