Remembering Iwo Jima
70,000 U.S. Patriots…
It’s 1945, 77 years ago, and from February 19 through March 26, The Battle of Iwo Jima, or Operation Detachment, was fought for the capture of the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima.
Many only know about his event due to the photo Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima on February 23rd, by Joe Rosenthal from The Associated Press. 70,000 U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy corpsmen and others, and U.S. Army Air Forces airmen fought 18-25,000 Japanese (there is still controversy about the exact number).
In this one battle, we lost 6,821 soldiers, two captured and recovered and 19,217 wounded, with one escort carrier sunk.
There were 16,112,566 members of the United States Armed Forces during World War II. There were 291,557 battle deaths, 113,842 other deaths in service (non-theater), and 670,846 non-mortal woundings. In the Veteran Population Projection Model (VetPop2014), the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that 1,017,208 American veterans from the war were still alive as of September 9, 2014. More here on History.com.
Remembering Iwo Jima is only part of the WWII story; however, acknowledging this 77th Anniversary is another small way to keep these hero’s legacies alive. As you watch the above video, you quickly realize why those who fought are called “The Greatest Generation.”
Talk to any Veteran about their fight, sacrifice, and losses, and you’ll always be amazed at their humility and patriotism.