America’s 250th: Beyond the photograph - The real cost of Iwo Jima

When Americans think of World War II in the Pacific, one image almost always comes to mind: six men struggling to raise a heavy flagpole atop a rocky mountain. This photograph, taken on Mount Suribachi, is perhaps the most famous picture in military history. Looking at the flag flying over the island, an observer might assume the battle was won. In reality, when that flag went up on February 23, 1945, the Battle of Iwo Jima was just getting started. The vast majority of the fighting, and the majority of the dying, happened after the photographer packed up his camera.

To truly understand Iwo Jima, one must look at the numbers. The battle began on February 19, 1945. By the time the flag was raised on the fifth day of the battle, the Marines had already suffered terribly. Approximately 6,000 Marines were casualties—killed or wounded—just to capture the southern tip of the island where Mount Suribachi stood. It was a heavy price, but it was only the down payment.

The Marines who cheered when they saw the Stars and Stripes go up didn't know it, but they were about to face a month of the most brutal combat in human history. When the battle for Iwo Jima finally ended in late March, the total American casualties had risen to roughly 26,000, with over 6,800 killed. This means that approximately 20,000 American casualties occurred after the famous flag-raising moment.

The reason for this was the enemy's unique strategy. The Japanese commander, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, was not a typical officer. He had spent time in the United States before the war and knew that America possessed superior industrial strength. He realized that he could not defeat the U.S. Navy and Marines on the beaches. Instead, he decided to make them pay for every inch of ground. Kuribayashi broke with Japanese tradition; he forbade the "banzai" suicide charges that had wasted Japanese lives in earlier battles.

Instead, he built a fortress beneath the surface. He and his engineers constructed 11 miles of underground tunnels, connecting 1,500 defensive positions. These weren't just holes in the ground; they were reinforced-concrete bunkers, command posts and hospitals, buried deep within the volcanic rock. When the massive American naval bombardment hit the island before the invasion, the Japanese soldiers waited underground, safe from the explosions.

This created a terrifying battlefield for the Marines. As they advanced north after taking Suribachi, they entered the "Meat Grinder." They rarely saw the enemy. Japanese soldiers would pop out of spider holes to fire, then vanish back into the tunnels to reappear elsewhere. The Marines had to use flamethrowers and tanks to burn the defenders out of the caves one by one. It was slow, terrifying and deadly work.

In this environment, "uncommon valor" truly became a common virtue, as Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz famously said. This valor was displayed by the Americans, who kept moving forward despite seeing their friends fall by the thousands. Twenty-seven Marines and Navy Corpsmen were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions on Iwo Jima, the highest number for any single battle in U.S. history.

However, we must also recognize the uncommon valor on the other side. The Japanese defenders knew they were not going home. They had no air support and no hope of rescue. Yet, they fought with incredible discipline. Of the approximately 21,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, only about 216 were taken prisoner; the rest fought until they were killed. General Kuribayashi himself is believed to have led a final attack before dying, refusing to surrender to the very end.

The photograph of the flag raising is an inspiring symbol. Still, it must never be forgotten that it was but the beginning of the battle. The black sands of Iwo Jima hold the blood of 20,000 casualties sustained after the photo that paid the price for the actual victory.

Semper Fi Marines!