50 Fun Facts About Iwo Jima

In which year was the battle fought?

It ran from 19 February to 26 March, two months before the even larger fight for Okinawa.

What was the codename of the American invasion?

Its objective was the island's two airfields, South Field and Central Field.

The famous flag-raising took place on the summit of which peak?

The tunnel linking it to the rest of the island was never finished, so Kuribayashi ran it as a semi-independent sector.

Which Associated Press photographer took the famous flag-raising picture?

It was reprinted in thousands of publications and is possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time.

How tall is the volcano at the island's southern tip?

Its heavy guns sat behind reinforced steel doors that opened to fire and shut again before counter-fire arrived.

Which lieutenant general commanded the Japanese defence of the island?

He knew he could not win and aimed instead to make an invasion of Japan itself look too costly to attempt.

Of about 21,000 Japanese defenders, roughly how many were taken prisoner?

Some were captured only because they had been knocked unconscious; 3,000 or more kept resisting in caves afterwards.

How many kilometres of tunnels had the defenders dug by the time of the landings?

The plan called for 27 km; barracks and command posts sat 75 feet below ground.

Uniquely among Pacific island landings, how did the American toll compare with the Japanese?

The ratio was three American casualties for every two Japanese, though Japanese deaths were still three times American deaths.

On what date did the first wave of Marines land?

They came ashore at 08:59, one minute ahead of schedule, on a clear morning after days of poor weather.

On what date was the island officially declared secure?

An earlier 'secure' announcement on 16 March came while Kuribayashi's main stronghold in a northern gorge still held out.

General Schmidt wanted a ten-day bombardment; how many days did Admiral Blandy allow?

Blandy wanted time to replenish his ships' ammunition; the Marines resented the decision for years.

Which admiral, aboard USS Indianapolis, was overall commander of the invasion?

Mitscher's Task Force 58 carriers had been bombing the Japanese home islands instead of softening up the defences.

Which Marine general, nicknamed 'Howlin' Mad', commanded the Expeditionary Troops?

Reading the first day's casualty reports he called the unknown Japanese commander 'one smart bastard'.

Six Navajo code talkers handled how many error-free messages in the first two days?

Their signal officer said that without the Navajos the Marines would never have taken the island.

What loose material on the beaches stopped Marines digging foxholes or finding footing?

Amtracs could not climb it either, so Seabees bulldozed roads off the beach under fire.

Which regiment cut across the island's narrowest point on day one to isolate Suribachi?

They were led by Colonel Harry 'Harry the Horse' Liversedge.

How wide is the island at the narrowest point the Marines crossed on the first day?

Cutting the neck of the island left the Suribachi garrison connected to the rest only by tunnel.

What traditional Japanese night tactic did Kuribayashi forbid as a futile waste of men?

He did not get his way entirely: a local commander launched one on 8 March and lost 784 men.

The eight flamethrower-equipped Sherman tanks were nicknamed after what?

'Ronson' and 'Zippo' tanks were hard to disable and forced defenders into the open to attack them.

The famous photograph shows which of the day's flag-raisings on Suribachi?

A larger flag was sent up to replace the first, smaller one that afternoon.

The first flag on Suribachi was hoisted on what improvised pole?

It was the first foreign flag ever to fly on Japanese soil.

Which Marine photographer shot the first, smaller flag going up on Suribachi?

He was the only photographer who climbed with Lieutenant Schrier's patrol.

Which Navy Secretary, landing below Suribachi, wanted the first flag as a souvenir?

The battalion commander thought the flag belonged to his men, which is why a replacement went up.

The flag photograph is the only one to win which award in the same year it was published?

The image later became a bronze memorial near Washington.

Who sculpted the 1954 Marine Corps War Memorial based on the photograph?

It was dedicated on 10 November 1954, the Marine Corps' birthday.

How many of the six flag-raisers in the photograph were killed in action days later?

Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block and Private First Class Franklin Sousley all died on the island.

Which surviving flag-raiser toured selling war bonds with Gagnon and Bradley?

Later inquiries found that neither Gagnon nor Bradley was actually in the picture.

A 2016 Marine Corps inquiry concluded which man, not John Bradley, was in the photograph?

A 2019 inquiry then found Harold Keller had been misidentified as Rene Gagnon.

Which escort carrier sunk off the island was the last U.S. aircraft carrier lost in the war?

It went down in the battle's only kamikaze attack, taking 20 Wildcats and 11 Avengers with it.

Which carrier was damaged so badly by kamikazes that it became a night-fighter training ship?

She lost 132 men and 40 aircraft and took no further part in combat or transport duties.

What did Marines call the complex of Hill 382, Turkey Knob and the Amphitheater?

Cleared positions were reoccupied through the tunnels, so the Marines 'could take these heights at will, and then regret it'.

General Erskine's 9th Marines seized Hill 362 using what unusual tactic?

The Japanese had learned to expect a bombardment before every assault; many were killed still asleep.

The final Japanese counterattack on 25 March was notable for being conducted how?

If Kuribayashi led it himself, as some survivors said, he was the highest-ranking Japanese officer to lead an attack in the war.

The last two Japanese holdouts on the island surrendered in which year?

Yamakage Kōfuku and Matsudo Rikio lasted four years in the caves before giving up on 6 January.

Which U.S. Army regiment spent three months clearing holdouts after the island was secured?

The Ohioans killed some 1,602 Japanese soldiers and captured 867 for the loss of 15 of their own.

American casualties in the 36-day assault numbered more than how many?

About 6,800 of them were dead; Okinawa two months later cost over 62,000 casualties.

How many Marines received the Medal of Honor for the battle?

Twelve were posthumous; five sailors also received it, four of them hospital corpsmen.

Which veteran of the battle was the last living WWII Medal of Honor holder at his 2022 death?

The battle's medals made up 28 per cent of the 82 awarded to Marines in the whole war.

How many B-29 landings on the island were recorded during the war?

Most were for routine refuelling or training; in June 1945 none of 800-plus landings was for combat damage.

What was the first B-29 to make an emergency landing on the island, on 4 March?

It landed on South Field under fire, was refuelled and took off again while the battle was still on.

Japan's early-warning radar kept reporting B-29s from which island that was never invaded?

That undercut one of the main reasons given for taking the island at all.

Which retired Chief of Naval Operations called the island 'useless' to both Army and Navy?

He wrote it in Newsweek in April 1945, while the cost was still being counted.

The Marine Corps War Memorial stands next to which burial ground?

Marines still make pilgrimages to the island itself and leave dog tags and insignia at the summit of Suribachi.

The joint US-Japanese 'Reunion of Honor' began on which anniversary of the landings?

Veterans of both sides met on the landing beach in 1985 and shook hands at a memorial inscribed in both languages.

Which U.S. state marks Iwo Jima Day each year with a ceremony at its State House?

It is observed on 19 February, the anniversary of the landings.

Which Time-Life correspondent described the landing as 'a nightmare in hell'?

The Japanese held fire for just over an hour while the beach filled up, then opened up all at once.

Why were there no civilian casualties on the island?

That set it apart from Saipan and Okinawa, where civilians suffered heavily.

Kuribayashi drew his defence-in-depth plan from tactics used in which earlier battle?

Instead of contesting the beach he built mutually supporting positions linked by tunnels.

American intelligence was confident the island would fall in how long?

Planners at Pearl Harbor had called the beaches 'excellent' and the push inland 'easy'.