On February 19, 1945, 30,000 US Marines land on the battered fortress island of Iwo Jima and wage four days of some of the war’s bloodiest fighting, planting the American flag on the peak of Mt.

Suribachi on February 23.

When the US forces finally secure the island in mid-March, they do so with only 200 Japanese prisoners; the rest of the defenders lie dead.

The Americans prepare to move on Okinawa.