1945 : U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima
During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd
Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division take the crest of
Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and most strategic
position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery
was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for
control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and
several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger
flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met
them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along
with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.
Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which
showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the
heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and
won him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage
attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two
photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and
the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for
the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers
seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed
before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.
In early 1945, U.S. military command sought to gain control of the
island of Iwo Jima in advance of the projected aerial campaign against
the Japanese home islands. Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island located in
the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan, was to be a base for
fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. On
February 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial
bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed onto Iwo Jima's
inhospitable shores.
The Japanese garrison on the island numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched
men. Their commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had been
expecting an Allied invasion for months and used the time wisely to
construct an intricate and deadly system of underground tunnels,
fortifications, and artillery that withstood the initial Allied
bombardment. By the evening of the first day, despite incessant mortar
fire, 30,000 U.S. Marines commanded by General Holland Smith managed
to establish a solid beachhead.
During the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under
heavy fire from Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from
the Japanese infantry. Many of the Japanese defenders were never seen
and remained underground manning artillery until they were blown apart
by a grenade or rocket, or incinerated by a flame thrower.
While Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet
around Iwo Jima, the Marines on the island continued their bloody
advance across the island, responding to Kuribayashi's lethal defenses
with remarkable endurance. On February 23, the crest of 550-foot Mount
Suribachi was taken, and the next day the slopes of the extinct
volcano were secured.
By March 3, U.S. forces controlled all three airfields on the island,
and on March 26 the last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima were wiped
out. Only 200 of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders were captured
alive. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000
were wounded.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1945 : U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6816
1954 : Children receive first polio vaccine
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52410
1981 : Spanish rebels storm Parliament
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4782
##########################################
During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd
Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division take the crest of
Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and most strategic
position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery
was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for
control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and
several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger
flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met
them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along
with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.
Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which
showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the
heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and
won him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage
attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two
photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and
the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for
the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers
seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed
before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.
In early 1945, U.S. military command sought to gain control of the
island of Iwo Jima in advance of the projected aerial campaign against
the Japanese home islands. Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island located in
the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan, was to be a base for
fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. On
February 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial
bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed onto Iwo Jima's
inhospitable shores.
The Japanese garrison on the island numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched
men. Their commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had been
expecting an Allied invasion for months and used the time wisely to
construct an intricate and deadly system of underground tunnels,
fortifications, and artillery that withstood the initial Allied
bombardment. By the evening of the first day, despite incessant mortar
fire, 30,000 U.S. Marines commanded by General Holland Smith managed
to establish a solid beachhead.
During the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under
heavy fire from Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from
the Japanese infantry. Many of the Japanese defenders were never seen
and remained underground manning artillery until they were blown apart
by a grenade or rocket, or incinerated by a flame thrower.
While Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet
around Iwo Jima, the Marines on the island continued their bloody
advance across the island, responding to Kuribayashi's lethal defenses
with remarkable endurance. On February 23, the crest of 550-foot Mount
Suribachi was taken, and the next day the slopes of the extinct
volcano were secured.
By March 3, U.S. forces controlled all three airfields on the island,
and on March 26 the last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima were wiped
out. Only 200 of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders were captured
alive. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000
were wounded.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1945 : U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6816
1954 : Children receive first polio vaccine
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52410
1981 : Spanish rebels storm Parliament
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4782
##########################################
No comments:
Post a Comment