The month of February marks the 69th anniversary of what may be the most significant battle in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps, the amphibious assault on the black sands of Iwo Jima.

On February 19, 1945, Marines of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions disembarked their troop carriers into LVTs and amphibious assault vehicles to confront the 21,000 Japanese troops deeply dug into the rugged mountainous terrain of this tiny island. Although the island was small, the significance of this battle was enormous.

Iwo Jima was considered by the Japanese as part of their homeland. Consequently, the defenders on Iwo Jima were ordered to fight to the death. And indeed they did. Of the 21,000 Japanese troops, 19,000 were confirmed killed, and just over 1,000 surrendered, with the remaining being sealed in the caves and catacombs of the island for eternity.

From the perspective of the allies, Iwo Jima was of strategic importance because of the proximity to the Japanese mainland. Iwo Jima was the home of Japanese fighter squadrons which mauled the B29’s flying from Saipan and Tinian to attack the Japanese homeland. Once secured, the airfields on Iwo would eliminate the Japanese fighter threat, and host squadrons of U.S. B-29’s which would bomb all areas of Japan from coast-to-coast with impunity.

The highest point on Iwo Jima was a 556 foot volcanic peak called Mount Suribachi. Because of its strategic importance, Marines of the 28th Regiment/5th Division were under orders to capture Mount Suribachi at all cost. It took four days of heavy fighting with heavy losses to ascend the peak of Suribachi. Finally on the morning of February 23rd, the Marines from the 2nd Battalion reached the crest, and amongst a dead silent interlude in the fighting, unfolded a small American flag which they raised on a piece of scrap iron pipe. The sight of the Stars and Stripes flying on top of Suribachi brought a sudden outburst of celebration amongst the more than 450 ships below off the beaches of Iwo. However, it also brought down the fury of the Japanese defenders who launched a barrage of shelling into the area of the flag. This original flag atop of Mt. Suribachi was not destined to stand for long.

Because some low-level Brass wanted the 1st flag as a souvenir for the visiting Secretary of the Navy, he sent another group of Marines up to the peak of Suribachi with a larger flag to replace the original. As the Marines struggled to detach the original flag from the make-shift pole, fold it properly, reattach the new larger flag, and raise it on the peak of Mt. Suribachi, an AP combat photographer named Joe Rosenthal struggled over the last outcroppings to reach the peak of Suribachi. With his wet camera he began shooting pictures, eighteen in all, not knowing if any would even turn out. After returning to the rear and developing the pictures, he was surprised with his results. He submitted the best of his pictures to Stars and Stripes.

Within days, one of these pictures was selected for publishing, and in today’s vernacular, this picture of five Marines and a Navy Corpsman raising the United States Flag on the summit of Mt. Suribachi went viral. This lone iconic picture soon became the symbol of the war in the Pacific, and in short order became the most famous icon of the United States Marine Corps.

On February 23rd, the battle for Iwo Jima was far from over. The bloody conflict for control of the island continued for more than a month. At its peak another Marine Division was committed, and more than 80,000 American troops were fighting to secure this tiny little island. It wasn’t until March 24, 1945 that the Japanese defenders succumbed to the Marine assault. The Marines had won, but at a terrible cost.

U.S. casualties for Iwo Jima were over 25,000 men, with more than 6,000 KIA. Amongst the killed was the hero of Guadacanal, John Basilone, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroics on the ‘Canal. GySgt Basilone was killed within hours of the initial assault on February 19th, and for his leadership and valor he was awarded the Navy Cross.

This was also the first time in the Pacific war that American casualties were greater than the Japanese. It was the bloodiest and most costly battle in Marine Corps history, which resulted in the fighting strength of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions being decimated. In this six-week battle, 22 Marines and 4 Navy Corpsmen received the Medal of Honor for their valor.

The first crippled B-29 Super Fortress returning from a bombing raid over Tokyo landed on the runway at Iwo Jima on March 4th, even before the island was secured. From this date until the end of the war in the Pacific, more than 2400 B-29s used the air facilities of Iwo Jima for emergency landings. The 6,000 Marines who gave their lives to secure this strategic piece of black sand are credited with saving more than 25,000 air crew as a result of their sacrifice.

Three of the six Marines who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi were killed during the battle. The other three, returned to the states where they launched a war bond drive that raised more than $26 billion based upon the famous image of the flag raising. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, witnessing the flag raising, was quoted as remarking to General Howland Smith, “…the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years.”