Iwo Jima (LPH 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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-SYN?

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USS IWC JIMA The Name The Island of Iwo JlIT1d v as the scene of a hlstorxc battle fought In the South Paclflc late W In orld War II The japanese conquest by February 1945 had turned Into a desperate defense of thelr homeland Ther surrender seemed lnevltable but before vlctory could be assured Unlt' C1 St les lolcf s engaged them ln several encounters Fanaucal, battle tralned lapanese troops fortlf ed In 1 a most xmprcgnable Island posltlons were determmed to dle In a last dltch effort to save the homeland Such names as Guadalcanal Tarawa, and Oklnawa thus became symbols of nattonal prlde to Amerlcans One of the most famous of these 11lSfOI'lC battlegrounds was the Island of Iwo jlma WhlCh held a strateglc posltlon for both s de 1 s To the Amerlcans, It was an alr base from whlch tO launch strlkes agalnst japan Itself For the Ja anes ermlned to w1n the ensulng battle at all costs A Jolnt expedltlonary force of 495 shlps lncludlng 17 alrcraft carrlers and 1 170 planes attacked Iwo jlma on Februar 19 1945 y Included In the flghtlng were 111 308 U S TrO0P5 of whlch 75 144 were actlvely engaged ln the assault Strategy requlred the U S 4th and 5th M arlne Dlvlslons to push across the narrow soufh ern part of the lsland before wheellng north and soutl t f 1 o mally destroy the dtvlded japanese Forces At the southwestern tlp of Iwo Jlma stood Mount Surlbachl a vrtal posltlon In the enemy s defenses The 28th Marlne Reglment was asslgned to conquer the 550 foot summit By lsolatlng the extmct volc f ano rom the rest of the Island the 28th began a concentrated probmg of japanese reslstance The japanese were f l lrm y entrenehed In thelr dugouts and caves and held a domlnant os1t1 f p on rom whlch they could defllade thelr attackers It took untll 23 February for the leathernecks to battle thelr way to the peak 7 , . . I I 1 A - . . . - ' ' X I .1 .1 I q , ' 3 -, - J ' Q' .1 . Q 3.x ' .x ' 4, ' A le, ages: ' :5 ' U J . ' ' . J. A Iv, .i3g. . F J. .. , ' J J Y J I , A ' ' ' .x A ' '- ' Q 1 ' ' . - I ' -' f' ' ' ' . p Q e, it was a vital defense bastion forthe homeland. Both sides were det A ' ' J -X ' , . . . . . , . . , , v , J - 5 Q - 3 , . - , A Q ,, ' ' 1 1 .x as ' 4 ' F W J ' ' A U J , , . ., , . . . u A ' .x 1 3 f ' 3 ' S w N ' J - -w . Lx ' .x sw - ' , . A A