In early 1944, the Marine Corps dissolved the Parachute Battalions.

The men were reassigned to regular infantry units.

Hayes was transferred to E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division.

He was now heading toward the largest amphibious assault the Marine Corps had ever attempted.

He was heading toward Iwo Jima.

The Island No One Wanted To Take

The strategic logic of Iwo Jima was straightforward, if brutal.

By late 1944, American B-29 bombers based in the Mariana Islands were conducting bombing raids on the Japanese home islands.