The volcanic rock that lay just beneath the surface made it nearly impossible to dig foxholes deep enough for real protection.

The Japanese opened fire from positions so well concealed that Marines couldn’t locate them.

Men fell on the beach without ever seeing where the fire was coming from.

By the end of the first day, the Marines had suffered more than 2,000 casualties and had barely penetrated the island’s outer defenses.

Iwo Jima would take thirty-six days to secure.

By the time it was declared secure on March 26, 1945, nearly 7,000 Marines and Navy personnel had been killed and more than 19,000 had been wounded.