70,000 Marines Helped Raise That Flag on Iwo Jima

On Iwo Jima, the famous flag-raising on Mount Suribachi was not the work of only six Marines but part of a larger Marine combat patrol that carried the Stars and Stripes up the volcano past concealed snipers. That moment was made possible by a vast assault force of 500 ships and swarms of warplanes that landed three Marine divisions and an Army regiment ashore, involving more than 110,000 sailors, airmen, soldiers, and Marines. Many in the combat patrol would die in the bitter fighting that followed, and the sacrifices made to win Iwo Jima were greater than in any other battle in Marine Corps history.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States