When American forces finally planted the flag on the top of Mount Suribachi there was a lot of rejoicing. Why because the American had just planted their flag on one of the hardest Japanese islands that had ever been conquered.
American forces had planned to take Iwo Jima because of its important military value. From there American bombers could bomb Japanese cities and military supplies. To do this they used landing craft just like the one used on D-Day to get on to shore. The marines would have to come on to shore under heavy fire.
As the marines hit the beach nothing happened. Some marines thought that the Japanese had left Iwo Jima but in reality the Japanese where just waiting for more Americans to land so that when they did open fire the marines would have a tougher time. Indeed when the Japanese did open fire there were lots of casualties. One of the objectives of the mission was to take Mount Suribachi. After taking the base of Suribachi a patrol was sent up the the up the patrol was given a flag and were told that if they got to the top to put it up. The patrol was able to plant the flag but the second flag raising was the one where the famous picture comes from. Lt. Gen. Holland Smith ordered a new bigger flag to be raised this time a platoon went up. When they got to the top the began to plant the flag and Joe Rosenthal took a picture that would become famous. The last to Japanese to surrender on Iwo Jima was on Jan 6 1949 after surviving for four years by stealing from the American forces. The battle of Iwo Jima would become one of the most famous battles of American history and is one of the most interesting battles to learn about and I think you should try to find out more about this battle.
Durinsbane 