The campaign for Iwo Jima was one of the best documented in World War II. Marine combat cameramen and photographers accompanied the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions through every phase of the battle. A few of their images of D-Day on Iwo follow.

Iwo Jima was the most heavily fortified island that American forces encountered in World War II. The Japanese defenders knew beyond any doubt that there could be no relief for them. They would die in combat – a given because their nation, their code, their commanders, demanded and expected this of them. This left only one question for Iwo’s defenders – for the sacrifice of each of their lives, how many Marines could they take with them?

When the United States fleet arrived off Iwo’s volcanic shores, it represented the might of our nation, both literally and figuratively. Less than eighteen months since the first true amphibious assault into the teeth of enemy defenses at Tarawa, the Navy-Marine Corps team had developed into a sharpened and skilled instrument of power. Each of the men in that fleet carried the full weight of this knowledge with him as he manned his battle station, or strapped on his gear that morning of 19 February 1945.

All images are from US Marine Corps combat camera film. Accompanying excerpts from written works help to illustrate some of the shared experiences from D-Day

H-hour minus

During the hours prior to landing, Marines and Sailors prepared for the powerful moment of H-hour, when the assault battalions touched down on shore.

A battleship fires its main battery against Japanese defenses during the bombardment just before D-Day. Six battle wagons and five heavy cruisers pounded the island during this phase of the operation. On D-1, the weather was hazy and rainy. This reduced observation by the shipboard gun directors, but one ship; USS Tennessee (BB-43), alone fired three hundred thirty-three 14-inch high explosive rounds against Mount Suribachi that day.

A heavy cruiser lays directly offshore of the 5th Marine Division beaches during the pre-landing bombardment. The Navy engaged in many exchanges of fire with Japanese artillery emplaced on the slopes of Mount Suribachi. Although Naval Gunfire destroyed some of the Japanese heavy weapons, most of the fire did nothing more than rearrange sand on the beaches.

Dawn broke for us favorably on D-Day. The weather, after several stormy days, was clear; the rough seas subsided; surf conditions were as good as could be expected on an exposed rock. Iwo Jima had only two beaches, one east and the other west of the narrow isthmus connecting Mount Suribachi with the broader part of the island. Both beaches–coarse, black volcanic ash, like gravel–made for poor landing conditions but we made the best of two bad choices when we selected the eastern.

Coral and Brass by Holland M. Smith

The 5th Marine Division transport area off Iwo’s northern coast. Four hundred ninety-five ships were grouped into the joint expeditionary force, 200 of which carried Marines, their equipment and supplies. These amphibious ships had arrived in position only a few hours previously early in the pre-dawn hours of D-Day. The 556-foot high bulk of Mount Suribachi lies shrouded in haze off in the distance. In a short while, the Japanese would rain death and destruction out of skillfully concealed positions on the Volcano’s slopes.

Medium caliber naval gunfire rakes across the landing beaches. In the days leading up to D-Day, the US Navy fired more than 20,000 rounds of high explosive at the island. Although these explosions looked impressive, in many places along the beachhead, they had little effect on Iwo’s Japanese defenders. They waited out the bombardment in reinforced emplacements and bunkers, most impervious to shellfire.

Marines climb over the side of their transport down the cargo net into a landing boat prior to the run–in for the beach. Although the leading waves came ashore in amphibian tractors, thousands of Marines hit the beaches in landing craft on D-Day.

I think most of us were on deck and the island at dawn was one solid mass of burning rock and the planes were still bombing when we arrived. When we saw the amount of beating the island was taking from the air attacks, it didn’t seem possible that there could be much resistance, and the mood was rather genial. We jokingly told the crew to hold dinner for us because we would be back by then with the island secure.

This Here is G Company by John E. Lane

Navy strike aircraft overfly the invasion fleet en route to their targets on Iwo. Between 0805 and 0825, 120 aircraft struck Japanese positions on the landing beaches and Mount Suribachi. Using napalm, 3.5 inch rockets, and .50 caliber machine guns, this strike was intended to harass the Japanese as the fire support ships maneuvered to their final positions just before H-Hour.

The face of Iwo Jima. The assault divisions were made of a combination of combat veterans and Marines facing their baptism of fire. They wanted to live and each had a job to do. Their journey to Iwo Jima happened in stages, in some cases only months before D-Day. Others began the trek years before. All of them faced the same dangers on Iwo’s bloody shores.

Amphibian trucks head in to the beach carrying Marines and cargo. USS LST-782 lies at anchor in the background. Three U.S. Army amphibious truck companies – the 471st, 473rd and 476th – were attached to the V Amphibious Corps at Iwo, one to each assault division. Made up of African-American Soldiers, these companies hauled artillery pieces, ammunition, and Marines ashore on D-Day.

This Marine in one of the leading waves has coated his face with anti-flash cream. Intelligence determined that the enemy might use fire trenches to engulf the Marines in flame on the beach. The cream was a protective measure to prevent facial burns. Ships’ crews sometimes wore the same cream at battle stations.

Sailors endured many of the same hazards as their brother Marines on D-Day. Boat crews, beachmasters, Seabees, medical personnel and gunfire teams – these were the bluejackets that stood bravely in the fire.

Airburst rounds explode over the beach head. Proximity fuzes were first used in the Battle of the Bulge – less than two months before Iwo – and they were still classified as top secret. As they detonated, these rounds showered the enemy with a rain of fragmentation. Airburst rounds were highly effective against troops in foxholes and trenches.

A battle wagon fires point blank at Japanese beach defenses. At about 0800, USS Nevada (BB-36), USS Tennessee (BB-43), and USS Idaho (BB-42) all closed to within 3,000 yards of the shoreline to provide heavy covering fires as the troop-laden waves approached their assigned beaches.

Many of of the Marines on Iwo Jima were only eighteen years old. More than a few celebrated their eighteenth birthdays on transports bound for the island. Thousands of seventeen year-olds flocked to the Corps during the war, enlisting with parental permission.

A heavy round impacts on the flank of Mount Suribachi during the pre-landing bombardment. The Japanese had turned the extinct volcano into a fortress with numerous heavy gun emplacements. Although it had been pummeled in the bombardments leading up to D-Day, many Japanese positions were untouched.  A landing craft, support (large) steams along the shoreline at the right of this image. Mounting a 3-inch/50-caliber gun and twin 40mm automatic cannon, LCS(L)’s provided close-in support for the waves of tractors heading in toward the beach.

A U.S. Navy officer observes the scene as landing craft head in toward shore. Landing ships, tank (LST) ride at anchor in the background. On shore, smoke from the fire support barrage rises skyward. The noise of the shellfire was clearly audible across the fleet at this point. Naval gunfire ships were hitting Iwo from multiple compass points while aircraft ran bombing and strafing runs to suppress the enemy, Meanwhile, rocket barrage pounded the shoreline. It was literally hell on earth.

A landing ship, medium (LSM) passes close by a battle wagon as it fires. Fire support ships remained on station throughout D-Day, firing both pre-planned and on-call missions.

In a tightly choreographed sequence, individual waves form up and stand-by to begin movement to the line of departure.

I looked at my watch. We had been circling in an assembly pattern for 22 minutes and were still two hours away from hitting the beach. Without a war to distract me, I began daydreaming and thought of my previous interest in the tank service…. My dreams of tank driving were interrupted by Sergeant Raymond L. Windle who pulled at the leg of my dungarees for attention.
“What the hell is happening, Tatum?” he demanded.
“The Navy is blowing the hell out of the island, Sarge, but there is so much dust and smoke I can’t see the beach.”…
I secretly harbored a comforting thought. The Navy might blow Iwo off the map and save us the trouble of a protracted fight.

Iwo Jima: Red Blood, Black Sand by Charles W. Tatum

Marines wait for clearance to proceed closer to the beach head. Reserve units of the assault divisions spent hours in their landing boats and their Marines were already tired and seasick when they finally made shore. The Marine at left wears a waterproof pack. These were used to transport critical gear like radios that had to stay dry. Mount Suribachi looms in the background, smoking from the firepower directed against it.

There was little joking in the last few hours before H-hour. Not a single Marine or Sailor knew whether or not he would survive the day. Combat veteran had no illusions about the odds of survival. Those facing their baptism of fire were about to face the reality of war.

A column of landing boats heads shoreward. These Marines have removed their packs and they are likely in a follow-on wave. In many cases, Marines spent hours boated waiting to land. As the situation on the beaches became more and more critical, the landing schedule went out the window.

Landing boats laden with Marines wait for the signal to start the run-in shoreward. The landing plan was intended to minimize the time between disembarking from ship to the final movement to shore.

An LVT-2 laden with infantry Marines heads in to the beach. On D-Day, 482 amphibian tractors (amtracs) put to sea carrying the first four waves. This staggering number of armored vehicles was larger by far than the fleet of amphibian tractors that existed at the start of the war. By 1030, the combat power of eight battalion landing teams was ashore and formed up.

There were about eight or ten men, maybe twelve, in each LVT….They were open at the top, but they were armored in front. One of the teenagers in our [LVT] had put a sticker up on the bulkhead facing us, it was a windshield or bumper sticker–one that the government issued back home to remind people to conserve gasoline. The sticker said, “Is this trip necessary?”

Remembering Iwo by Talbot Rain

Marines head for the beach past LST 481. 63 of these ships accompanied the fleet, each loaded with men, machines and supplies vital for the assault. Among their most critical loads were the Marines and amphibian tractors of the leading waves. The LSTs began launching amtracs at 0725 and the transport areas became a hive of activity.

H-30 minutes. The second wave crosses the line of departure overwatched by gunfire support ships. In the foreground is USS LCS(L)-35. A dozen of these redoubtable ships were spread evenly across the V Amphibious Corps sector at the line of departure. With 4,000 yards to go, destiny is 30 minutes away for the Marines in these amphibian tractors.