World War II’s most enduring photographic image, that of U.S. troops raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi, was taken during the successful U.S. invasion of the tiny island of Iwo Jima. The U.S. victory was critical to Allied plans because the captured airfields on the island would provide a landing and refueling site for American bombers on missions to and from Japan. The furious battle against Japanese troops dug into a complex system of caves and tunnels is one of the war’s most memorable struggles.
