Iwo Jima Portrait of a Battle: United States Marines at War in the Pacific

by Hammel, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780760325209
• ISBN10: 0760325200
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-15
• Publisher: Zenith Press

Summary

Even in as bloody and violent a war as Americans encountered in the Pacific, the brutality of Iwo Jima stands out for its unremitting savagery; it was arguably the hardest won and most memorable battle of the United States Marines in World War II in the Pacific. Remarkable photographs, many never before published, and text by acclaimed military historian Eric Hammel vividly recreate this iconic battle: the pummeling of inland targets, the strafing, and the rocket fire that accompanied the landing; the eerie silence that greeted the marines as they set foot on the island; and then, as the newly-landed marines regrouped on the shoreline, the horrors of all hell breaking loose. The fighting that followed34 of the bloodiest days of the Pacific Warcomes to harrowing life in this volume. Iwo is a uniquely fitting tribute to the valiant struggle that gave us our most enduring image of victory in World War II.

Author Biography

Eric Hammel is a well respected military historian and the author of thirty works of military history, including the critically acclaimed Pacific Warriors: The U.S. Marines in World War II: A Pictorial Tribute; Chosin; a multivolume history of Guadalcanal; The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17; and, with John E. Lane, Bloody Tarawa: The 2d Marine Division, November 20-23, 1943, also from Zenith Press. For Iwo Jima, Mr. Hammel sorted through hundreds of photos in Marine Corps archives to select the images needed to convey the battle to readers today. He lives in Northern California.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. 6
Acknowledgments	p. 7
Glossary	p. 8
Maps	p. 10
Unsinkable Carrier-Impregnable Fortress	p. 17
Why Iwo Jima?	p. 23
Fortress Iwo	p. 29
Bombardment	p. 39
A Mighty Armada	p. 47
First to Fight	p. 53
Ship to Shore	p. 59
Beach Assault	p. 69
The Marines Have Landed	p. 93
Suribachi	p. 105
The Flag	p. 117
Up from the Beach	p. 129
All the Comforts	p. 165
Grinding Forward	p. 173
To Victory	p. 199
Justifying Iwo	p. 243
D + 60 Years	p. 249
Bibliography	p. 252
Index	p. 254
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