In this clip, Dave Stotts visits his favorite Memorial in the Washington, D.C. area. The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial has a beautiful and powerful story worth learning!
The tiny island of Iwo Jima lies 660 miles south of Tokyo, Japan. Mount Suribachi, an extinct volcano that forms the southern end of the island, rises 550 feet to dominate the ocean around it. U.S. troops had recaptured most of the other islands in the Pacific Ocean that the Japanese took in 1941 and 1942. By 1945, Iwo Jima had become a primary objective in the American strategy to bring the ‘War of the Pacific’ to an end.
On the morning of February 19, 1945, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions invaded Iwo Jima. The 28th Regiment of the 5th Division was ordered to capture Mount Suribachi. They reached the base of the mountain on the afternoon of February 21 and, by nightfall the next day, had almost surrounded it. On the morning of February 23, Marines of Company E, 2nd Battalion, started the treacherous climb to the top. At about 10:30 am, men all over the island cheered when they saw a small American flag flying atop Mount Suribachi.
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