Marines Land on Iwo Jima: Fierce Battle Begins
About 30,000 United States Marines stormed ashore at Iwo Jima, triggering a brutal thirty-six-day campaign that secured a critical airbase for B-29 bombers. This strategic foothold allowed Allied aircraft to escort bombing raids over Japan and provided an emergency landing site for damaged planes returning from the mainland.
February 19, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on February 19
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