On February 19, 1945, in Tokyo, Japan, 30,000 Marine soldiers landed on the small island of Iwo Jima. With the island being only 8 square miles in size, most of the island remained flat except for Mountain Suribachi.

When the marines landed, they didn't see any Japanese soldiers around. They began to believe that most of them had been taken out by the U.S bombings from planes and battleships. They quickly realized their mistake when they found that the Japanese soldiers had dug out 11 miles worth of  tunnels all over the island including, artillery defenses and bunkers, making it easy for them to move around.

The Japanese soldiers waited quietly for the marines to take shore. They then quickly attacked marine forces from their bunkers and dugouts. The U.S soldiers were able to take out some Japanese soldiers from bunkers but passed on thinking they were safe, not knowing Japanese soldiers would regroup there and regenerate there defenses.

On the fourth day on the island, the marines had taken over mount Suribachi and placed a flag on the summit. 3 of the six men in the photo were killed in battle while the other 3 became famously known for the photo after returning home. 

On March 25, 1945, the Japanese army staged a final Banzai attack. The U.S forces sustained several casualties but overall was able to conquer the enemy division. The next day, American forces announced the capture of Iwo Jima. Despite the declared success, U.S soldiers spent weeks on end finding and capturing any Japanese "holdouts" who refused to surrender.