On 19 February 1945, thousands of Marines landed on the black shores of a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific. As they struggled to crawl to safety, the Japanese opened fire with everything they had.

The fight that was supposed to take three days lasted well over a month, as the Japanese fought from within the island, and had been instructed to kill at least ten Americans before dying.

The battle for Iwo Jima was the only battle in which the Marine Corps suffered more casualties than the Ja...