74 years ago today, a bunch of mostly 17 to 21 year olds stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima in what would become one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
Here are a few things you may not have known about the battle of Iwo Jima:
1. 1/3 of all Congressional medals of honor awarded for World War Two were awarded for the battle of Iwo Jima.
2. The picture of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima is the most reproduced photograph in world history.
3. Of the 6 marines that raised the flag, 3 of them were dead within 24 hours. Another, Ira Hayes, essentially drank himself to death when he got home to Arizona. (Johnny Cash wrote a song about him.)
We could not have won the war in the Pacific without first winning Iwo Jima. It was deadly and brutal, as the Japanese absolutely refused to surrender, costing 25,000 American casualties.
These people who never got to come home to enjoy the country they fought and died for deserve our best efforts to preserve and protect the values this country represents.
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