As the Rising Sun flag still waved high, 30,000 battle-hardened United States Marines stormed the black sand beaches of Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific. Their mission: capture the strategic airfield, a crucial launchpad for Allied bombers headed for Japan. The Japanese defenders, entrenched in a labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers, vowed to fight to the death. The ensuing 36-day bloodbath would be one of the fiercest battles in World War II history, etching an iconic image of the Stars and Stripes being raised atop Mount Suribachi.