Onto the black shores of hell

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 Japanese. In just over a month of fighting, 27 Medals of Honor were awarded; one-third of the total number awarded during WWII. Close to 6,000 Americans lost their life, and only 216 of the 22,000 Japanese defenders surrendered. In this tome, three United States Marines share their personal experiences from boot camp to the shores of Iwo Jima through a largely day-by-day account, interwoven with historical background information. As each of the three Marines served in a different division, the reader gets a complete view of the battle.