Collectors Edition DVD. It was one of the most important battles of the U.S. Marines island hopping campaign, and resulted in one World War II’s most stirring images…the heroic flag-raising on Mount Suribachi. If the Marines could take Iwo Jima, with it’s airfields within bomber range of Tokyo, the United States would be one step closer to final victory. FORTIFIED CAVES AND TUNNELS Buried deep within countless caves and hand-dug tunnels, the 20,500 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima knew they couldn’t stop the Marines. Their only goal was to delay an invasion of their homeland and to make as many Marines as possible pay the ultimate price for victory. The Marines assaulted every crevasse on the island, using any means available to take the Japanese’ effective network of underground fortifications. UNCOMMON VALOR On the morning of February 19, 1945, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions invaded Iwo Jima after 72 hours of naval bombardment. By sunset on March 26, almost 7,000 Marines were dead with over 20,000 wounded, but Iwo was in American hands. As further testament to the unprecedented sacrifice of The Battle of Iwo Jima, of the total Japanese defenders on the island, only 200 soldiers were taken alive. 3 COMPLE Read Less