80 years ago, American and Japanese troops were locked in one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the Pacific theatre in World War II: the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The small island between the Marianas and mainland Japan was a strategic target for Allied forces ahead of a future US invasion of Okinawa.
While the US initially declared the island secure on March 16, 1945, it wasn’t until 10 days later that it was actually captured.
A photographer snapped this iconic photo of US Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raising the American flag atop Mt Suribachi after an important victory on February 23.
The men in the photo were celebrated as heroes, but one was misidentified for decades.
