CINCPOA Press Release No. 39
For Immediate Release
March 17, 1945
For twenty‑six days on Iwo Island, the United States Marines fought under conditions which have had no parallel in the war against Japan. Our troops have now defeated the enemy despite every natural advantage of his defenses.
This accomplishment was made against concentrated fortifications which approached, as closely as it is possible to do so, impregnability against attack by mobile forces employing every useful weapon available in modern warfare.
From the opening day, when at H‑hour the pre‑invasion bombardment successfully beat down the island defenses long enough for the troops to gain a foothold which they were never to lose, our forces met and solved problems which could have been insuperable for men less resolute in mind, heart and purpose.
Volcanic ash which immobilized even tracked vehicles and made them motionless targets; artillery long since registered on every possible landing place; interlocking and mutually supporting pillboxes and strongpoints; underground labyrinths extending a total of many miles and the result of many years of military planning and construction; defenses whose depth was limited only by the coastlines of the island; a garrison which was made up of units of the enemy forces especially trained to utilize the defensive advantages of this island; a terrain that was characterized by a high volcanic cone, cliffs, deep gulleys, several commanding hills and a series of terraces rising from the beach to the prominences and plateaus which had to be taken these were the problems of Iwo Island.
That it was taken was the direct result of the fortitude of our officers and men who, by 14 March, had killed more than 21,000 of the enemy.
In achieving this victory, the forces involved lost 4,189 officers and men killed, according to reports from the frontline units at 1700 on 16 March.
The wounded, a very considerable number of whom suffered slight wounds or combat fatigue and have already been returned to action in the Iwo operation, numbered 15,308. Missing in action are 441 officers and men.
The majority of our seriously wounded have been evacuated from the island by hospital ship and by evacuation aircraft. Complete medical facilities are operating to provide the best possible care for those wounded on Iwo Island.