Sixty Six years ago, on February 19th, 1945, three Marine Divisions landed on a barren, rock strewn, volcanic island, barely two and a half miles at its widest point and about five miles from one end to another. The island was well named - Iwo Jima, Japanese for Sulphur Island. In a matter of minutes the Marines huddled in the open on the volcanic sand under intense enemy fire had another name for this evil strip of a black sand - Hell! Over 25 thousand tough, hardened, fanatical Japanese soldiers held the island, concealed in the hundreds of caves that honeycombed the landscape. Among the Marines facing them were the men of D Company, 2nd. Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division. In the weeks of bitter fighting to come, this unit would suffer so many casualties the Division history would single it out to illustrate how deadly the battle for Iwo Jima had been.

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