Marines began landing on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima 81 years ago today, commencing a battle that would be one of the bloodiest of the entire Pacific Theater. Nearly 7,000 men were killed in vicious fighting that lasted more than a month before the island was finally cleared of Japanese resistance. | Shooting Illustrated

On Feb. 23, 1945, five days after the initial assault on the island of Iwo Jima, Marines took control of the high ground and planted a flag atop Mt. Suribachi. The flag raising didn’t signal the end of the fight on Iwo Jima, but it did motivate the Marines and corpsmen still flushing out an entrenched enemy force. Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams and Navajo Code Talker Thomas H. Begay recall what it was like to see the Stars and Stripes fly high over the island. “It was the grea