The Lions of Iwo Jima: The Story of Combat Team 28 and the Bloodiest Battle in Marine Corps History

Major General Fred Haynes (USMC ret) was a young captain of Combat Team 28 in the fight on Iwo Jima. James A. Warren wrote a history of the US Marines from Iwo Jima to Iraq. In February 1945 Iwo Jima was the most densely fortified piece of real estate on earth (p.1). The attack on Iwo Jima was the most difficult mission for the Marine Corps. One-third of the Marines killed in WW II died on Iwo Jima. The Japanese fortifications were the most elaborate for a static defense to the last man against a frontal assault (p.7). The capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa would allow P-51 fighter escorts for the B-29 Superfortresses that would bomb Japan (p.9). Iwo Jima could not be used by the enemy to attack American forces but for American bombers (p.10). This book tries to tell the history of the five weeks of combat (p.12). The worst fighting was at Bloody Gorge on the north side. Three of the six men in that famous flag raising photo were lost there (p.13). Many of the recorded stories have conflicts (p.15), this book attempts to resolve them (p.16). Military strategists believed any assault against defended beaches would fail like Gallipoli. Marine Corps strategists believed that it could be done with coordinated navy and aerial support and specialized landing craft (p.18). The Combat Teams were well-trained. Iwo Jima was fortified to perfection (p.44). The assault troops practiced for hundreds of hours (p.49). The Navy did spend nine days shelling the heavy gun emplacements (p.51) since they had other objectives (pp.52-53) and attacked Japan. Cloudy misty weather severely limited visibility (p.64); the first casualties were sailors. Religious beliefs bound people together (p.64). Chapters 3, 4, and 5 tell about the invasion and capture of Mount Suribachi. The first flag raising occurred around 10:20 on February 23, 1945. It was photographed (p.128), Marines on the ground cheered. A few minutes later the Japanese attacked. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, present on the beach, asked for this flag so a larger flag was obtained. Photographers recorded this (p.130) and the one photograph became famous as the first flag raised on Japanese territory. Over four more weeks of fighting continued until the Army landed to finish the fight. The Marines were being readied for the next invasion. The symbolism of this photo resonated with all Americans (p.132). It reversed the criticism of the Navy over high casualty figures (p.133). Those who raised the first flag were ignored (p.134). The capture of a Japanese map revealed the precise location of defensive positions (p.137). Chapter 6 describes "The Enemy". The official flag raising occurred on March 14 (p.205) but fighting continued. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 tell of the combat to defeat the Japanese. On March 26 the remnants of Combat Team 28 sailed back to Camp Tarawa on Hilo to train for the invasion of Japan. The end of the war in August 1945 meant they would land in Japan as occupation forces ("Epilogue"). Th

This book is an excellent example of documentation for what happened on IWO JIMA. My dad recommended I read this book as he was in the 28th Regiment on IWO JIMA and witnessed the flag raising among some of the other notable events as they happened. It really gives you insight as to the conditions these men endured during this battle.

There are a handful of notable battles that are seared forever into America's consciousness -- Bunker Hill, Alamo, Gettysburg, Little Big Horn, Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima. The slaughter suffered in each was terrible, but the savagery carried out on Iwo Jima shocked the nation. Of course, the saga of the Battle of Iwo Jima is well known to World War II readers. The photograph of Marines raising the flag is instantly recognizable by Americans as the moment of victory on Iwo Jima. It's common knowledge that on February 19, 1945, three reinforced Marine Divisions assaulted Iwo Jima, and emerged victorious, but it's still shocking to read how the Marines suffered more casualties here than the Japanese -- one third of all Marines killed in World War II died on Iwo Jima. Co-authors, Major General Fred Haynes and James A. Warren, have correctly shown that Combat Team 28's story on Iwo Jima warrants a book. After all, it was men from CT 28 that raised Old Glory over Mount Suribachi, the key strategic position on Iwo Jima. In the author's own words, "Our goal in writing the book has been to reconstruct the world of CT 28 as it prepared for and fought its only battle and to give the reader a vivid sense of the range of experiences and emotions these men endured." They have written a concise, action packed history. The authors recount the story of CT 28's part in the Iwo Jima fight against the backdrop of the island hopping in the Pacific War. This is a vivid and fresh telling of the complete history of CT 28. Haynes and Warren know the battlefield; they know the adversaries. As a participant in the invasion, Fred Haynes brings formidable credentials to his task. His personal experiences are gripping, although unfortunately not atypical of other Marine officers there. The samurai's merciless 'meat grinder' quickly chewed up captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and squad leaders in body and mind. Fred Haynes' CT 28 was one of eight combat units specifically created to invade Iwo Jima. Learning from past amphibious warfare mistakes, the Marines carefully assembled CT 28 and placed it into rigorous training for over a year. Conquering the island fortress would require the best men, equipment, training, planning, and support possible. Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the commander of Japanese forces on Iwo Jima carefully prepared his elaborate defenses. "More than nine hundred major gun emplacements and several thousand individual fighting positions were supplied by a network of underground barracks and storehouses, connected by eleven miles of tunnels. The Japanese fighting positions ranged from one-man spider holes to pillboxes, dug-in tanks, blockhouses, trenches, and interconnected cave openings. They were scattered throughout the island, but camouflage rendered the vast majority undetectable." Kuribayashi expected each Japanese soldier to kill ten Marines in exchange for his own life. Troubled by the staggering losses suffered in

Major General Fred Hayes and James A. Warren have achieved the historian's dream of telling tale so well that although the end of it is already known to us, we read on to find out what happens next. The momentum of the action during the six-week battle for Iwo Jima in 1945 creates an unforgettable impression. The angry roar of battle will remain with the reader for a long time. Dramatic in the extreme, the secret here is the strong blending of memoir and personal narrative provided by authors General Hayes, then a Captain and the last surviving member of the planning team and veteran of the battle, and by James Warren, author of an acclaimed history of the Marines from Iwo Jima to Iraq. "The Lions of Iwo Jima" tells the full story of the three assault battalions of Combat Team 28 from their training to the landing on February 19, 1945, the seminal battle for Mt. Suribachi and the flag raising thereon, and the remaining four weeks of hand to hand combat ending at Bloody Gorge on the north side of the island, ending March 26, 1945. By the time the battle was over, 70 percent of the 4,500 men of Combat Team 28 were killed or seriously wounded. This book contains some of the finest descriptions yet written of Marine action in World War II. Richard N. Larsen Reviewer