Iwo Jima [Mass Market Paperback]

As a Marine veteran of the battle for Iwo Jima and having read many books on the battle I feel that, "Iwo Jima" by Richard Newcomb is the definitive book on what the battle was all about. The first time that I read it, it brought the whole thing back, it was almost like being there again.

I cannot say that this is the best book on the battle for Iwo Jima because I have not read all that have been written on this subject, but it is by far the best of the several that I have read, and if not the best it must be one of the best. Written just 20 years after the battle, this book is referenced in the ones that have come after it and has provided source material for them. So many of the participants, Japanese as well as Americans, are mentioned by name that one gets the feeling that everyone who was on Iwo Jima is mentioned and while I have not kept count, the total is surely in the hundreds. Obviously based on interviews, diaries, after-action reports and medal citations, the author provides a first hand account of the fighting. The descriptions are stirring and horrific at the same time, providing a witness of the heroism of the US Marine Corps. Page after page describe a level of courage and sacrifice that is almost beyond belief, and were this fiction people would say that it was unbelievable.

Even if this book only described the heroic actions of the US Marine Corps I would rate it 5 stars, but it is also much more. It is also a comprehensive history of the battle. It starts with the reasons why both the Americans and Japanese realized that Iwo Jima was critical and would therefore be the site of a great battle. It then describes the Japanese work to turn the whole island into a fortress. The lives of the Japanese and American commanders are discussed, as are the tensions between the Japanese Navy and Army, and in parallel that between the American Navy and the Marine Corps. Every facet of the battle is discussed, including less well known ones, such as discussions in America as to the use of poison gas. (Neither Japan nor America were signatories to the convention outlawing poison gas and it was felt that its use on an island that did not contain any civilians was permissible, and might have been used had not Roosevelt forbidden it.)

The book contains very useful maps, showing the progress of the battle and a detailed map of the island on the inside cover where it is very accessible. (At least this is the case for the hardcover version, which is the one that I have.) This inside cover map shows all of the important features discussed in the text and a cross section map showing elevations. There are also numerous pictures - pictures that not only show what important commanders and some lesser known men looked like, but also what the terrain and Japanese fortifications looked like. These maps and pictures were really very useful, augmenting and clarifying the text. I never truly understood the difficulties involved in capturing "Bloody Gorge" or why it was also called "the valley of death" until I saw the picture of it. The cross section of the island shown on the inside cover was also very illuminating because I never realized that the center and northern part of the island contained heights (actually what was left of a second volcano) that were almost as high as Mt. Suribachi (382 feet at the highest point compared to 556 feet for Mt. Suribachi).

Perhaps the best way to show the comprehensive nature of this book is to cite the appendices, namely - a plea for the return of monuments put up by the Japanese after the war (at the time that this book was written the island was under US control, but it has since been returned to the Japanese where it has been placed under their military control with very limited access by non-Japanese personnel), the picture (about the famous Joe Rosenthal photograph), US and Japanese casualties (US casualties are broken down in terms of death or missing as well as wounded or combat fatigue and by Marine, Navy or Army and by date), how the Fifth Marine Division lost its officers (every officer who was killed or died of wounds is mentioned), medal of honor winners (all are mentioned along with the date of the action for which they received the award, why they received it and if it was posthumous), the Japanese command at Iwo Jima, the US command (every commander down to the rank of Major is listed by name), a comparison of place names comparing the Japanese name and its meaning with the American name. Short of spending time with the American and Japanese archives, I can think of no better source of specific information on the battle for Iwo Jima.

This is a rare book that combines riveting descriptions of heroic actions along with first-rate, comprehensive, history - five-star all the way.

It is a shame that this book was not reprinted when FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS was released. I read Newcomb's IWO JIMA, as a used paperback book, back when I was in high school. At that time as a budding military history enthusiast I unfairly characterized the Pacific War as a series of back-water engagements separated by wide expanses of ocean and jungle. I gave the Japanese military very little credit for any sort of modern military preparation. Reading IWO JIMA forever changed my naive Hollywood perception about military operations in Pacific.

Long before SO SAD TO FALL IN BATTLE hit bookshelves, Newcomb's volume quoted extensive passages from Japanese General Kuribayashi's correspondence. IWO JIMA was also unique in that it the story begins with a basic description of the volcanic island and the Japanese portion of the story. The American part of the story does not start until chapter two about 30 pages later. The narrative about Japanese preparations are crucial. Rather than fruitlessly opposing the Marines on the beaches the Japanese prepared an extensive defense in depth. Kuribayashi's vision was absolutely contrary to traditional Japanese military thinking. However, Kuribayashi and other senior officers realized that the American's could not be prevented from landing. As such it was a waste of manpower to try and defeat the Marines on the beaches. Iwo's defense quickly matured into a series of ingeniously designed pillboxes, bunkers, and brilliant uses of natural and man-made caves and tunnels. In effect Iwo Jima was transformed into a upside-down fortress.

The two-pronged advance toward Japan made Iwo a natural stepping stone toward Japan. Once Saipan was subdued the next significant Japanse island, conviently located at the halfway mark, was Iwo Jima. The Japanese airfield and radar station posed a problem for the new B-29s as their flight paths straddled the volcanic isle. US military planners had their eyes on Iwo Jima early in 1944 and planned to land three Marine divisions on the basalt and tuff island. It was thought that several weeks of almost constant air and sea bombardment would leave little left of the island. The Marines knew differently. Tarawa was likewise supposedly blased off the map, but the majority of Japanese soldiers survived the bombardment and contested every foot of ground. Iwo proved to be worse.

Unlike FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, which focuses on several key figures and selected combat vignettes, IWO JIMA is the story of this tough battle from beginning to end. I have yet to find a better single volume source on the battle.