by Brett Manero
The year 2025 AD marks the eighteenth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, an anniversary which will arrive this August. It has already seen the eighteenth anniversary of V-E Day, Victory in Europe, when Nazi Germany formally surrendered to the victorious Allies. It will also see the eightieth anniversary of V-J Day, Victory Over Japan.
There are two immensely important battle anniversaries that should also be addressed, both of which were some of the final battles of the war and that left shocking amounts of casualties on both sides. These were the Battle of Iwo Jima, from February until March of 1945, and the Battle of Okinawa, from April until June of the same year. Two of the most famous battles of the Pacific Theater, and two of the bloodiest, Iwo Jima and Okinawa have become legendary in the history of warfare. Both, and especially Iwo Jima, have become immortal in the history of the United States Marine Corps, as the Marines fought in the brutal warfare to take Iwo Jima from Imperial Japan. Both, but especially Iwo Jima, have become symbolic of the twentieth century as truly being the American Century.
This is, of course, because of the legendary photograph that was taken at Iwo Jima during the battle: the raising of the American flag by the Marines. Of all of the photographs of the war, this is most likely the most famous and the most recognizable. Others include the picture of St. Paul’s Cathedral amidst the smoke during the Blitz against London in 1940, or the USS Arizona burning during the Pearl Harbor attack in December of 1941, or perhaps the many iconic photographs of the D-Day landings in Normandy in June of 1944. But the raising of the flag by the Marines at Iwo Jima is all the more legendary. With regards to photography, it is a simple and yet masterful shot: perfectly framed and centered, flawlessly capturing the drama and history of the moment. The Marines had fought to take control of the first part of the island – and there was much fighting left to do – and yet found it important to raise the large Stars and Stripes for the sake of the Marines down below the mountain. By seeing the Stars and Stripes being raised atop Mt. Suribachi, they would know that the first parts of the battle had been won.
The Marines at Iwo Jima not only points to heroism, bravery, and the sheer dedication of the Marine Corps, but it also points to something deeper, something truly historic. The twentieth century has often been called “the American Century,” as the United States first became a global power in the earlier years of the century, and eventually became a superpower with its victory in World War II. It’s economy became the largest in the world, and its system of government would inspire the world. Its culture, especially its culture of film, would spread throughout the globe. By the end of the century in the 1990’s, the United States was the sole superpower on earth.
The triumph of the Marines at Iwo Jima – strategically an important island to take, as taking it would put Japan within bombing distance – represents the American Century: America was built on grit and bravery, and it was anything but easy. Victory against Imperial Japan was anything but easy, but it was done. The United States and her allies were victorious, and indeed, Japan itself was drastically changed by the ensuing American occupation, becoming an “Americanized” nation and a close ally of her former enemy. The success and transformation of Japan after the war is a fine example of the triumph of the American Century.
Okinawa, too, is crucial to remember. The Marines and Army fought for weeks to take control of the island, which is situated even closer to Japan than Iwo Jima is. Taking Okinawa put Japan within even closer bombing distance, signaling the inevitable defeat of the Axis power. To take Okinawa would mean to eventually take Japan. But this came at an even higher price than Iwo Jima: more casualties and many ships lost to the brutal Japanese kamikaze attacks. The losses at Okinawa were so shocking that American leaders were increasingly appalled at the thought of invading Japan, which could have resulted in roughly a million Allied casualties and an untold number of Japanese casualties. Okinawa therefore inspired American leadership to consider another way to end the war: using the atomic bomb, developed by the Manhattan Project over the course of the war, to shock Japan into surrender. This is of course what happened: President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of both atomic bombs – first at Hiroshima and then at Nagasaki – in August of 1945, prompting the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II.
Victory Over Japan was indeed something to celebrate. The Empire of Japan had committed untold atrocities in Asia and had attacked the United States without warning at Pearl Harbor. But the dropping of the atomic bombs remains controversial and regrettable: although they did undoubtedly save countless Allied and Japanese lives, they were in themselves truly horrific.
If Iwo Jima represents the true beginning of the American Century, then perhaps Okinawa represents something else: the beginning of the nuclear age, when humanity would come dangerously close to destroying itself. The brutality of Okinawa indirectly led to the droppings of the atomic bombs, which would forever change the world. History is consequential: certain events lead to very real consequences.
Let us remember the fallen of Iwo Jima and Okinawa on both sides. Let us too remember how battles can change the world, and so too can one photograph.