U.S. Marines with 3d Marine Division Visit Iwo Jima
CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, Japan – Eighty-one years after the battle of Iwo Jima, a group of Marines from 3rd Marine Division disembarked a C-130 plane on the airfield of Iwo Jima, ready to explore the island, and to see exactly where one of the most historic battles in the Marine Corps unfolded.
Iwo Jima is a small Japanese volcanic island, measuring only 21 kilometers in size. During World War II, the capture of the island became a main objective for U.S. military forces. Taking this island would enable the U.S. to launch air attacks from the airfields located on Iwo Jima. On February 19, 1945, the battle of Iwo Jima began, with Marines from 5th, 4th, and 3rd Marine Division, prepared to claim the island.
“The island was much greener compared to any photos I’ve seen,” said Lance Cpl. Thiago Facchini Jr., a 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion Marine with 3rd Marine Division. “I got a more realistic idea of the distances between objectives and what the terrain would have been like for the Marines that fought on Iwo Jima.”
The Marines began the professional military education event by walking down the main path that exists on the small island, eager to take photos and point out any landmarks they came across. The descent from the airfield was steep, as it wound its way down to the black beach where the 1945 amphibious assault was conducted, all while Mt. Suribachi, the island’s most prominent landmark, loomed in the distance.
The closer they got to the beach, the darker the ground became. What started out as a paved path, turned into a rough gravel trail, which eventually became a fine, black sand. The vegetation surrounding the trail opened up to make the entire beach visible.
“It’s not a normal beach,” said Thiago. “It’s terraced. There’re levels, and it’s a steep, slippery walk, to climb up each one.”
Marines carefully made their way down the sloped sand, with bottles, jars, and baggies in hand. In small groups, they crouched down, filling each receptacle with the infamous black sand that the U.S. Marines, Sailors, and Coast Guardsmen encountered during the 1945 amphibious landing.
Marines took their time leaving the beach, allowing the gravity of the landmark to sink in. This gave the Marines the opportunity to fully grasp what was experienced by those on Iwo Jima in 1945. Walking through the same terrain and standing in the shadow of Mt. Suribachi, gave the Marines participating in the battlefield tour a small glimpse into what the Marines before them may have endured.
“I don’t know exactly what those Marines went through because I wasn’t there myself,” said Facchini. “But one thing I’ll take with me is the fact that I walked where they walked, and I’ve seen the terrain that they had to move through. I’ve read about the things they had to do, and now I’ve seen where they did it. Now, I’ve got to do my best to maintain that fighting spirit throughout my time in the Marine Corps, to honor their legacy.”
The history and the bloodshed that occurred on this small island are just as poignant in 2026 as they were in 1945. The charred remains of artillery exist along the paths that run throughout the island, and the volcanic ash still permeates the beach. Mt. Suribachi remains an enduring relic, having seen the unforgiving violence of the battle of Iwo Jima, still standing as the next generations of Marines visit the island in remembrance of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, hiking the same paths as did the Marines in 1945.
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