WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The 70th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima was remembered in veterans' gatherings across America over the weekend. The five-week World War II battle, formally known as "Operation Detachment" began Feb. 19, 1945, a campaign of heavy losses meant to secure the heavily-fortified island of Iwo Jima, south of Japan in the Pacific Ocean, for use by U.S. troops to invade mainland Japan. Official statistics note 6,821 U.S. troops and 18,441 Japanese troops died in the battle.
It produced an iconic photograph by news photographer Joe Rosenthal of the planting of a U.S. flag atop the island's 545-foot tall Mt. Suribachi, used as a patriotic touchstone and the model for many monuments across the U.S., including a full-size recreation in bronze at the U.S. Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.