USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks.

Detailed explanation-2: -It had been one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. After the battle, Iwo Jima served as an emergency landing site for more than 2, 200 B-29 bombers, saving the lives of 24, 000 U.S. airmen. Securing Iwo Jima prepared the way for the last and largest battle in the Pacific: the invasion of Okinawa.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Battle for Okinawa, April 1 to June 22, 1945, was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyus Islands and lies 350 miles from mainland Japan.

Detailed explanation-4: -Pearl Harbor attack, (December 7, 1941), surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii, by the Japanese that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II.

Detailed explanation-5: -Iwo Jima was considered strategically important since it provided an air base for Japanese fighter planes to intercept long-range B-29 Superfortress bombers. In addition, it was used by the Japanese to stage nuisance air attacks on the Mariana Islands from November 1944 to January 1945.