In the titanic and protracted fight for Iwo Jima that unfolded 80 years ago, both doggedly determined adversaries knew how high the stakes were. For imperial Japan, its very existence was growing ever more unlikely the closer that Allied forces came, and Iwo would be defended to the death. As Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz observed, conquest of the island was “as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat.”
The U.S. Marine Corps sacrificed greatly to achieve that victory, and the “uncommon valor” of the Marine infantrymen who fought there, and the memory of those who died there, must never be forgotten. But there is a bigger story to tell about the epic struggle for Iwo Jima, one that touches on what Admiral Nimitz hinted at when he remarked that both “individual and collective courage” combined were of the essence. For behind those valorous infantrymen who were the tip of the spear, there loomed a full-spectrum array of impressively coordinated assets that all came to bear.
In our cover story this issue, Chris K. Hemler brilliantly paints this fuller picture for us. His account richly details “the contributions of a much broader American triphibious (land, sea, and air) force that first neutralized and then secured Iwo Jima in 1945.” That veritable tidal wave of firepower gave those fighting men the fighting chance they needed, and as the author notes, “Victory at Iwo Jima revealed not only the courage and resolve of frontline troops, but it also gave testament to the specialized skills and tactical synergy of U.S. field artillery, naval gunfire, and air support.” His article makes for a consummate 80th-anniversary commemoration of these events, and we are pleased to present it to you.
This issue also features an exclusive preview of the Naval Institute Press’s exciting new book, Intrepid’s Fighting Squadron 18: Flying High with Harris’ Hellcats. In just an 81-day tour of duty, the legendary VF-18 of the USS Intrepid (CV-11) shot down more than 170 planes and became one of the highest-scoring carrier units of World War II. In the sampling presented here, author Mike Fink of the Intrepid Museum zeroes in on VF-18 during the massive October 1944 Formosa Air Battle; here is an account filled with aerial action that should whet any naval aviation enthusiast’s appetite to read more.
Also in these pages you will find the inside story of a recent discovery in the underwater-archaeology realm: the location of the wreck of the Clemson-class destroyer USS Stewart (DD-224), aka “the Ghost Ship of the Pacific.” The Stewart had a most unusual career, both in the U.S. Navy, then in the Imperial Japanese Navy, then poignantly back in the fold of the U.S. Navy by war’s end. Celebrated undersea explorer James Delgado, a participant in the Stewart project, regales us with the search and discovery of the ship as well as her fascinatingly unique service history. The story of the past, as Delgado reminds us, is written in more ways than with words, and that “a great museum of our naval and maritime history rests below as monuments to those who served.”
Eric Mills
Editor-in-Chief
