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The Lions of Iwo Jima (John MacRae Books)

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There are a handful of notable battles that are seared forever into America's consciousness -- Bunker Hill, Alamo, Gettysburg, Little Big Horn, Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima. The slaughter suffered in each was terrible, but the savagery carried out on Iwo Jima shocked the nation.

Of course, the saga of the Battle of Iwo Jima is well known to World War II readers. The photograph of Marines raising the flag is instantly recognizable by Americans as the moment of victory on Iwo Jima. It's common knowledge that on February 19, 1945, three reinforced Marine Divisions assaulted Iwo Jima, and emerged victorious, but it's still shocking to read how the Marines suffered more casualties here than the Japanese -- one third of all Marines killed in World War II died on Iwo Jima.

Co-authors, Major General Fred Haynes and James A. Warren, have correctly shown that Combat Team 28's story on Iwo Jima warrants a book. After all, it was men from CT 28 that raised Old Glory over Mount Suribachi, the key strategic position on Iwo Jima. In the author's own words, "Our goal in writing the book has been to reconstruct the world of CT 28 as it prepared for and fought its only battle and to give the reader a vivid sense of the range of experiences and emotions these men endured."

They have written a concise, action packed history. The authors recount the story of CT 28's part in the Iwo Jima fight against the backdrop of the island hopping in the Pacific War. This is a vivid and fresh telling of the complete history of CT 28. Haynes and Warren know the battlefield; they know the adversaries. As a participant in the invasion, Fred Haynes brings formidable credentials to his task. His personal experiences are gripping, although unfortunately not atypical of other Marine officers there. The samurai's merciless 'meat grinder' quickly chewed up captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and squad leaders in body and mind.

Fred Haynes' CT 28 was one of eight combat units specifically created to invade Iwo Jima. Learning from past amphibious warfare mistakes, the Marines carefully assembled CT 28 and placed it into rigorous training for over a year. Conquering the island fortress would require the best men, equipment, training, planning, and support possible.

Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the commander of Japanese forces on Iwo Jima carefully prepared his elaborate defenses. "More than nine hundred major gun emplacements and several thousand individual fighting positions were supplied by a network of underground barracks and storehouses, connected by eleven miles of tunnels. The Japanese fighting positions ranged from one-man spider holes to pillboxes, dug-in tanks, blockhouses, trenches, and interconnected cave openings. They were scattered throughout the island, but camouflage rendered the vast majority undetectable." Kuribayashi expected each Japanese soldier to kill ten Marines in exchange for his own life.

Troubled by the staggering losses suffered in the battle, post war historians have voiced concerns over the necessity of capturing Iwo Jima. Haynes and Warren offer up several justifications.

The Army Air Force would benefit most from the capture of Iwo Jima. Once taken, Iwo Jima could be used as a fighter base for North American P-51s escorting Boeing B-29 Heavy Bombers over Japan. "That bombing campaign was clearly decisive in Japan's defeat, for it threatened to destroy Japanese civilization, and thus paved the way for the decision by Japan's leaders to surrender unconditionally to the United States." Once taken, no more Japanese bombers would be based on Iwo Jima to attack B-29 bases in the Marianas.

As students of military history, the authors knew with Iwo Jima in Allied hands, the B-29s would benefit by not having to detour around the enemy held island on their way to Japan. No Japanese spotters would be left on Iwo Jima to send Japan two hour advance warnings of attacking B-29s. Japanese shipping among the home islands could be easily attacked from Iwo Jima and the new base could serve as a marshaling area for the eventual invasion of the home islands.

"The Lions of Iwo Jima" avoids the voyeurism that books about fighting the samurai easily fall into. Haynes and Warren have given us an historic mosaic composed of individual anecdotes, quotations, and vignettes. Some of the most interesting pages of "The Lions of Iwo Jima" explore the psyche of the Japanese soldier.

Haynes and Warren take the readers through the campaign, cave by cave, first describing battles to take Mount Suribachi, then Hill 362A, Nishi Ridge, and Kitano Point's Bloody Gorge. "The Lions of Iwo Jima" is peppered with dramatic tales of combat action. "By campaign's end, more than 70 percent of the Marines who had landed in the unit's three assault battalions were dead or wounded." Only a few hundred survivors of the original CT 28 team were left to tell about these horrific battles.

Beyond the more familiar tales of blasting caves and snipers, Fred Haynes deftly underscores the mindless obedience, fearlessness, even bizarre fatalism of Iwo Jima's determined defenders. The authors give intelligent and thoughtful voice to the essentials that make up the doomed Japanese fighters. "The Lions of Iwo Jima" is a quick, enjoyable read.

"Lions of Iwo Jima" contains three maps and a gallery of 48 photographs.

Major General Fred Hayes and James A. Warren have achieved the historian's dream of telling tale so well that although the end of it is already known to us, we read on to find out what happens next. The momentum of the action during the six-week battle for Iwo Jima in 1945 creates an unforgettable impression. The angry roar of battle will remain with the reader for a long time.

Dramatic in the extreme, the secret here is the strong blending of memoir and personal narrative provided by authors General Hayes, then a Captain and the last surviving member of the planning team and veteran of the battle, and by James Warren, author of an acclaimed history of the Marines from Iwo Jima to Iraq.

"The Lions of Iwo Jima" tells the full story of the three assault battalions of Combat Team 28 from their training to the landing on February 19, 1945, the seminal battle for Mt. Suribachi and the flag raising thereon, and the remaining four weeks of hand to hand combat ending at Bloody Gorge on the north side of the island, ending March 26, 1945. By the time the battle was over, 70 percent of the 4,500 men of Combat Team 28 were killed or seriously wounded.

This book contains some of the finest descriptions yet written of Marine action in World War II.

Richard N. Larsen
Reviewer

There are of course many books written about the battle on Iwo Jima and the horriffic slaughter that took place there. No doubt the iconic picture of the flag raising and well as the terrible loss of life burned this battle into the consciousness of the American people. This book takes a slightly different approach and follows the Marine Combat Team 28 from its inception through to the end of the battle. It is written by two men, a writer and one of the members of CT28 who was a young staff officer and planner with a much bigger picture than the average Marine. The writter lays out the story and the Marine fills in with personal memories of what he and the people around him did. CT28 raised the flag on Surabachi in just a few days after the battle began and many thought and hoped that the battle was pretty much over. Unfortunately it had barely begun. THe battle plan of General Kuyabayashi was ingenious and deadly and advances were measured in feet and yards with casualties never ending. The Japanese were virtually invisiable and had to be blasted out one hole, one machine gun nest, one bunker at at time and there were thousands of them. The book is well written and yet easy to read and well worth the time of anybody interested in this battle.

i am one of the iwo jima lions and i think it
is the best book ever written about the battle
iwo jima.fred haynes and james warren did a supper
job in writing this book.al eutsey 28th marine.

Major General Fred Haynes (USMC ret) was a young captain of Combat Team 28 in the fight on Iwo Jima. James A. Warren wrote a history of the US Marines from Iwo Jima to Iraq. In February 1945 Iwo Jima was the most densely fortified piece of real estate on earth (p.1). The attack on Iwo Jima was the most difficult mission for the Marine Corps. One-third of the Marines killed in WW II died on Iwo Jima. The Japanese fortifications were the most elaborate for a static defense to the last man against a frontal assault (p.7). The capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa would allow P-51 fighter escorts for the B-29 Superfortresses that would bomb Japan (p.9). Iwo Jima could not be used by the enemy to attack American forces but for American bombers (p.10). This book tries to tell the history of the five weeks of combat (p.12).

The worst fighting was at Bloody Gorge on the north side. Three of the six men in that famous flag raising photo were lost there (p.13). Many of the recorded stories have conflicts (p.15), this book attempts to resolve them (p.16). Military strategists believed any assault against defended beaches would fail like Gallipoli. Marine Corps strategists believed that it could be done with coordinated navy and aerial support and specialized landing craft (p.18). The Combat Teams were well-trained. Iwo Jima was fortified to perfection (p.44). The assault troops practiced for hundreds of hours (p.49). The Navy did spend nine days shelling the heavy gun emplacements (p.51) since they had other objectives (pp.52-53) and attacked Japan. Cloudy misty weather severely limited visibility (p.64); the first casualties were sailors. Religious beliefs bound people together (p.64). Chapters 3, 4, and 5 tell about the invasion and capture of Mount Suribachi.

The first flag raising occurred around 10:20 on February 23, 1945. It was photographed (p.128), Marines on the ground cheered. A few minutes later the Japanese attacked. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, present on the beach, asked for this flag so a larger flag was obtained. Photographers recorded this (p.130) and the one photograph became famous as the first flag raised on Japanese territory. Over four more weeks of fighting continued until the Army landed to finish the fight. The Marines were being readied for the next invasion. The symbolism of this photo resonated with all Americans (p.132). It reversed the criticism of the Navy over high casualty figures (p.133). Those who raised the first flag were ignored (p.134).

The capture of a Japanese map revealed the precise location of defensive positions (p.137). Chapter 6 describes "The Enemy". The official flag raising occurred on March 14 (p.205) but fighting continued. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 tell of the combat to defeat the Japanese. On March 26 the remnants of Combat Team 28 sailed back to Camp Tarawa on Hilo to train for the invasion of Japan. The end of the war in August 1945 meant they would land in Japan as occupation forces ("Epilogue"). This book tells how the Marines were driven to take the island without a fresh combat team (p.195). Was this done as a test to see how much could be done with a given number? One interesting item was the high use of the M-1 carbine for close range combat in addition to the M-1 rifle.

There have been a number of books written on perhaps the worst and most gruesome battle in this country's hostory. Perhaps the survivors of Okinawa may take exception. I wish to suggest the book by Bill D. Ross on Iwo Jima is the best. That is not to detract from the efficacy of this book. The author in this case does indeed convey the mind numbing intensity of this horrible fight. Given the author's own experience on Iwo, he concentrates on his own specific unit. Though that may somewhat detract from a gross overview of the battle, it nonetheless gives the reader a lurid account of the day to day existance of the individual Marine who fought this battle. For the reader well versed in the fight for Iwo Jima, there is nothing new here. For those who are unfamiliar with the fight, it is very good informative reading.

This book is an excellent example of documentation for what happened on IWO JIMA. My dad recommended I read this book as he was in the 28th Regiment on IWO JIMA and witnessed the flag raising among some of the other notable events as they happened. It really gives you insight as to the conditions these men endured during this battle.

although it starts a tad slow for me, since I have read six other books on this terrible fight. While I knew the background well, when Fred gets to the combat situations he knew intimately, his memoir comes alive. His view on the assault against Suribachi is more vividly detailed than other accounts. His recounting of the hellish days and weeks after the flag-raising, until the island was cleared of significant resistance more than five weeks after the Marines landed, is again, more finely described than other accounts. I also love "Flags of Our Fathers" and have read that one three times in nine years. "Legacy of Valor" and "The Battle for Iwo Jima 1945" are also worthy. I don't know if I have the heart to read "The Lions of Iwo Jima" again, because there is a lot of sadness to the story of this conquest. However, I suggest any readers interested in Iwo might start with Fred's book and then read "Flags." Every book about the island is different, due to the battle's size, length, complexity and hundreds of episodes of individual and unit heroism.

In February, 1945, three Marine divisions set their sights on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima. Located only 600 miles from Tokyo, Iwo Jima would serve as an emergency base for American B-29 bombers as well as an advanced fighter escort base. Over 20,000 Japanese, commanded by General Kuribayashi, had transformed Iwo into a massive undergound system of tunnels, along with pillboxes, blockhouses, and mutually-supporting machine gun and artillery fields of fire. Despite heavy bombardment by American ships and aircraft, much of Iwo's underground bunkers and tunnels survived.

D-Day was February 19, 1945. Early that morning, the three American Marine divisions headed for the beach. Part of the assault waves contained Combat Team 28, and their job was to attack and help secure Mount Suribachi. In this fine book, author Fred Haynes tells the story of Combat Team 28 and their harrowing time on Iwo Jima.

Haynes gives an insightful look into what combat was like on Iwo Jima. He describes the difficult times the Marines had moving in the volcanic ash which covered the island, and he vividly retells his team's bloody ascent up Suribachi. Despite the capture of Suribachi, there was still much fighting left to go before Iwo was secured. Haynes' group soon turned north and headed once again to face the Japanese.

I've read several books about Iwo Jima, and I've found this one to be one of the best. Haynes describes in great detail the story of his combat team and the battle against an often unseen enemy. He also tells the story of both American flag raisings atop Mount Suribachi and, in perhaps the best chapter of the book, Haynes looks closely at the Japanese soldier himself and what led them to be such fierce and fanatical fighters. First-hand accounts are the best way to learn about history, and Haynes' book contains personal recollections as well as testimonies from fellow Marines. Combat team 28 played an integral role in determining the outcome of the Battle of Iwo Jima, and Fred Haynes was there. Highly recommended.

I've read literally hundreds of books on WWII in my lifetime and this book is absolutely one of the best ever presented about the battle for Iwo Jima. Well written and well researched. The amount of detail about what happened to the Marines in that combat team is impressive without being overwhelming. There have been other books written about the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi but this book goes beyond that. The flag raising is covered, but the book is mostly about the awful combat that took place afterwards. When you're done reading, you'll wonder to yourself how anyone made it off Iwo alive.