WW2 Tourism: Iwo Jima today

The island of Iwo Jima, now called IOTO (sulfur island) was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. The U.S. Marines landed in February 1945 and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces until March, when they finally managed to conquer the island. The Japanese resistance was extreme, which led them to lose almost all his men.

On this island, at the top of Mount Suribachi, it was made the famous photo Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.

VISITING IWO JIMA

Nowadays visiting Iwo Jima is almost impossible. It belongs to the army and there is only a naval base of the forces of Japan. No civilians live there. You can only go to Iwo Jima with an organized tour that visit the island once a year. The company http://www.miltours.com organizes tours for military veterans, family members or people interested. They meet every year in Guam to commemorate the anniversary of the battle. From there, an airplane takes them to Iwo Jima. This tour departs from Los Angeles and the places are very limited because they have a single aircraft to fly to the island. The tour price is about $3500.

REMAINS OF THE BATTLE AND MEMORIALS OF IWO JIMA

Here I show you some of the things that you can find on the island today. There are many more relics of the battle. The land is full of caves, bunkers, artillery and grenade shrapnel damage.

American Memorial Iwo Jima :

Location: here .
The memorial is situated where the American flag was raised on February 12, 1945. It commemorates the valor and sacrifice of the Marines.