The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the most dramatic in world history. An invasion fleet of about 450 American ships landed 60,000 Marines on a heavily bombarded 8 square mile volcanic island defended by nearly 21,000 entrenched Japanese soldiers determined to fight to the death. The following month of bitter fighting cost 45,000 casualties and left only 216 Japanese prisoners.
Perhaps the most iconic image of all of American military history is Joe Rosenthal’s Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, taken atop Iwo Jima’s highpoint, Mount Suribachi. The flags that were raised – including the one photographed – were preserved as relics and are on rotating display in the National Museum of the Marine Corps, which itself is shaped in reference to the Iwo Jima flag raising. But another famous Iwo Jima relic is surprisingly attainable.
Iwo Jima’s black sand beaches – and the US Marines’ almighty struggle across them – were made famous by Hollywood’s Sands of Iwo Jima (and later Letters from Iwo Jima). While Iwo Jima is now closed to the general public, a number of visitors over the years have taken sand off its invasion beaches and put it up for sale. Check out the Iwo Jima beach sand for sale on eBay:
One glass vial of Volcanic Black Ash sand from Iwo Jima and U.S…1945 Iwo Jima 3 cent stamp(unused. no tares or holes. look at pictures carefully. (The U.S. suffered 6,821 dead and ...
NICE GROUPING, a large piece of Lava rock from the site of the Iwo Jima flag raising at the top of Mount Suribachi and sand from the landing beach 23 February 1945. ***80TH ...
This iconic location is etched in the annals of World War II history, where Marines demonstrated unparalleled bravery during one of the most pivotal battles of the Pacific ...
I was in “Iwo Jima” and I noticed that a lot of people felt a connection to the island or “landing beach” because of the fact that they either had someone that had been there or ...
The beaches had been described as excellent and the advance inland was expected to be easy. Instead, the Marines were faced with 15-foot-high slopes of soft black volcanic ash ...