28,000 men would give their lives in the Battle for Ewojima, which took place between

February 19th and March 26th, 1945, in the Pacific Ocean, about 650 miles south of Japan.

A tiny volcanic island shaped like a pork chop on the map with the handle being a volcano

on the southwest tip and comprised of jagged coral peaks and caves.

Ewa was a critical target in the War of the Pacific, which for those of you new to World War II history, was begun by Germany in late 1938,

with a then isolationist America watching and providing tanks and planes to Britain and its allies, but not involved.

Until provoked by a Japanese surprise attack on a number of Allied bases in the Pacific Theater, the most damaging to the U.S.

being a carrier-based bomber and torpedo plane attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,

on December 7, 1941, which killed 2,400 servicemen and

destroyed a large number of American ships in the harbor.

The war in the Pacific represented the second of two war fronts in which the U.S. and its allies were involved,

the second being that of Europe.

At the heart of which was Hitler and Germany, which surrendered in May of 1945.

The war in the Pacific Theater continued on with Japan refusing to surrender even after the fall of

Saipan and Okinawa until the unleashing of the atomic bomb on the island of Japan,

which initiated the surrender of the Japanese in August of 1945.

In this multi-episodes series,

we will explain why the taking of Ewo Jima was necessary.

Explain what went into the planning,

how it was fought,

the incredible acts of heroism that took place,

and how it is remembered 73 years later.

...