World Battlefronts: With Nobility and Courage

From Iwo Jima this week TIME Correspondent Robert Sherrod radioed:

At Tarawa the 2nd Division marines paid the highest relative price: 1,000 killed and 2,000 wounded in exchange for one square mile of land. The 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions and the 27th Army Division suffered 16,500 casualties to win Saipan's 75 square miles. Iwo Jima is smaller (eight square miles) than Saipan, and its casualty ratio will hardly equal Tarawa's, but at the end of a fortnight's bloody fighting there is no longer any doubt that Iwo is the most difficult amphibious operation in U.S. history.

Until last week it seemed...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!