With neither beauty nor bounty to its credit, the volcanic island of Iwo Jima entered history with one of those grisly distinctions reserved for small bits of strategic land in wartime. In a 36-day battle that ranked as one of the bloodiest and bitterest of the Pacific war, 6,821 Americans and all but 212 of the 22,000 Japanese defenders died there in 1945. Midway through their fight, on Mount Suribachi, the straining Marines raised the U.S. flag in a scene captured for posterity in a famous photograph. Their feat was commemorated on...
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