Anniversary of the Flag Raising at Iwo Jima

With the recent success of both the book Flags of our Fathers, and the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name, it's hard to believe the day almost went by without my realizing it was the anniversary of the flag raising.

It took 36 days to secure the island. Almost all of the 23,000 Japanese troops on the island eventually died, along with 7,000 marines.

If you've not read the story, a brief summary is available over at Iwo Jima.com, and there are also interesting accounts here.