The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is an independent branch of the US armed forces. The unit was established in November 1775, and the first branch of this unit was formed a year later. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, US Marines served primarily in the region of South and Central America, guarding American interests in this part of the world. It was also then that the principle was established that it was the USMC that was deployed to the area of operations as the first among other units of the US armed forces. Corps soldiers fought in World War I, but they gained special fame in the course of bloody and heavy fights in the Pacific in 1941-1945, taking part in such battles as Guadalcanal (1942-1943), Tarawa (1943), Iwo-Jima and Okinawa (both from 1945). Often in the face of the enemy, the soldiers of this formation showed a lot of courage, an example of which can be, for example, John Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor for his accomplishment during the battles on the Gudalcanal. After 1945, the soldiers of the Corps fought, for example, in the Korean War (1950-1953) or especially in the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), suffering heavy losses in the latter war. After the end of the Cold War, USMC soldiers took part in, for example, both Gulf Wars (1990-1991 and 2003). Currently, there are 182,000 soldiers in the Corps, and about 38,500 in the reserve. The motto of the Corps is the Latin motto Semper Fidelis (Polish always faithful).
The Battle of Iwo-Jima is one of the bloodiest battles fought during World War II in the Far East. Its main goal was to seize this volcanic island by US Marines, relatively close to the Japanese mother islands. It was assumed that the control of Iwo-Jima, which would significantly facilitate not only the organization of strategic bomber raids in Japan, but also had a positive impact on the logistics of a possible Allied invasion of Japan. The Battle of Iwo-Jima began on February 19, 1945 and ended on March 26 of the same year. It is estimated that about 22,000 soldiers took part in the fighting on the Japanese side. On the other hand, about 110,000 soldiers fought on the American side, supported by about 1,200 aircraft. The battle began with a four-day artillery fire from American ships. Later, on February 19, US Marines stormed the beaches. From the very first hours of the fighting, the Japanese army put up a fierce resistance, using the terrain very well as well as the available cannons and machine guns. It is worth noting that the Japanese side used in this battle on a large scale also kamikaze units, which, among others, sank the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea. The losses on both sides were very high: Japanese troops lost the entire garrison of about 22,000. people. However, only about 1,100 soldiers were taken prisoner! On the other hand, American troops lost as many as 26,000 killed and wounded. For the American side, the famous photo of Joe Rosenthal, taken on February 23, 1945, is a symbol of the fighting on Iwo-Jima, as well as the American success in this battle, on February 23, 1945, showing the placing of the American banner on Mount Suribachi by six Marines. It is worth adding that three of the six Marines in this photo died in the course of further fights on Iwo-Jima, and the author received the Pulitzer Prize for them. The photos also inspired the memorial to the Marine Corps, carved in 1954.
