Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Published: June 10, 2026

Duration: 1:00:33

On January 6, 1949, two starving Japanese machine gunners walked out of the caves on Iwo Jima and surrendered to American airmen who had no idea they were there. The war had been over for more than three years. They're where this episode ends, and they're the reason it exists. Before them came the battle. This one goes deep into the fight for a stinking scrap of volcanic ash 650 miles south of Tokyo, and the general who turned it into one of the worst killing grounds of the Pacific war. 

Tadamichi Kuribayashi knew Japan couldn't win, so he buried his g...