Take the Beach!

Stand in a dark room aboard a ship while receiving a briefing on your assault landing upon Iwo Jima. Step through the hatch and board a Higgins Boat for a realistic ride to the shore, but be sure to keep your head down.

The ramp opens as you arrive on shore.

Take the beach!

The immersive exhibit can be experienced at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. February 23rd celebrated the 64th anniversary of the hoisting of the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima. The first flag raised by the Marines on Mount Suribachi is on display.

The flag was raised by the Schrier Patrol. A second flag was raised later in the day, portrayed in the famed Joe Rosenthal photograph. Three of the six men who raised the second flag died fighting.

Before storming the beach visitors begin with the exhibit on what it takes to become a Marine. Take on the roll of a drill instructor, learn about the uniform, then pass or fail the Marine on his inspection.

View the white bus as visitors are told to stand on the yellow footprints. The wall behind you portrays before and after photos of the famous first haircut. Stand in a booth to experience orders a recruit would receive from a drill instructor.

After graduating boot camp and given the title of Marine, follow the Legacy walk to become immersed in more than 200 years of Marine Corps history.

Artillery pieces, planes, and tanks are displayed in each exhibit. In the Korean War Gallery visitors experience the cold with Marines on Toktong Pass near the Chosin
Resevoir. The Marines are cold, tired, and dangerously short of ammunition. Visitors hear the Chinese soldiers advancing. The battle must be won.

Casualties are posted at the end of each exhibit, to honor as well as remind visitors of the high price of war.

One of the highest prices was paid at Iwo Jima. More than 800 Americans gave their lives for every square mile of the island's black, volcanic sand.

Iwo Jima was a Japanese stronghold of crucial strategic importance. It would make an excellent base for Allied fighters, but would also be the location for the tip of the sword
of the forthcoming invasion of Okinawa.

More than 80,000 men were assigned the task of taking the island, which was barely 10 square miles in area and dominated by 556 foot Mount Suribachi.

Previous to the invasion the Japanese were ordered to dig miles of tunnels to connect hundreds of key defensive positions to allow them to hide underground and strike anywhere anytime they desired.

The assault began Feb. 19, 1945. The battle went on for 6 weeks and was declared secure on March 21st. The final death toll among Marines was more than twice as many Marines than had been killed in all of World War One.

An additional 209 deaths occurred among the Navy corpsmen and surgeons assigned to the Marines. The Fifth Fleet and participating U.S. Army and Army Air Corps units suffered other fatalities during the battle.

Of the more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the island, 21,703 died either from fighting or by ritual suicide. Only 1,083 were captured during the battle.

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is located along Route 1 across from Quantico Marine Corps Base. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Christmas. Admission
is free.