On February 19, 1945 American Marines landed on Iwo Jima. The volcanic island was a fortress of underground barracks saturated with Japanese soldiers—despite a previous three months of U.S. bombardment—and was a vital location in the war. The United States would need it in order to land and launch bombers and fighters for the invasion of Japan. In one month the island was declared secure, but at the high cost of 6000 Marines and 21,000 Japanese. The most famous portion of the invasion was the fight to the top of an extinct volcano, Mt. Suribachi, where on the fifth day of the landing, February 23, American forces planted the U.S. flag on the summit. Photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the Marines later raising a larger flag, and the picture quickly became a symbol of American ideals and heroism. Japs shot from windows in their earthen defenses, making flamethrowers like the one below essential weapons.