World War II Brought to Life: The Battle of Iwo Jima in Colorized Photos

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the commencement of the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles on the Pacific front during World War II. In commemoration of this important event, we colorized some of the iconic photos from the battle.

The Battle of Iwo Jima took place over the course of 5 weeks, starting February 19 and ending March 26, 1945. Iwo Jima is a Japanese volcano island, one of the 3 islands of the Ogasawara Archipelago. The Japanese had been using it as a base for fighter planes that were intercepting American long-range bombers and as a haven for the Japanese navy.

The battle resulted in 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 deaths. 21,000 Japanese soldiers were stationed at Iwo Jima at the start of the battle, and only 216 were taken prisoner  — meaning the rest are assumed to have been killed.

The photos from the battle look even more dramatic in color after having been colorized with MyHeritage In Color™!

Firing on cave positions at Iwo Jima

Marines landing on the beach of Iwo Jima

Marines wait to move inland after arriving on shore

US soldiers fire on heavily fortified positions

Stars and stripes fly over Mount Suribachi

American troops receive supplies

A US Marine fires a machine gun

Lieutenant Wade briefs the troops

Marines from the 24th Marine Regiment at the battle of Iwo Jima

Raising the American flag. This iconic photo was reproduced as a war memorial sculpture and a postage stamp

Bring your own family history to life by colorizing your own family photos with MyHeritage In Color™!

Is anyone in your family a WWII war veteran? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!