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- [Man on Radio] C-Shine
calling flight ops,

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may we taxi off and take off?

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May we taxi off and take off, over?

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(plane engine rumbling)

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(dramatic orchestral music)

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- [Narrator] Tokoyo, spring, 1945.

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One of the great cities of the world

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becomes one of the great
battlefields of the world.

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Center and soul of the
Japanese war effort,

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Tokoyo is objective number one

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for strategic air attack by the Allies.

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From the far off Mariana,

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from Guam,

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from Saipan,

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from Tinian,

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come the B-29s,

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bringing war to the makers of war.

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Strategic attack,

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shatter and destroy transport,

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industry,

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communication,

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resources,

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manpower.

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More critical to a country at war

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than her divisions in the field.

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Her ships at sea,

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her planes in the air.

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The great fire rage consumed Japan.

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66 cities are swept by
hurricanes of flame.

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Long-range fighters from Iwo Jima,

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rough, tough, mustangs,

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protect the super ports

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on their incessant sweeps over Japan,

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and scourge and scrape
as they come and go.

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Fighters and bombers together

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destroy 51% of Tokoyo,

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44% of Yokohama,

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26% of Osaka.

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City after city,

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raid after raid.

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Back to base,

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1,400 miles from Tokoyo to the Marianas,

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a distance that would mean
death for the crippled

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were it not for the
emergency landing strip

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on Iwo Jima.

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Without a haven midway,

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without the protection of the fighters

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to beat off the Japanese,

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the raids would be impossible.

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Iwo Jima is the haven.

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B-29s wounded over Japan
come limping in to safety,

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to refuge.

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Before the war is done,

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25,000 American airmen will
owe their lives to Iwo Jima.

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And in the shadow of Mount Suribachi,

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a base of rough, tough mustang,

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that guard the bombers
on their way to Tokoyo.

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Iwo Jima, the indispensable island.

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But before Iwo Jima,

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over the limitless wastes of the Pacific

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on a hundred islands behind Iwo,

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a different war had to be waged

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before Iwo could be reached.

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The campaign of staging and supply

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in a twilight zone which was
neither combat nor peace.

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Only a fraction of the millions in uniform

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ever fired a shot in anger.

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For them,

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World War II was routine
monotony from morning til night.

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Day in and day out,

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week in and week out,

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month in and month out,

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year in and year out.

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(jazzy orchestral music)

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Plodding apathetically back and forth

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on routine, unspectacular missions.

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Cargo ships called by their crews

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buckets or sieves,

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kept island tied to island,

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linking rear area places to war unkempt

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to peace at home.

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If the dreary road of
these ships and sailors

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demanded that they do
that and this and that,

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they nevertheless
executed their dull jobs.

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The South Sea Island,

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exotic,

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magic,

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train route,

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land of mystery and romance,

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Ulithian couture,

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Los Negros and Magua,

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Koo-nah-foo-ki and Noumea,

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Tango-tabu and deh-fa.

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But when the GIs arrived,

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the islands became something else again.

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A land of horseshoes and horseplay,

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beer and baseball,

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jive and jacks.

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Task groups gathered as
the waning days of the war

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called for yet more fire,

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yet more blood,

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on a yet more disciplined island.

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From rear bases long since forgotten

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by all except those who
were stationed there,

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the convoys continually moved off

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toward the destiny of history.

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Not all the battles in the Pacific

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were fought against the Japanese.

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There were other terrors to face.

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And none was worse than an angry sea,

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lashed by typhoons.

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Eternal Father,

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strong to save,

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whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

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who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep

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its own appointed limits keep.

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Oh, hear us when we cry to thee,

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For those in peril on the sea!

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(dramatic orchestral music)

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According to the Marines,

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the South Pacific is the
only place in the world

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where you can stand up
to your waist in mud

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and have dust blow in your eyes.

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(upbeat orchestral music)

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For assault troops,

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one thing was always certain.

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However bad any given island may offend,

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the next was sure to be worse.

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But the men who were
ordered to take Iwo Jima

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in February, 1945,

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could not know that the
worst of all lay ahead.

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From all over the Pacific,

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the ships converged on Iwo Jima.

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The voyage was long,

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tedious,

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and terminal.

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The men relaxed and waited

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as best they knew how.

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Iwo Jima,

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eight square miles of reeking volcanic ash

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on the doorstep to Tokoyo.

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Seven battleships,

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four heavy cruisers,

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15 destroyers take up position,

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slapping a ring of floating artillery

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around the tiny island,

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picking their targets,

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finding the range.

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February of 1945,

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all the guns and all the ships

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prepare for 72 hours of fury,

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continuous,

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unbroken barrage,

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the most concentrated naval
bombardment of World War II.

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(suspenseful orchestral music)

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(booming)

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Secretary of the Navy, Forrestal,

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is there to tell the Sailors and Marines,

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"We have little choice
except to take Iwo Jima

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"by force of arms,

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"by character and courage."

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There is no room for
surprise and maneuver,

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only headlong assault,

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a shore,

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23,000 Japanese soldiers are dug deep

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in the most formidable
defenses the Marines

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have ever encountered.

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The island is a solid mass of
underground fortifications,

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impregnable against bombardment.

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They can be destroyed
only by force of arms,

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by character, and courage.

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(dramatic orchestral music)

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From the caves of Mount Suribachi,

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which dominate the entire island,

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the Japanese zero in their
artillery on the landing beaches

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sending the Marines to
the shore in an avalanche

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of fire and steel,

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paralyzing any advance,

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threatening obliteration.

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Desperate calls for help, for support,

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go out to the carriers off shore.

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In combat information centers,

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all available planes and pilots

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are prepared to answer the pleas

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from a beachhead in hell.

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Winged sailors fly to the
aid of earthbound Marines.

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By character and courage,

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more reserves,

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more supplies,

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more Americans spill
into the slaughterhouse

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that is Iwo Jima,

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and claw their way toward
their target, Suribachi.

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While the mountain remains Japanese,

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the island remains invincible.

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5,000 American Marines will
die before Iwo Jima falls.

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But in the bloody bookkeeping of war,

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the price will be in balance

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by the 25,000 American airmen

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whose lives the island will save.

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One man will die today

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to save five who live tomorrow.

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556 feet, Suribachi towers
above the island of Iwo Jima.

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556 feet, the Marines
fight their way upward.

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556 feet from disaster to victory.

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When freedom from her mountain height

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unfurled her standard to the air,

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she tore the azure robe of night,

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and set the stars of glory there.