Dead U.S. Marines Lie On Iwo Jima Beach -- U.S. Marines killed when American forces landed Feb. 18, 1945 lie on the beach of Iwo Island, Japanese military outpost 750 miles (1,200 km.) from Tokyo, capital of Japan, More than 2,050 U.S. Marines and more than 12,800 Japanese were killed in the first three weeks' of bitter fighting on the volcanic island, as Japanese troops were pushed to the northernmost tip. April 4, 1945. (Photo by U.S. Office of War Information Picture).