Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.78

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		amphibious, kamikaze, suicide, bombings, asset, heroism, military, withstand, fortify, factor, fairly, artillery, mainland, death, planes, fashion
	content words:		Iwo Jima, On February, These Marines, Mount Suribachi

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Iwo Jima
By Jane Runyon

¹     After the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines, Japan knew the Allies were coming ever closer to their mainland. They also realized that their military was becoming seriously depleted. Their navy had lost so many ships they were no longer a major factor in battles. They had lost most of their aircraft. It would take years to build enough planes to bring them back up to full strength. The replacement planes being built did not have the ability to fly the long distances they would need to protect the home islands.

²     Japan had to come up with a plan to stop the advance of the Allied forces. They were certain that the Allies would try to reach Japan through Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was a fairly small island. It was less than five miles from north to south. It was two and a half miles at its widest point and one half mile at its narrowest. The Japanese decided to make it as secure as possible before the expected attack from the Allies.

³     To give themselves time to fortify Iwo Jima, the Japanese called for a number of "kamikaze" attacks on Allied ships in the area. Kamikazes were volunteer suicide bombers. These pilots flew their planes over the carriers in the Pacific shipping lanes. They would crash their planes into the ships. It was certain death for the pilot. These planes were capable of doing great damage to the ships they hit. The Japanese plan was to delay the Allied ships long enough for them to complete the defense of Iwo Jima.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
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