W Eugene Smith Iwo Jima Life 9th April 1945

After photographing the initial landings on Iwo Jima on February 19th 1945, W Eugene Smith returned to the island towards the end of the 35 day battle to record the aftermath of the fighting.

He photographed engineers blasting the still-occupied caves on the "Meatgrinder" Hill 382.
Life used the image on the cover and dedicated a further nine pages to Smith's images.