In the early morning hours of 26 March 1945 the 21st Fighter Group area was hit by a Japanese "Banzai" attack on Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. It is estimated that approximately 300 Japanese, the remnant of 3 units, participated in this charge. This is a general view of the 21st Fighter Group Officers' tent area showing Japanese and American dead lying where they fell. After the battle 150 Japanese dead were found in the 21st Group Area.
Services for men killed during a Banzai attack on 21st Fighter Group, VII Fighter Command, are held in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery, Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. 1 April 1945.
CRIPPLED B-29 CRASHES ON IWO JIMA - Returning from a strike over Tokyo, this B-29 of the 21st Bomber Command came into Iwo Jima for an emergency landing. Brakes on the Superfort locked and the huge plane careened into the flight line, plowed through four Mustang fighters, and burst into flames. Two members of the crew were hospitalized for burns, two others suffered minor burns end the remainder escaped unhurt. Men in the foreground crouch behind a jeep to avoid exploding ammunition.
