[donmeaker]

Not sure that is true.

First most B-29 aircraft that landed there did so on “training” missions.

Second, even aircraft that may have ditched about that far from Japan might have parachuted out and been picked up by the Navy.

Certainly the airfields there were useless to the Japanese, as they had no meaningful amount of fuel. It is open to question as to how sure the various commanders may have been of that aspect of Japanese want.

[Fiji Hill]

For a well-argued presentation of the case against invading Iwo Jima, read Worth the Cost? Justificaton of the Iwo Jima Invasion on the Historynet site. Included are responses by those taking issue with the author.

[Fiji Hill]

By the way, a lot of Americans probably don't know that the Meat Ball flies over Iwo Jima--now called Iwo Tō, its original name, but which means the same thing--Sulfur Island.