My father was all over the Pacific during the war and he always said that anyone who was at Iwo was treated with the utmost respect and admiration. He always said that this should have been a National Holiday. He retired a master Chief after 27 years in the Navy, two wars and the start of the third, and to the best of my recollections always got seriously emotional when he spoke about Iwo. I never knew details about his war experiences, other than being the navigator off Chosin in Korea on a tin can. That came from an Uncle. Iwo was something that really got him emotional.
I’ve been reading Homer’s WWII New York Times threads, and find it interesting that back then it was simply called Iwo Island (Since “Jima” is Nipponese for “Island” anyhow....).