[Robert A Cook PE]

Not true!

More American lives were saved (US airmen landing on Iwo AFTER their planes were shot over Japan) BECAUSE we attacked that island than were lost taking it.

Plus, the three airfields on Iwo were staging areas for additional attacks AGAINST US planes coming back from Japan. Not entirely effective attacks (not as effective as the British fighters at Malta, where that single British island was the key to the central Med supply lines against Rommel, but damaging none-the less.

In fact, damaged aircraft were landing on Iwo even before the fighting stopped!

[Strategerist]

More American lives were saved (US airmen landing on Iwo AFTER their planes were shot over Japan) BECAUSE we attacked that island than were lost taking it.

Sorry. This is often repeated but it's simply doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

It assumes every single crewman on every B-29 that landed on Iwo would have otherwise died, which is absurd. Many of those B-29s probably would have made it back to base. Even ones that ditched would have had the crewmen rescued in most cases.

[F16Fighter]

"The three airfields on Iwo were staging areas for additional attacks AGAINST US planes coming back from Japan. Not entirely effective attacks (not as effective as the British fighters at Malta, where that single British island was the key to the central Med supply lines against Rommel, but damaging none-the less."

The Jap pilots by that time were no match for the USAF, and true they just weren't effective.

"In fact, damaged aircraft were landing on Iwo even before the fighting stopped!"

Jap aircraft I presume? "Damaged"? Of course -- the Jap Air Force was getting torn to shreds at that juncture.

Iwo would have been NO help after we isolated the Island from further re-supply anyway.