On the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, President Ronald Reagan spoke to a group of Marine Corps veterans of the battle at the White House. During his moving speech, he remarked, “Well, at dawn, 40 years ago today, 450 United States Navy ships stood off a tiny island in the Pacific. Few Americans had heard of the place. It measured four and two thirds miles by two and a half miles, ash-covered beaches and one extinct, unknown volcano. And at 7 o’clock, a command was passed to the ship