What is List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima?
{{Medal of Honor recipients}} The [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] took place in February and March 1945 during [[World War II]]. Some of the fiercest fighting of the war happened during this battle. The American invasion was called [[Operation Detachment]]. It was charged with capturing the airfields on the [[Japan]]ese island of [[Iwo Jima]]. The [[Imperial Japanese Army]] positions on the island were heavily fortified. There were vast bunkers with hidden artillery. It had 18 kilometers (11&nbsp;mi) of tunnels. The battle was the first American attack on the Japanese [[Japanese archipelago|Home Islands]]. The Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed. Only 216 were taken prisoner. The battle lasted 2 months. After the battle 27 U.S. military personnel received the Medal of Honor for their actions. Of the 27 medals presented, 22 were presented to [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]]. Five were presented to [[United States Navy]] sailors. A full 30% of the 82 Medals of Honor presented to Marines in World War II were from this battle.<ref name=MOHSTAT>{{Cite web |accessdate = December 22, 2012 |url = http://www.history.army.mil//mohstats.htm |title = Medal of Honor recipients |work = Medal of Honor Statistics |publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |date = June 8, 2009 |archive-date = October 11, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121011061845/http://www.history.army.mil//mohstats.htm |url-status = dead }}</ref> The [[Medal of Honor]] was created during the [[American Civil War]]. It is the highest military decoration presented by the [[United States]] government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States. Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented after the recipient is killed ([[Posthumous recognition|posthum