The Battle of Iwo Jima was the American capture of island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese during the Pacific Campaign of World War II . The Battle of Iwo Jima ( 19 Februaryâ `` 26 March 1945 ) , or Operation Detachment , was a battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan . The U.S. invasion , charged with the mission of capturing the three airfields on Iwo Jima , resulted in some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific Campaign of World War II .