Home › Glossary › Letter I

Iwo Jima

Battles
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A 1945 brutal Pacific battle where U.S. Marines captured a strategic Japanese island after fierce resistance.

Detailed Definition
Iwo Jima became iconic for its high cost and the famous flag-raising photo. In poetry, it symbolizes sacrifice, brotherhood, and the grim calculus of victory—frequently appearing in American verse as a testament to courage amid volcanic ash and tunnels, where every yard was paid for in blood and memory.
Example
Example in poetry:
Iwo Jima, 1945 Pacific battle, appears in American poetry as flag-raising and sacrifice; A modern sonnet might frame Suribachi’s ash as sacred ground; In a dramatic lyric, a Navajo code talker recalls sending messages from Iwo Jima; A free-verse elegy could mourn the 6,800 Americans and 20,000 Japanese lost; Contemporary poets use Iwo Jima to reflect on iconography and loss; A haiku might capture black sand clinging to Iwo Jima’s silent guns.
Additional Notes
Iwo Jima (1945) became iconic through the flag-raising photo and immense casualties; in American poetry, it symbolizes both heroic sacrifice and the questionable cost of island-hopping, often evoked in elegies and memorial verse.
Also Known As
Battle of Iwo Jima Iwo To
Skip to main content