Iwo Jima cost the Marines more casualties than any other Pacific battle, and this episode tells it almost entirely through color footage shot by Marine Corps cameramen at the time. Over 25 veterans, sailors, soldiers, and airmen who were actually there, narrate the fight for an island described as eight square miles of sulfur rock and volcanic ash, from the landing craft approach through the grinding advance across terrain with no cover and no water. The film explains why the phrase "uncommon valor was a common virtue" attached itself to this battle specifically, tracing it through accounts of individual actions rather than a summary of troop movements. Combat footage shows the ash slowing every step and the smell of sulfur vents that gave the island its reputation before a single shot was fired. As the second installment in a series on the battle, it stays close to firsthand testimony rather than strategic overview, letting the men who survived the 36 days describe what the maps and casualty figures leave out.