Sands: Of Iwo Jima

: The squad joins the patrol that charges up Mount Suribachi. In a moment of reconciliation, Conway saves Stryker's life, and the two men find mutual respect.

The narrative begins at a training camp where Stryker uses brutal methods and rigid discipline to prepare his men for the realities of the Pacific theater. Sands of Iwo Jima

: The squad witnesses the iconic raising of the American flag. The film famously features three of the actual surviving flag-raisers—Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon, and John Bradley—playing themselves. : The squad joins the patrol that charges up Mount Suribachi

: In a sudden shock, a Japanese sniper kills Stryker during a lull in the fighting. The men find an unfinished letter to his son on his body, expressing the love and pride he could never say in person. : The squad witnesses the iconic raising of

: Private Peter Conway, a college graduate and son of Stryker’s former commanding officer, resents Stryker’s harshness and sees him as a "cold-hearted sadist".

: The squad's first taste of combat occurs at Tarawa. During this bloody engagement, Stryker's refusal to risk the entire unit to save a single wounded soldier further fuels Conway’s hatred, though the decision was tactically necessary.