The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought from February 19 to March 26, 1945, was a key battle of World War II. The Japanese Army had two fortified bunkers there, which the American Army aimed to capture. The casualties were heavy on both sides, with the Americans ultimately suffering more losses than the Japanese. The island of Iwo Jima was eventually taken, and many Americans are familiar with the photograph (taken by a journalist named Joe Rosenthal) of American soldiers raising a flag at the top of Mount Suribachi. The photo was used as a model by sculptor Felix de Weldon to fashion a statue used at the Marine Corps War Memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery. The battle is well-remembered by war historians, and taught extensively in history classes. The Battle of Iwo Jima has also been a popular subject for filmmakers, and many features have been devoted to the war effort. Perhaps most famously, Clint Eastwood made a pair of Iwo Jima films back in 2006, both released in the same year, and both told from a different army's perspective. "Flags of Our Fathers" was released on October 20, and detailed the battle from the American perspective, while "Letters from Iwo Jima" was released on December 20, and held the perspective of the Japanese Army. The latter was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Of course, Hollywood was already adapting the Battle to film as early as 1949. That was the year Allan Dwan's "The Sands of Iwo Jima" was released. In that film, John Wayne played a hard-as-nails army general who trained up a platoon of American soldiers before the Battle. "Sands" was the first time Wayne, a Hollywood icon and notoriously racist a-hole, was nominated for an Academy Award.