Pacific War Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces to attack targets throughout the Philippines and the South China Sea. The Battle of Iwo Jima ("Operation Detachment") in February 1945 was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Americans in the Pacific War. Iwo Jima is an 8 sq mile (21 km) island situated halfway between Tokyo and the Mariana Islands. Holland Smith, the commander of the invasion force, aimed to capture the island and prevent its use as an early-warning station against air raids on the Japanese Home Islands, and to use it as an emergency landing field. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi,
Rhode Island World War II Army Airfields number of airfields in a support roles. At the end of the war, the airfield was returned to service as a state airport, instead of being retained as a United States Air Force installation that could have been a front-line base during the Cold War. There is the possibility that a few of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes. First Air Force Rhode Island World War II Army Airfields During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took control of Hillsgrove State Airport (now T.F. Green Airport) in