Iwo Jima, Japan ? Aging U.S. veterans converged on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima early today to mark the 60th anniversary of one of the bloodiest and most symbolic battles of World War II.

The few dozen old warriors, many dressed in their military uniforms and helmets, arrived in the morning on three commercial flights with hundreds of family members, and gathered in a gymnasium at a Japanese military base on the island.

Ahead of ceremonies scheduled for later in the day, including an honor guard and a wreath-laying, the wispy-haired former soldiers posed for photos amid a landscape that 60 years ago became a symbol of the savage fighting of the war in the Pacific.

During nearly a month of fighting that began Feb. 19, 1945, some 100,000 Americans battled more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers desperate to protect every foot of the first Japanese home island to be invaded.

Nearly 7,000 Americans and more than 21,000 Japanese died.

Japan surrendered the following August after one more bloody battle, on Okinawa, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“It was the first time I’d seen combat,” recalled Raymond Beadle, 79, from Morgan City, La., who first arrived on Iwo Jima as a 19-year-old private. “It was scary because we could hear the Japanese, but we couldn’t see them. They were all dug in underground.”

Beadle stayed on Iwo Jima for 16 days, until an explosion at an ammo dump blew him 30 feet into the air, riddling his body with shrapnel and burying him up to his chest in rubble. He was evacuated to Guam and never returned to Iwo Jima until Saturday.

“It’s awesome to be back,” said Beadle, who like many of the veterans carried a bottle to bring some of the island’s sand back home. “It’s so different now. After fighting here, I kind of hoped the Americans would keep it, but I guess we had to give it back.”

U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in this Feb. 23, 1945, file photo. Strategically located only 660 miles from Tokyo, the Pacific island became the site of one of the most famous battles of World War II.

Most of the American dead have been accounted for, but less than half of the Japanese remains have been recovered since Japan’s government first began searches in 1952.

The island, about 700 miles southeast of Tokyo, has been used only by the military since the war. The U.S. Navy regularly uses an airstrip set up like the flight deck of an aircraft carrier to train pilots.

About 400 Japanese soldiers are the island’s only permanent residents.

The Iwo Jima of today — considered by some to be something of an open grave — looks like an island forgotten by time. It’s tiny, covered with rough jungle and pocked with caves. There are no hotels, no beachside cafes.

Its famous black sand beaches are pristine, save for flotsam washed up from the sea and the remnants of the battle. At the southern tip, a one-lane, dusty road winds its way up Mount Suribachi, site of the famous flag-raising that for many Americans symbolizes the Pacific War.

The passage of time, however, has not dimmed the island’s status as hallowed ground for the Marines.

“The symbolism of Iwo Jima is well understood by even the youngest Marines,” said Capt. Joseph Plenzer, a spokesman for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa. “It’s something we teach in boot camp.”