The Battle of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945 and was officially declared
ended with the securing of the island on March 26. The five week battle to
capture the island from the Japanese Imperial Army comprised some of the
fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific during World War II.

1945 issue, commemorative stamp

Randolph Peter "Pete" Best turned 73 on November 24

James Arthur "Jim" Lovell, Jr.

The former NASA astronaut and retired captain in the U.S. Navy is 
most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which
suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon in 1970. The crew
was brought back safely to Earth by the combined efforts of all
those involved.

Lovell is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Mike Gracia

Aretha Louise Franklin (The Queen of Soul) is 73 today.

Following their March 20 marriage, John Lennon and Yoko Ono decided to
use the publicity to promote world peace. They spent their honeymoon in
the presidential suite (Room 702, later renovated and became 902) at the
Amsterdam Hilton Hotel for a week between March 25 and 31, inviting the
world’s press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.