A crewman is being evacuated from the ship to the Island of Iwo Jima. At that time, Iwo Jima was still a protectorate of the United States. It had a Coast Guard LORAN-C Station and an airstrip. Len Wall is manning the motorized lifeboat.
It appears as though there were three or four people in the lifeboat. I believe Len Wall was at the helm.
The mountain in center frame is Mount Suribachi, the most prominent feature on the island and also the most famous. In capturing Iwo Jima during WWII the US suffered 27,909 casualties, mostly Marines. 6,825 Americans were killed, again mostly Marines. The Japanese suffered 20,703 killed and 216 captured out of a garrison of approximately 21,000.