Letters from Iwo Jima

Even better than Flags of Our Fathers, which I didn't really connect with.
The sheer desperation of the Japanese, officers and men alike, drove them to communal suicide. Our hero, Saigo, watches on horrified, as he ponders what is the best way to die. Some are not afforded the same luxury of choice.
What is your enemy really like? They are just like you, actually. They fear who's on the other side, they fear death, they fear not seeing their family again.
In the end, we realise the whole pointlessness of war and the futility of suicide, but we understand why in our world, people prefer these abhorrences to the alternatives of compromise and losing face.

Plot: This is the story of the battle of Iwo Jima, between the United States and Japan, during World War II, as told from the perspective of two good friends serving in the Japanese forces, who watch helplessly throughout various battles as their comrades are killed.