Flag Raising
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is an iconic
photograph taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts
five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the Flag
of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo
Jima in World War II. The photograph was instantly popular, being
reprinted in hundreds of publications. Later, it became the only
photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same
year as its publication, and ultimately came to be regarded as one
of the most significant and recognizable images in history, and
possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time. Of the six men
depicted in the picture, three (Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, and
Michael Strank) did not survive the battle; the three survivors
(John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes) became suddenly famous.
The photograph was later used by Felix de Weldon to sculpt the USMC
War Memorial, located just outside Washington, D.C.
There are six Flag Raisers on the photo. Four in the front line and
two in back. The front four are (left to right) Ira Hayes, Franklin
Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael
Strank (behind Sousley) and Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley).
This photo was the second flag raising on Mount Suribachi. After the
first flag was raised, it was deemed too small to be seen all over
the island and Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, the Battalion Commander,
directed one of his officers to find a larger flag from one of the
ships on the beach. He wanted a larger flag so it could be seen over
the entire island and lift the spirits of his men (see
First Flag
Raising).
As the second and larger flag was being carried up the slopes of
Suribachi, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal was just
beginning his hard climb up the mountain. When he arrived at the
top, the first flag was getting ready to be lowered while the second
flag was getting ready to be raised. At first, Rosenthal hoped to
photograph the lowering of the first flag together with the raising
of the larger flag. When he discovered that he would not have time
to line up both pictures, he decided to concentrate on the second
flag raising. This photo is probably the most famous single
photograph ever taken and won many awards. It also became the model
for the Iwo Jima Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery in
Virginia. The memorial, dedicated in 1954 and known officially as
the Marine Corps War Memorial, commemorates the Marines who died
taking the Pacific island in World War II.
Another photo taken shortly after the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi
shows four of the Flag Raisers (Bradley, Hayes, Sousley and Strank)
with their jubilant buddies. Strank, Sousley and many of these boys
would soon be dead.
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