Iwo Jima flag raising
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| Iwo Jima flag raising | |
|---|---|
 Joe Rosenthal · Public domain · source | |
| Title | Iwo Jima flag raising |
| Caption | Photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal on 23 February 1945 |
| Date | 23 February 1945 |
| Location | Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands |
| Participants | United States Marine Corps, United States Navy |
| Outcome | Second flag raising during the Battle of Iwo Jima |
Iwo Jima flag raising
The Iwo Jima flag raising refers to a pair of World War II events on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945, culminating in an iconic photograph published worldwide. Photographs and film of the second raising by Joe Rosenthal and footage by Bill Genaust became symbols used by United States Marine Corps, War Bond campaigns, and memorialization efforts such as the Marine Corps War Memorial. The incidents involved personnel from Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines and intersected with press coverage by organizations including Associated Press and United States Department of Defense public affairs.
Background and Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February–26 March 1945) was a major Pacific War engagement between the Empire of Japan and the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps as part of Operation Detachment. Strategic objectives included airfields near Iwo Jima used by United States Army Air Forces and B-29 Superfortress operations supporting Bombing of Japan (1944–45). Commanders such as Chester W. Nimitz, Thomas Holcomb, and Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (note: Buckner commanded at Okinawa) featured in Pacific strategy discussions; on Iwo Jima, commanders included Harry Schmidt and H. M. Smith. Japanese defense under Tadamichi Kuribayashi relied on extensive tunnel networks and fortifications, inflicting heavy casualties on assaulting 1st Marine Division and attached units like the 28th Marine Regiment and 5th Marine Division (United States). The drive to seize Mount Suribachi aimed to secure the volcanic high ground overlooking the landing beaches and airfields.
First Flag Raising (Mount Suribachi)
On 23 February 1945, a patrol led by First Lieutenant Harold Schrier of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines ascended Mount Suribachi to seize the summit and silence Japanese positions. After combat with elements of the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces, the patrol raised an American flag—reported and photographed by combat correspondents attached to Associated Press and United States Marine Corps public affairs. The first flag, carried by members including Sgt. Henry Hansen and Pvt. Rene Gagnon, was smaller and quickly visible to forces ashore, prompting morale reports in dispatches forwarded to command echelons such as Fleet Admiral Nimitz. The raising was covered by newsmen including Marine Corps combat photographers and triggered celebrations among assault units on the beaches.
Second Flag Raising and Iconic Photograph
Later that day a larger flag was ordered by higher command to replace the first, carried up Mount Suribachi by a detachment under orders from regimental staff, involving figures such as Corporal Harlon Block, Private First Class Ira Hayes, Pfc. Franklin Sousley, Pvt. Harold Schultz, Pfc. Michael Strank, and Pvt. John Bradley (USN), among others. Photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the second raising in a single exposure that became the famous image published by the Associated Press and widely reprinted in newspapers like the New York Times and magazines including Life (magazine). Motion picture cameraman Bill Genaust filmed color footage that later contributed to documentary accounts and World War II newsreels. The photograph led to the Purple Heart and Navy Cross narratives for participants and influenced wartime propaganda and homefront morale, while also shaping postwar memory and commemorative projects such as the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
Identification of Flag Raisers and Controversies
Identification of the six men in Rosenthal's photograph became subject to extensive investigation involving Associated Press, United States Marine Corps boards of inquiry, historians, veterans' organizations like the Marine Corps Historical Center, and surviving family members. Initial identifications named John Bradley (Navy Corpsman), Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Michael Strank, Ira Hayes, and Rene Gagnon, but later forensic reviews, photographic analysis by researchers at institutions such as the National Archives and Records Administration and testimony from witnesses led to corrected identifications including Harold Schultz and revised attributions for others. Controversies involved analyses by scholars working with photographic comparisons, peer review by military historians, and legal and moral claims from relatives; debates appeared in media outlets like the Washington Post and in documentaries produced by organizations including PBS.
Aftermath, Commemoration, and Cultural Impact
The photograph and associated footage became central to United States remembrance, influencing war bond drives, fundraising for the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpted by Felix de Weldon, and public sculptures and exhibits at institutions such as the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Smithsonian Institution. Cultural representations appear in films like Letters from Iwo Jima (depicting Japanese perspectives), Sands of Iwo Jima and numerous documentaries, books by historians such as Robert Leckie, James Bradley, and Rick Atkinson, and scholarly articles in journals like Journal of Military History. The image shaped domestic narratives about sacrifice and heroism, influenced veteran advocacy organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion, and contributed to ongoing historiographical debates about memory, media, and the ethics of wartime imagery. Legal and commemorative practices, including burial recognitions at cemeteries like Punchbowl (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific) and honors such as the Presidential Unit Citation, reflected the photograph's enduring role in United States military and popular culture.