Predictably, since it concerned an icon this caused consternation \u2013 and accusations.\u00a0 Some commenters indicated that to them it \u201cdidn\u2019t matter\u201d.\u00a0 Others indicated a belief that it was part of some Leftist attempt to \u201csmear\u201d a hero.<\/p>\n
It’s a free country, so to each his own. But I have a different point of view.<\/p>\n
The photo is also part of US history.\u00a0 And accurately recording that history is damned important.\u00a0 We owe that much to future generations.<\/p>\n
We also owe that to those who are now gone.\u00a0 We need to get their story as close to correct as we can \u2013 even when sometimes that\u2019s painful.<\/p>\n
What follows is a bit longish.\u00a0 Read or not as you desire.<\/p>\n
. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n Flags and Iwo Jima<\/u><\/p>\n It turns out that \u201cflag raising at Iwo Jima\u201d is actually a quite\u00a0 complex subject.\u00a0 In truth, the famous and iconic flag raising photo on which the USMC Monument outside Arlington National Cemetery is modeled is only one of multiple different<\/u> \u201cflag photos\u201d taken atop Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945 – three of which have some degree of publicity.\u00a0 All three of those published photos are very different.\u00a0 Two of them were taken by Joe Rosenthal; the third was taken by SSgt Louis R. Lowery, USMC.\u00a0 There\u2019s also newsreel footage corresponding to one of the three \u2013 Rosenthal’s famous photo \u2013 which was taken by yet a third photographer: \u00a0 SSgt. Bill Genaust, USMC.<\/p>\n It gets even more complex.\u00a0 There were actually two different<\/em> \u201cflag raisings\u201d on the summit of Mount Surabachi on 23 February 1945.\u00a0 The photos Joe Rosenthal took \u2013 two different photographs, one of which became world-famous \u2013 were photographs of the SECOND flag raising that day.\u00a0 The first flag raising and its photos, though not completely unknown, are nowhere near as well known as the second.\u00a0 They are only rarely seen or discussed.<\/p>\n Two of the three famous photos taken that day were candid.\u00a0 One was indeed staged \u2013 and no, it wasn\u2019t Rosenthal’s famous photo, which in turn means that the newsreel footage taken that day was also candid.<\/p>\n And to make the situation even more convoluted:\u00a0 Bradley does indeed appear in two of the three publicly-known flag raising photographs taken that day atop Mount Suribachi.\u00a0 However, per the latest USMC investigation announced last week he does not appear in Rosenthal’s iconic photograph.<\/p>\n Given the complexity of the situation and the fact that it occurred in combat, it’s perhaps understandable if not inevitable that errors were initially made in identifying the participants.\u00a0 But such errors can often be corrected \u2013 and if they can be corrected, they should be.<\/p>\n The Flag Raisings and the Photos <\/u><\/p>\n The first flag raising photo on Iwo Jima is not particularly well known.\u00a0 It was taken by SSgt. Louis R. Lowery, a USMC photographer.\u00a0 It is a photograph taken shortly after the first<\/u> flag raising atop Mount Suribachi.\u00a0 (Lowery apparently took multiple photographs at the time; this is the most well-known one of the batch.)\u00a0 John Bradley appears in this photo; he\u2019s the individual near the center of the group, standing and wearing a helmet, with his hand holding the flagstaff.<\/p>\n Historical accounts indicate that three Marines raised this first US flag on Mount Suribachi:\u00a0 1stLt Harold G. Schrier, who led the patrol that took the flag to the top of the mountain; PltSgt Ernest Thomas, his Platoon Sergeant; and Sgt Hank Hansen.\u00a0 None of the three participated in the second, iconic flag raising photographed by Rosenthal.<\/p>\n So, why was there a second flag-raising at all?\u00a0 Well, it seems that a high Navy Department official – SECNAV James Forrestal, to be precise – had accompanied the landing force to Iwo Jima.\u00a0 On seeing the first flag raised on the summit of Mount Suribachi, Forrestal indicated he wanted that flag.<\/p>\n That order was in turn relayed to LtCol Chandler Johnson, the Battalion Commander of 2nd Bn, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Div, whose forces had topped Suribachi and erected that flag.\u00a0 Johnson’s exact words on receiving this order are recorded as being, “To hell with that!”\u00a0 He then ordered his subordinates to obtain a second flag and raise it – “And make it a bigger one.”\u00a0 A team of four Marines \u2013 led by Sgt Michael Strank and including Cpl. Harlon Block, Pfc Franklin R. Sousley, and Pfc Ira H. Hayes \u2013 was given the mission of raising the second flag.<\/p>\n One of the battalion\u2019s runners (messengers) \u2013 Pfc Rene Gagnon, who also ended up participating in the second flag raising \u2013 ended up in possession of this the larger flag (historical accounts differ on precisely where that larger flag was obtained and who obtained it). He took it to SGT Strank\u2019s team atop Mount Suribachi.<\/p>\n The flag and flagpole used in the second flag raising were quite heavy, weighing together well over 100lbs; there was also considerable wind.\u00a0 When Gagnon arrived with the flag, Sgt Strank ordered Gagnon and another individual already on the summit to help.\u00a0 Strank and his team – augmented by Gagnon and the other individual – raised the second flag.\u00a0 (Bradley was apparently also on or very near the summit at the time, as he’s known to have assisted in stringing and securing the rope installed shortly afterwards used to stabilize the makeshift flagpole after erection.)\u00a0 The original flag was lowered and returned to the Battalion\u2019s command group.<\/p>\n This second flag-raising was captured in-progress on both still film and newsreel footage.\u00a0 Joe Rosenthal took the iconic still photo; he damn near missed it, as he was piling rocks to stand on for a better vantage point when the Marines involved started to raise the flag and had to shoot hurriedly.\u00a0 SSgt Bill Genaust, USMC, took the newsreel footage while standing about 3 feet away from Rosenthal.\u00a0 Below is Rosenthal\u2019s original photo; the more famous version is a cropped version of this one.<\/p>\n Genaust\u2019s newsreel footage of the 2nd flag raising is found beginning at approximately 1:30 in the video below.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/9\/92\/First_Iwo_Jima_Flag_Raising.jpg\")
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