Today In History: 23 Feb 1945 The US Flag Raised on Iwo Jima
The U.S. flag was raised at Iwo Jima on Mt. Suribachi, the Alamo siege began, Jonas Salk discovered the polio vaccine, and a sheep named Dolly was cloned at the Roslin Institute in this Day in History video. Joe Rosenthal won a Pulitzer prize in Photography for his picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima.
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is an iconic photograph of six United States Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the five days into the battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines raised the American flag over Mount Suribachi in the final stages of the Pacific War.
1954, which was dedicated to honor all Marines who died in service since 1775.
The memorial, sculpted by Felix de Weldon, is located in Arlington Ridge Park, [1] near the Ord-Weitzel Gate to Arlington National Cemetery and the Netherlands Carillon. The photograph has come to be regarded in the United States as one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II.
The flag raising occurred in the early afternoon, after the mountaintop was captured and a smaller flag was raised on top that morning. Three of the six Marines in the photograph Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, and Private First Class Franklin Sousley were killed in action during the battle Block was identified as Sergeant Hank Hansen until January 1947 and Sousley was identified as PhM2c. John Bradley, USN, until June 2016.
The other three Marines in the photograph were Corporals (then Privates First Class) Ira Hayes, Harold Schultz, and Harold Keller Schultz was identified as Sousley until June 2016 and Keller was identified as Rene Gagnon until October 2019. All of the men served in the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima.
In the United States this photograph has become one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II.
The image was used by Felix de Weldon in 1954 to sculpt the Marine Corps War Memorial located adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C. The memorial is dedicated to all Marines who died for their country past and present.
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